Stewed Domestic and Wild Chicken

Stewed Domestic and Wild Chicken

　　Stewed Domestic and Wild Chicken

　　Stewed Domestic and Wild Chicken: This dish is made by stewing the plump mountain pheasant from Huaiyin together with a young hen of that year. The wild pheasant is crispy and fragrant, while the domestic hen is tender and rich in flavor. Cooking them together creates a harmonious blend of tastes. The great poet Su Dongpo once said: “For just a hundred coins, one gets a taste (chuò), a new delight much praised in its season, where various fowl—chicken and pheasant—are boiled together, their claws and spurs rough yet delightful.” Huaiyin’s famous dish “Stewed Domestic and Wild Chicken” is a fine example of a delicacy where “fowl are mixed together, offering a new and much-praised taste.”

　　【Ingredients】1 young hen

　　(about 1250

　　grams), 1 wild pheasant

　　(about 750

　　grams), 25

　　grams of sliced winter bamboo shoots, 25

　　grams of sliced soaked dried mushrooms, 25

　　grams of cooked ham slices, 50

　　grams of dried mussels, 10

　　grams of pea sprouts, 15

　　grams of Shaoxing wine, 10

　　grams of salt, 5

　　grams of scallion bundle, 5

　　grams of ginger slices, 50

　　grams of cooked chicken oil.

　　【Method】1. Slaughter the domestic and wild chickens separately, pluck the feathers, remove the internal organs, but keep the gizzards and livers. Remove the gizzard skins and gallbladders, then clean and set aside. Soak the dried mussels in hot water to soften, remove any impurities, and wash clean.

　　2. Place both chickens breast-side up in a clay pot lined with a bamboo mat, along with the gizzards, livers, and cover with water until the chickens are submerged. Add Shaoxing wine, the scallion bundle, and ginger slices. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 3

　　hours until the chicken is tender and falls apart. Remove the gizzards and livers, slice them, and put them back in the pot along with the dried mussels. Add the cooked chicken oil and continue simmering for another 15

　　minutes. Remove the bamboo mat, add the sliced bamboo shoots, mushrooms, ham, salt, and pea sprouts. Bring to a boil again over high heat and it’s ready to serve.