Also known as "simmered chicken", although its name is not elegant, it is a famous dish at home and abroad.
The origin of this dish, legend has it that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, at the foot of The Yushan Mountains in Changshu, there was a chicken called Huazi, but there was no cooking utensils and spices, it was difficult to cook, and when the machine moved, it slaughtered the chicken to remove the internal organs, coated with mud, took dead branches and leaves into a fire, put the chicken into the fire and simmered, waited for the mud to mature, knocked off the mud shell, the chicken feathers came off with the shell, the aroma was overflowing, and the call was overjoyed, so it swallowed and ate it.
At this time, Qian Muzhai, a Ming Dynasty scholar who was living in seclusion in Yu, walked to this area. Suddenly smelling the strange smell, from the gap in the tree to see that Linghua was eating chicken, he ordered his family to come forward to inquire about the cooking method of the chicken, and take the chicken to taste, its taste is indeed unique. After returning home, Qian ordered the kitchen to add some spices and concocted the chicken as it was. One day, Liu Ru, a famous prostitute in Jiangnan, came to Qianfu from Songjiang to go on a blind date, and Qian Muzhai set up a family feast to entertain. During the banquet, the chicken was crispy and boneless, and the aroma was fragrant, and Qian Muzhai asked Liu Ru with a spring breeze on his face: "How is the flavor of Yushan Mountain?" Liu Shi pointed at the chicken with ivory chopsticks and said: "I would rather eat the yu mountain chicken for life, I don't know the Songjiang fish for a day" Has a deep affection, and the name "called the chicken" on the spot spread.
According to legend, Zhu A'er, a famous chef in Changshu's famous restaurant Mountain View Garden, which was founded in the sixteenth year of The Qing Dynasty (1890), considering that most of the people who could enjoy this dish at that time were dignitaries and nobles, they both admired the delicacy of the chicken delicacies and did not want to deal with the chicken that was not elegant. Master Zhu A'er, who promoted his strengths and avoided his weaknesses, added a variety of spices and accessories, and changed his name to "simmered chicken" in order to cater to the tastes of the scholar class. The preparation method is refined, unique flavor, and those who come to taste it are endless all year round.
