Spiced Chicken

Spiced Chicken

　　A traditional and distinctive dish from Yifeng, known for its grayish-yellow color, tender and fall-off-the-bone meat, fragrant and delicious taste, and attractive presentation. The recipe uses one locally raised chicken (about 1000g), 50g dried mustard greens, 25g cooking wine, 15g soy sauce, 200g fresh broth, 10g ginger, 1 scallion, 1 star anise, and a small amount of MSG as the main ingredients. The cleaned and slaughtered chicken is first boiled in hot water until it is about 60–70% cooked, then removed. The head, feet, wings, and tail are cut off, and the bones are carefully removed. The mustard greens are chopped, the ginger is lightly smashed, and the scallion is tied into a knot. The chicken is placed flat in a bowl, with the mustard greens, chicken head, feet, wings, tail, star anise, ginger, and scallion knot added on top. Another bowl is used to mix the good broth with the cooking wine, soy sauce, and MSG, which is then poured over the chicken in the first bowl. The bowl is steamed for one hour, after which the chicken’s head, feet, wings, tail, ginger, and star anise are removed. The chicken is then transferred to a plate and arranged in the shape of a whole chicken.