Zhenyuan Roast Chicken

Zhenyuan Roast Chicken

　　Zhenyuan Roast Chicken is a specialty of Zhenyuan County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province. The dish is made by stewing plucked and cleaned chicken in a long-aged marinade broth, with the addition of various seasonings. The result is tender, flavorful chicken with an appetizing color, making it quite famous among Zhenyuan’s local snacks.

　　The chicken is stewed in a long-aged marinade broth after being plucked and cleaned, then seasoned with various spices and simmered until tender. It boasts excellent flavor and a vibrant color, and is highly regarded among Zhenyuan’s local snacks.

　　During the Republican era, the best roast chicken in Zhenyuan County was made by Guo Jiaxu’s family. Later, Zhang Shengjie, who started later than Guo, eventually surpassed him and became the most influential roast chicken vendor in town. Legend has it that before that, when Zhang Shengjie first started selling chicken, business was so poor that he could barely sell a few pieces during the day, and had to keep hawking his wares until midnight to finish them all. This earned him the nickname “Zhang Banye” (Zhang Midnight). Later, when Guo Jiaxu passed away, Zhang became the leading roast chicken seller in Zhenyuan and still had to stay out selling until midnight. But by then, “Zhang Banye” no longer meant unsold leftovers—it meant high demand, with endless queues of customers that lasted well into the night. The nickname, once derogatory, became a badge of honor and stuck with him until he retired. Though Zhang Banye is no longer with us, his nephew has inherited the craft and is now the foremost maker of traditional Zhenyuan roast chicken.