Baggar's chicken is a Chinese dish of a whole chicken seasoned and wrapped in clay and baked. The hard baked shell is cracked open with a hammer to reveal a perfected cooked chicken.
11small dried Shiitake mushroomsReconstitute in hot water for 15-20 minutes, drain from soaking water & trim stalks
1/4C.hamsliced into ½”x 2” lengths
Wrapping the chicken
3dried lotus leaves
2sheets ofnewspaper
10 lbs. air-dry clay
Dipping Sauce
1/4 C.chicken broth
3tbsp. regular soy sauce
2tbsp. oyster sauce
2tsp.unrefined sugar
2tsp.toasted sesame oil
2tsp.corn starch
1tbsp. water
Instructions
Brine
To 1 gallon of water in a large pot add 1 c. of Kosher salt.
Add your chicken and brine for 3 hours.
Take the chicken out of the brine and use paper towels to pat the chicken dry.
Marinade
In a large bowl, add 5-spice powder, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, mushroom sauce, dark soy sauce, xiao shing wine. Use a whisk to combine.
Add chicken and turn to coat. Make sure to get the marinade into the chicken cavity as well.
Stuffing
In a large bowl add all of the stuffing ingredients and mix well.
Take the marinated chicken and stuff the cavity tightly with the stuffing.
Truss the bird with butcher’s twine to keep the stuffing mixture from falling out.
Preparing the Lotus Leaves
Separate 3 lotus leaves and place them into a stoppered sink.
Cover them with hot tap water and allow them to soak for 15-20 minutes.
Dry the leaves of excess water with a towel.
Wrapping the Chicken in Clay
On the counter top, arrange the lotus leaves into a triangle pattern. Make sure the leaves overlap.
Place the chicken in the center of the triangle and fold the edges over forming a tight package.
Use butcher’s twine to secure the leaves around the chicken.
Wrap the entire package in 2 sheets of newspaper.
Next cover the newspaper with a ¼” thick layer of clay, taking care to seal any cracks.
Use the tips of your fingers to create decorative furrows in the clay.
Place the clay wrapped chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450˚F oven for 1 hour.
Reduce the temperature to 350˚F and bake for an additional 2-3 hours.
Removing the Chicken from the Clay
Use a mallet to break the hardened clay.
Remove the clay to reveal the newspaper, peeling back to get to the lotus leaves.
Use a pair of kitchen shears to cup open the lotus leaves.
Serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
In a saucepan combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and sesame oil.
Bring to a simmer.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water.
Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and boil until thickened.