As one of the most developed and affluent regions in China, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions have similar geographical conditions and water and soil environments, and the people here share a unique food culture. From extremely sweet to extremely salty, from extremely fragrant to extremely smelly, the food culture of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai is rich and colorful, and each city has its own signature dish.
Speaking of flower child chicken, almost everyone knows, this is a famous dish in Hangzhou, also known as hua tong chicken, yellow mud simmered chicken. It is rumored that this dish came from the hands of beggars. In ancient times, there was a hanako who got a chicken, but he lacked a pot and a stove, and he was scratching his ears and scratching his cheeks urgently, when he suddenly saw someone nearby baking sweet potatoes.
So he followed the method of baking sweet potatoes, wrapped the chicken with rotten mud, put it on the "stove" made of stones, picked up some dry wood and simmered it, waited until the chicken was cooked, knocked off the mud shell, and unexpectedly found that the aroma was overflowing, which was better than the usual smell. Later, the recipe of this dish was learned by Qian Muzhai, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty University, and used to entertain Liu Ruyi, a famous prostitute in Jiangnan, and asked Liu Ru: "How is the flavor of Yushan?" Willow replied, "I'd rather eat a lifetime of Yu mountain chicken than a day's Worthy Songjiang fish."
In fact, the real way to call the flower boy chicken is to use local characteristics of Yue chicken, Shaojiu, West Lake lotus leaves, plus a variety of condiments baked. The chicken belly is first filled with condiments, then wrapped with lotus leaves and stem shells, and then wrapped in a layer of wine altar mud mixed with Shaoxing wine and brine, and simmered in a simmer for three or four hours. When the customer eats it, the whole mud ball is taken to the table and unwrapped in front of the customer. Because it is sealed and grilled, it maintains the original taste of the chicken, the mellow smell of the famous wine in the mud ball, and after being roasted by fire, it is poured into the chicken, and a fragrance comes to the nose on the tabletop, which adds to the fun.
Chicken is one of the specialties of Hangzhou. The production method is unique, first filling the chicken belly with condiments, then wrapping it with lotus leaves and shells, and then wrapping it on the outside with a layer of wine altar mud mixed with shaojiu and brine, and simmering it for three or four hours in a simmer. When it's time to eat, the whole mud ball is taken to the table and unwrapped to add more fun. Due to the sealed grilling, the original taste of the chicken is maintained, and the wine flavor is roasted into the chicken after being roasted by the fire, and the fragrance is fragrant.
The skin is golden, the flesh is new white, and there is a very thin layer of light yellow oil between the skin and flesh. When you chew it in the mouth, there is a fresh fragrance between the lips and tongue, and even the chicken ribs are tender, and you don't feel the thickness and tightness of the meat. Dipped in the most common soy sauce, the tongue sensation tells me that this is the original taste of chicken that I have never tasted before. A table of people put a plate of chicken, from the wings, legs, ribs to the neck, disc.