Dong 'an Chicken is a traditional dish in Dong 'an County, Yongzhou, Hunan Province. Named after its cooking method originated in Dong 'an County. Dong 'an Chicken is one of the national banquet recipes and the first of the eight major cuisines in Hunan. Its color is gorgeous, the meat is fresh and tender, hot and sour, fat but not greasy. It also has the effects of eliminating anemia, strengthening waist and tonifying kidney.
After the evolution of three dynasties, Dong 'an Chicken became what we see now. It was called "aged vinegar chicken" in the Western Jin Dynasty. At that time, a chef accidentally used old vinegar as cooking wine at the banquet, added some peppers and ginger to remove the sour taste. Unexpectedly, the guests said it was delicious. The name and practice of "old vinegar chicken" gradually spread, but it was unexpectedly made into a famous dish. It was called "official chicken" in the late Qing Dynasty and "Dong 'an chicken" in the Ming Dynasty, just like now.
1926, a patriotic general settled in Nanjing and hosted a banquet for his subordinates and colleagues. After eating it, subordinates and colleagues all said that this dish is beautiful in appearance, bright in color, fresh and tender in meat, sour and refreshing, fat but not greasy, full of flavor, rich in nutrition, fragrant, sweet, sour, spicy, tender and crisp. Asked what the name of this dish was, the patriotic general was about to answer when someone reminded him, "Hometown dishes with hometown flavor." The patriotic general immediately replied: "This is our Dong 'an specialty, called Dong 'an Chicken." Since then, the name "Dong 'an Chicken" has spread.