Beggar's Chicken

One of my fellow forumers shared this recipe with us. As I was not able to cook it, I printed the recipe for my domestic helper to try it out. It turned out very yummy and juicy. Thanks to cwl for giving me the green light to share the recipe here.





Beggar's Chicken

1 whole chicken, about 2kg
5-6 dried mushroom, soaked till soft and diced thickly
1 large carrot, diced thickly
1 Tablespoon kei chi
5 shallots, sliced thickly
3 garlic, sliced thickly
1 pce lotus leaf, soaked in warm water till soft
1 large pce heavy-duty aluminium foil (or 2 large pieces regular foil)

marinade :
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp black soya sauce
1 Tbsp shiaoxing wine
2 tsp sesame oil

Seasoning :
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp shiaoxing wine
1/4 tsp salt
dash of dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Dough :
3 cups plain flour
1 cup coarse salt
1-11/2 cups water

Method :
1. Rub chicken all over with the marinade and leave in fridge overnight.
2. In a pan, fry shallots and garlic in a bit of oil until fragrant.
3. Add in the mushrooms, carrots and kei chi.
4. Add in the seasoning and fry for a minute or so. Dish out and let cool.
5. Make your dough : Add flour and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of water and mix until a dough forms. Add more water if needed until you get a workable dough.
6. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough as large as you need so it completely covers the entire chicken.
7. Place the aluminium foil ontop of the dough and the lotus leaf on top of the foil.
8 Place the marinated chicken in the middle of the lotus leaf. Stuff it with the cooled stuffing.
9. Wrap the chicken up first with the lotus leaf, followed by the aluminum foil. Make sure the foil is sealed as tightly as possible. Then wrap the dough all around it, again ensuring it is sealed tight.
10. Bake in a preheated 220C oven for 1 hour 15 mins.
11. Reduce heat to 180C and bake for another 2 hours.
12.Crack open the hardened dough, and serve. Make sure not to lose any of the delicious gravy within the package.

Note: I actually only baked it for another 1 hr at 180C as the kids couldn't wait to eat the chicken. If you follow the original recipe and bake it longer, the chicken meat will be so tender and soft and will just fall off the bones.