Jiaohua Chicken, also known as Changshu Jiaohua Chicken, is a traditional dish in Changshu City, Jiangsu Province, which belongs to Jiangsu cuisine. Its main ingredients are chicken, fried and baked. The entrance is crisp, rotten, fat and tender, with unique flavor.
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a beggar who begged along the way and came to a village in Changshu County. One day, he happened to get a chicken and wanted to kill it for cooking, but there was neither cooker nor seasoning.
He came to the foot of Yushan Mountain, killed the chicken, took out its internal organs, coated it with yellow mud and firewood, simmered the coated chicken in the fire, peeled off the mud shell when it was cooked, and removed the chicken feathers and mud shell together to reveal the chicken. About 100 years ago, according to this legend, the "Mountain View Garden" restaurant in Yushan Resort in the northwest of Changshu County, refined the chicken by removing the rough and selecting the fine.
Historical origin:
There is another legend about the origin of beggar chicken. According to legend, there was a beggar at the foot of Yushan Mountain in Changshu in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. One day, he occasionally got a chicken, but he didn't have any seasoning for cooking utensils. In desperation, he slaughtered the chicken to remove its internal organs, coated it with hair and mud, piled up the dead branches and leaves in a pile and put them in the fire for roasting. When the mud was dry, he knocked off the mud shell, and the chicken feathers took off with the shell, and the fragrance was overflowing. The beggar was overjoyed.
Then he wolfed down the chicken and happened to pass by Qian Muzhai, a college student who lived in seclusion in Yushan. When he smelled the fragrance, he tasted it and found it unique. He went home and ordered what his family cooked, adding a little seasoning, which made it more delicious. Later, this cooking method spread among the people, and everyone called this cooked chicken "beggar chicken". Later, this practice was learned by people in restaurants.
Its production method is also constantly improving, adding a variety of seasoning accessories, so it has won the appreciation of many foodies, and its reputation is far-reaching, attracting tasters all the year round. The varieties of "beggar chicken" include Shanjingyuan beggar chicken, Wang Si beggar chicken and Yushan brand beggar chicken, which have been included in Jiangsu recipes and China famous recipes. Old dishes exude new delicacies.