Dong'an Native Chicken

Dong'an Native Chicken

　　Dong'an Native Chicken is a traditional famous dish from Hunan. It is made by stir-frying seven-tenths cooked chicken strips with seasonings. This dish originates from Dong'an County in Hunan Province and was originally called Vinegar Chicken. Legend has it that as early as the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the people of Dong'an began making Vinegar Chicken. There are two accounts for why Vinegar Chicken was renamed Dong'an Chicken: one says it was named after Xi Baotong, a fierce general of the Xiang Army during the late Qing Dynasty and a native of Dong'an, who often served this dish to guests; another says that after the victory of the Northern Expedition, Tang Shengzhi, commander of the National Revolutionary Army’s Eighth Army, hosted a banquet in Nanjing where Vinegar Chicken was served and highly praised by the guests. When asked about the name of the dish, Tang felt the original name was inelegant and, on the spur of the moment, said it was his hometown’s Dong'an Chicken. Since then, the name Dong'an Chicken has spread widely. This dish is a hot dish.

　　 Origin: Hunan

　　 Preparation Method

　　 　 【Ingredients】

　　 Main ingredient: 1 young hen (about 1000g).

　　 Seasonings: 10g dried red chili peppers, 1g Sichuan peppercorns, 3g salt, 1g MSG, 50g yellow vinegar, 25g Shaoxing wine, 25g scallions, 25g ginger, 100g chicken broth, 25g wet starch, 2.5g sesame oil, 100g lard.

　　 【Preparation Method】

　　 (1) Boil the chicken: Place the chicken in a pot and boil for 10 minutes until it is seven-tenths cooked, then remove and let cool.

　　 (2) Prepare ingredients: Chop off the chicken’s head, neck, and feet, then debone it. Cut the meat into 5cm-long, 1cm-wide strips. Finely chop the dried red chili peppers, crush the Sichuan peppercorns, cut the scallions into 3.3cm-long segments, and slice the ginger into shreds.

　　 (3) Stir-fry and braise: Heat a wok over high heat, add the lard and heat to 240°C. Add the chicken strips, ginger shreds, and dried chili pepper powder, and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add yellow vinegar, Shaoxing wine, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and continue stir-frying. Next, add the chicken broth and braise for 2 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Add the scallion segments and MSG, thicken with wet starch, toss the wok to mix well, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve on a plate.

　　 【Key Points】

　　 (1) Because the chicken is tender, cut it along the grain of the muscle to prevent it from breaking apart during cooking.

　　 (2) Stir-fry the ginger shreds, dried chili pepper powder, and Sichuan peppercorn powder in oil until fragrant before adding the chicken broth. Do not braise for too long.

　　 【Flavor Profile】

　　 Delicately colored, tender chicken with a savory, slightly sour and spicy taste.