Dong'an Chicken

Dong'an Chicken

Dong'an Chicken is a geographical indication protected product.

Dong'an Chicken is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Main ingredient: 750g hen.

　　Seasonings:

　　15g red chili peppers (fresh, pointed, dried), 10g green onions, 10g ginger, 10g cooking wine, 5g vinegar, 5g white sugar, 3g MSG, 10g cooking wine, 2g chicken powder, 3g Sichuan peppercorns, 30g peanut oil, 20g starch (pea), 10g sesame oil.

　　"Dong'an Chicken" is truly delicious, embodying all the sour, spicy, fragrant, sweet, and tender qualities of Hunan cuisine. It is undisputedly the king of Hunan dishes.

　　"Dong'an Chicken" is a historic and world-renowned delicacy, listed as one of the state banquet dishes and ranked first among the Eight Great Hunan Dishes. "Dong'an Chicken" has evolved through three dynasties.

　　During the Western Jin Dynasty, it was called "Fermented Vinegar Chicken." In the first year of Emperor Hui of Jin’s Yongxi era (290), a county named Yingyang was established on the banks of the Ying River. The then-county magistrate held a grand celebration ceremony to hang the county office plaque, inviting elders from surrounding villages to congratulate him. A local renowned chef was asked to prepare an elaborate banquet. According to the customs of the time, the fifth dish in a formal banquet was always chicken, known as "Chicken Opening." That particular "Chicken Opening" had a slightly sour taste, which whetted the diners' appetites. After the banquet, the magistrate summoned the chef and asked why he had added vinegar to season the chicken. The chef quickly knelt down and said, “Your Honor, please forgive me—I didn’t do it on purpose. I was in a rush and accidentally used fermented vinegar instead of cooking wine. To cover up the vinegar taste, I quickly added some Sichuan peppercorns and ginger. I hope this won’t happen again, and I beg your forgiveness!” The magistrate laughed and said cheerfully, “Forgive what? Get up, get up everyone says this vinegar-flavored chicken is absolutely delicious. I called you here to praise you!” What started as a happy accident resulted in the creation of a famous dish. From then on, the recipe for "Fermented Vinegar Chicken" spread among the people.

　　In the late Qing Dynasty, it was called "Official Protection Chicken." In the late Qing Dynasty, Xiang Army general Xi Boyuan was granted the title of Guanglu Grand Master and awarded the rank of "Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent" by the imperial court for his contributions in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion and the Miao uprising in Guizhou. He was highly regarded by the court. In his later years, Xi Boyuan returned to his hometown under the pretext of illness and lived in Wujiaqiao. Once, when Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Liu Kunyi visited Xi Boyuan’s home, the banquet included this "Fermented Vinegar Chicken." The family chef, aiming to enhance the flavor, added some aged fermented tofu juice to the "Fermented Vinegar Chicken." This modification made the dish not only sour and spicy but also delightfully fragrant and crispy. Zeng Guofan and the others praised it highly. When Zuo Zongtang asked for the name of the dish, Xi Boyuan originally wanted to say "Fermented Vinegar Chicken," but thought the name too rustic and hesitated. Zeng Guofan interjected, “This is a specialty of General Xi’s household—let’s call it ‘Official Protection Chicken’!” Zuo Zongtang and Liu Kunyi agreed, saying, “Right, a famous general’s home produces a famous dish. Official Protection Chicken—a great name!” From then on, the dish entered the imperial court.

　　During the Republican Era, it was called "Dong'an Chicken." In 1926, during the first phase of the Northern Expedition, Tang Shengzhi, a renowned patriotic general of the Kuomintang, served as the front-line commander. After the victory of the Northern Expedition, Tang Shengzhi settled in Nanjing. To celebrate the triumph, he hosted a banquet in Nanjing for his subordinates and colleagues, during which "Official Protection Chicken" was served. His personal chef, who was from Wujiaqiao, paid even more attention to culinary refinement. First, the chicken selected had to be a young hen that had never laid eggs, weighing no more than one and a half pounds. During preparation, the heat was carefully controlled to keep the blood in the bones bright red. In terms of knife skills, the chicken—aside from the internal organs—was cut into sixteen pieces, arranged on the plate to resemble a complete chicken. After tasting it, his subordinates and colleagues all commented that the dish was beautifully presented, brightly colored, tender, sour and spicy, rich yet not greasy, endlessly enjoyable, aromatic, and nutritious—with all six flavors: fragrance, sweetness, sourness, spiciness, tenderness, and crispness. When asked the name of the dish, Tang Shengzhi was about to speak when his aide Gu Boxu reminded him, “It’s the flavor and cuisine of our hometown.” Tang Shengzhi immediately said, “This is a special dish from our Dong'an—let’s call it ‘Dong'an Chicken.’” Tang Shengzhi had wide diplomatic connections and often served "Dong'an Chicken" as the closing dish for guests. Guo Moruo’s “Records of the Hongbo Period” also noted that during the Anti-Japanese War, Tang Shengzhi hosted him at his residence in Shuǐlùzhōu, Changsha, where the Dong'an Chicken was particularly delicious. In February 1972, during U.S. President Nixon’s visit to China, Mao Zedong hosted a banquet in his honor, which also featured Dong'an Chicken. Nixon praised it while eating and spoke highly of its exceptional taste after returning home. It quickly spread to Southeast Asia, North America, Jordan, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and other countries. Since then, Dong'an Chicken has been listed as a state banquet dish and ranked first among the Eight Great Hunan Dishes.

　　How to Make Dong'an Chicken:

　　1. Clean the small hen thoroughly after slaughtering, wash the meat, place it in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and blanch for about 5 minutes until the chicken is 80% cooked. Remove and let cool. Chop the green onions and slice the ginger.

　　2. Cut the chicken into strips. Remove the stems and seeds from the dried red chilies and chop them into bits.

　　3. Heat oil in a wok, add Sichuan peppercorns, dried red chilies, and ginger slices, stir-fry, then add the chicken. Pour in the cooking wine and the broth used to cook the chicken. Season with salt, sugar, MSG, chicken powder, and vinegar. Stir-fry until the chicken strips are cooked, add starch to thicken the sauce, then drizzle with sesame oil to finish.

　　Key Tips for Making Dong'an Chicken:

　　1. Use fresh, tender small hen meat.

　　2. Control the heat well—simmer until just cooked, otherwise the stir-fried chicken will become tough and lose its freshness.