Hakka Salted Wine Chicken

Hakka Salted Wine Chicken

　　Hakka Salted Wine Chicken

　　In the past, when there were no refrigerators in the areas where Guangxi's Hakka people lived, preserving food was very inconvenient. To keep food fresh for longer, the Hakka often soaked several chickens overnight in salt and rice wine, which allowed the chicken to be preserved for extended periods.

　　The best rice wine to use for making salted wine chicken is Hakka rice wine, which has a fragrant, sweet taste and a light yellowish hue. The chicken must be a capon, as capons have thicker skin and more meat, resulting in better texture and higher nutritional value.

　　When cooking, first place an appropriate amount of water in a pot and boil the chicken until fully cooked. Care should be taken with the heat—overcooking will make the meat tough and affect the texture. While the chicken is cooking, prepare an appropriate amount of rice wine based on the weight of the chicken. Generally, at least 0.25 kg of rice wine is needed for every 0.5 kg of chicken. During the soaking process, add an appropriate amount of salt and monosodium glutamate. Once the marinade is prepared, place the cooked chicken in the wine and let it marinate overnight. By the time it’s done, the fragrance of the wine will have penetrated the meat. Next, chop the whole chicken into pieces, arrange them on a plate, add some shredded ginger, heat it up slightly, and it’s ready to serve. In addition to having the flavor of salt-baked chicken, you can also enjoy the subtle aroma of rice wine.