Whole Braised Chicken from Heqing

Whole Braised Chicken from Heqing

　　Whole Braised Chicken from Heqing is a specialty dish from Heqing County in Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province. This whole chicken dish is a traditional folk food in Heqing and can also be regarded as a folk "all-healing tonic." It is commonly prepared for patients recovering from serious illnesses, women who have just given birth, or those who have undergone major surgery.

　　The cooking method for Heqing Whole Braised Chicken involves using an earthenware pot, covered with a bowl, then sealed with dough, and slow-cooked over straw ash fire. The selection of the chicken is also very particular. Ideally, the best choice is black-boned white-feathered chicken (Wu Gu Bai Feng). If that’s not available, a local purebred free-range chicken should be used—absolutely no laying hens, broiler chickens, or modern factory-farmed chickens raised on commercial feed. The preferred choice is a young hen that is about to lay eggs but hasn’t yet started—this kind of “young pullet” is the top pick for making this braised chicken dish.

　　Once the selected chicken is properly prepared, its cavity is emptied and then stuffed with precious tonic herbs such as cordyceps, coix seed, goji berries, gastrodia elata, matsutake mushrooms, adenophora root, codonopsis pilosula, and red dates... These warming and nourishing herbs are all soaked and prepared in advance. Of course, not all of these herbs need to be used—selection depends on the specific condition of the patient. The chosen and pre-soaked medicinal herbs are then placed inside the chicken’s cavity, which is sewn shut with a needle. The whole chicken is then placed in the earthenware pot to be braised. The pot is buried in straw ash for slow cooking. The flavor goes without saying—the nourishing effect is truly unparalleled in the world.