Sanba Whole Chicken

Sanba Whole Chicken

　　Sanba Whole Chicken is a specialty dish from Changle County, Weifang City, Shandong Province. Made with premium ingredients and crafted with meticulous care, the chicken is tender on the palate and leaves a lingering aftertaste. It is a delicious choice for entertaining guests or family gatherings, offering both the meat and broth. In addition to its great taste, it also has special health benefits such as disease prevention and physical strengthening.

　　The “China Time-Honored Brand” Sanba Whole Chicken restaurant is located on the north side of Weichang Road, 20 kilometers east of Weifang, the International Kite Capital, and 3 kilometers west of Changle County. It sits against the vast and fertile Changwei Plain, with the Jiaoji Railway and the Jiqing Expressway running east-west nearby. The restaurant faces the main peak of Gushan Mountain, just 1.5 kilometers away, and is surrounded by orchards and lush greenery.

　　Sanba Whole Chicken is a product carefully developed by Liu Yufen, the general manager of the restaurant, based on inherited traditional techniques combined with new concepts in nutrition and gourmet cuisine. The dish uses high-quality local roosters as the main ingredient—free from pollution and contamination—and is further refined with over ten kinds of auxiliary materials such as star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and goji berries. Since its debut in 1993, and through over a decade of continuous innovation, it has become a widely renowned local delicacy. It has been recognized as a “Famous Snack of Weifang” for two consecutive sessions and was designated as a “Famous Snack of Changle” in 2004. In 2001, its high-tech product, the vacuum-packed Sanba Whole Chicken, won the Gold Award at the “World Blue Sky Cup” the same year. The Sanba Whole Chicken restaurant was honored with the title of “China Time-Honored Brand” by the Ministry of Internal Trade of the People’s Republic of China in 1999, and was rated as one of the “Top Ten Restaurants in Changle County” in 2005. General Manager Liu Yufen was awarded the title of “Women’s Civilization Demonstration Post” by the Changle County Women’s Federation in 1999.

　　The chicken, a bird belonging to the pheasant family, is beloved for its tender and flavorful meat, which is also highly nutritious. Qing Dynasty food scholar Yuan Mei praised it, saying: “Among all dishes, the chicken’s contribution is the greatest.” From a medicinal perspective, chicken is sweet and mild in nature, slightly warm, and associated with the spleen and stomach meridians. It is believed to warm the middle burner, boost qi, nourish the internal organs, enrich essence and marrow, support pregnancy, and aid childbirth. According to the "Sui Xi Ju Dietetic Spectrum": “Chicken, being sweet and warm, supplements deficiencies, warms the stomach, strengthens tendons and bones, mends injuries, activates blood circulation, and regulates menstruation.” Nutritionally, chicken is an ideal food for the elderly and those with cardiovascular diseases. Every 10 grams contains 23.3 grams of protein—about 1.5 times that of beef, twice that of lamb, and 2.5 times that of pork. It contains about 1.2 grams of fatty acids, which is only 1/20th of beef, 1/24th of lamb, and 1/49th of pork, and most of these fatty acids are unsaturated. Additionally, it provides nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, A1, and B2. As a dish, chicken is not only nutritious and delicious but can truly be considered the king of all dishes.

　　Herbal ingredients such as star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and goji berries, according to medical texts, offer multiple benefits including flavor enhancement, antispasmodic and analgesic effects, stomach strengthening, wind dispelling, heart strengthening, diuresis, kidney and essence nourishment, liver care and vision improvement, intestinal blockage clearance, and digestion promotion. When consumed with chicken, they create a unique flavor and deliver significant health benefits.