Stewed Chicken or Duck with Stone Ear

Stewed Chicken or Duck with Stone Ear

　　Stewed Chicken or Duck with Stone Ear is a specialty dish of Zhangjiajie. The stone ear is a plant resembling black fungus that grows on steep cliffs. Due to the difficulty of harvesting, it is extremely precious, flavorful, and nutritious. When stewed with chicken or duck, it rivals the richness of ginseng or bird’s nest. With a light yellow color, its refined fragrance is oddly captivating, and the taste will make your mouth water. It also offers health benefits such as strengthening the body and improving skin complexion. This dish has been a tribute from local chieftains to the emperor since the Ming and Qing dynasties. It’s said that it was always served during grand imperial banquets. To get a taste of royal indulgence, savor this dish.

　　Zhangjiajie’s Yongding District is abundant in stone ear, which was historically a tribute to chieftains. For Stewed Chicken with Stone Ear, a whole chicken (or duck) is gently simmered with the fungus. First, soak the stone ear in warm water, rinse it repeatedly until clean, then soak it in cold water five or six times to remove dark water and fine sand. Slice it into diamond shapes and place it in a pot with 500 grams of cold water, 0.5 gram of salt, 5 grams of cooking wine, and 5 grams each of chopped scallion and ginger (ginger should be lightly smashed). Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then remove and place it in a bowl (discard the cooking water and scallion/ginger used for the stone ear). Place the chicken in a pot, bring the water to a boil, then take it out and let it cool. Prepare a clay pot, put the chicken, ham bone, remaining scallions, ginger, and cooking wine into it, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then switch to low heat and simmer until the chicken is about 80% cooked. Remove the ham bone, discard the scallions and ginger, add the stone ear to the pot, season with salt, and simmer until everything is tender.