Baked in volcanic mud for three hours – watch the “shell-cracking show” tableside before eating the chicken

Reported and photographed by Reporter You T-Ru / Kaohsiung

At first hearing the name “mud volcano chicken,” it’s hard to make sense of it—the first image that might pop into your head could be a chicken running around in the mud, clucking in the gray soil. In fact, this “mud volcano chicken” is a dish that travelers to Kaohsiung simply must try. The chicken isn’t one that actually grows in the mud, but rather, it’s prepared using a unique cooking method involving “mud volcanoes.”


The appearance of mud volcano chicken can even be used for writing.

Around Tianliao in Kaohsiung, as cars drive along the road, you’ll see many restaurants along the roadside advertising various ways to enjoy chicken. Tianliao’s Moon World is quite famous for its free-range chickens, and the area’s T’ou Ch’ien Yüan Native Chicken City is the largest native chicken eatery in Tianliao. Among its offerings, the most highly praised signature chicken dish is the “mud volcano chicken,” which wraps a free-range chicken in mud volcano mud.

The “mud volcano chicken,” baked at a controlled temperature of 180°C for three hours, involves wrapping the whole chicken in mud from a nearby mud volcano, then covering the chicken’s surface with aluminum foil.Because volcanic mud has a tighter seal than ordinary mud, it locks in the chicken’s natural flavors during baking. When the dish is served, the restaurant staff will first crack off the hardened outer layer of mud with a hammer. As the hard mud is chipped away, the aroma of the chicken wafts out. Just watching the process of the mud being cracked off is like enjoying a restaurant performance.


▲ The hardened volcanic mud is cracked off, revealing the aluminum foil and releasing the aroma.


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▲ The mud volcano chicken seasoned with black pepper tastes sweet and savory.

The mud volcano chicken seasoned with black pepper has a sweet and savory taste, with the aroma of chicken juice blending with the fragrance of black pepper. The chicken is flavorful and tender after baking, with juicy and succulent meat throughout the entire chicken—perfect for the whole family to enjoy. Currently, there are three flavors: black pepper, medicinal herb, and garlic. The owner, Pan Rong-gui, says that this dish is not only delicious but also creative—the mud on top of the mud volcano chicken can be used for freehand writing. With advance booking, you can even write a blessing message on the hardened mud after baking, giving your family an alternative and surprising celebratory gesture.


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[T’ou Ch’ien Yüan Native Chicken City]
Address: No. 9, Chongde Road, Tianliao District, Kaohsiung City
Phone: 07-6366688