Whole chicken

Whole chicken

　　The whole chicken is a traditional dish here, which has almost been lost in recent years. It’s considered a comprehensive tonic in folk medicine. Patients recovering from serious illness, women who have just given birth, or those who have undergone major surgery are all served a stewed whole chicken. The cooking method is similar to that of stewed meat — using an earthenware pot, covered with another bowl, then sealed with a dough lid and slow-cooked over millet chaff. The difference lies in the special care taken with the chicken itself. The selection of the chicken is very particular. Of course, the best choice is black-bone white-feathered chicken (Wu Gu Bai Feng), and if that’s not available, a purebred local free-range chicken must be used. Absolutely no modern battery-farmed chickens, broilers, or egg-laying chickens fed with commercial feed should be used. Ideally, a young hen that is about to lay eggs but hasn’t yet started is preferred.

　　Once the chicken is prepared, its belly is emptied and stuffed with precious tonic herbs such as cordyceps, coix seed, goji berries, gastrodia elata, matsutake mushrooms, adenophora root, codonopsis pilosula, and jujubes… These warming and nourishing ingredients must be soaked beforehand. Of course, not all of these herbs are used at once — the selection depends on the specific condition of the patient. The chosen, pre-soaked tonic herbs are placed inside the chicken’s belly, which is then sewn up with a needle. The whole chicken is then placed in the earthenware pot for stewing. The pot is buried in millet chaff and slow-cooked. The flavor goes without saying — the nourishing effect is truly unparalleled in the world！