Chicken is known for its unique taste in a variety of ways and cuisines! And the chicken method introduced to you today is also famous for its delicacies.

Paper-wrapped chicken - the first dish of traditional festivals in Guangxi

Most diners who have just arrived in Wuzhou are attracted by the small lotus leaf-shaped, sauce-colored oiled paper buns in the side dishes. This kind of paper cannot be wiped off, is green, environmentally friendly, hygienic and non-toxic, and has a long-standing reputation in official history. The chef used refined peanuts to fry the original jade-like jade paper, then wrapped the chicken and secret sauce tightly, and then put it in the oil pan and kept rolling. After seven or eight minutes, the chicken will be delivered to the guests immediately after coming out of the pot. Having said so much, I believe everyone can guess what cooking method this is, which is Wuzhou paper-wrapped chicken that has been passed down for 150 years.

In order to pursue an authentic taste, we use paper-wrapped chicken as the raw material, cut it into pieces, and marinate it with soy sauce, ginger juice, star anise, fennel, tangerine peel, grass fruit, red rice, Gu Yue powder, and scallions. , garnished with a small amount of white wine, wrapped one by one in jade paper, and then fried in peanut oil. The original paper-cooking method locks in the original flavor of the chicken and seasonings, keeping the chicken fresh, tender, mellow but not greasy, golden in color and fragrant in smell.

Xiao Jian, a famous contemporary sinologist and cultural scholar in China, has made a cultural positioning of paper-wrapped chicken and authoritatively determined that paper-wrapped chicken is a masterpiece of Cantonese braised cuisine and can be called the first dish of traditional festivals! As the saying goes, "There can't be a banquet without chicken." In China, chicken is an indispensable part of festivals and holiday banquets.

According to Xiao Jian’s research, paper-wrapped chicken has been used as a palace tribute and daily main dish for at least 2,200 years and originated in the Lingnan region. In 203 BC, Zhao Tuo established the Nanyue Kingdom, with Panyu (now Guangzhou) as its capital. At that time, the main dish of the Nanyue King's Banquet was paper-wrapped chicken. In 202 BC, Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor and established the Western Han Dynasty. Zhao Tuo presented the chicken wrapped in paper to Liu Bang as a tribute. Liu Bang established Zhao Tuo as the king of South Vietnam, and the world was unified. Paper-wrapped chickens became tributes from South Vietnam to the Western Han Dynasty every year.

In the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916 AD), the Yuexi Building was completed in Wuzhou, and the famous Cantonese chef Guan Liang was hired to serve as the restaurant's signature dish. From then on, the restaurant became famous and attracted a lot of guests. Guangdong West Building has become the leading "gold paint sign" in Lingnan's catering industry and is well-known at home and abroad. There is a saying in society that "if you don't try paper-wrapped chicken, you can't eat Lingnan." Paper-wrapped chicken can be called the first dish of Wuzhou’s traditional festival food culture!

With the development of the times, paper-wrapped chicken has broken the geographical restriction that "eating in Wuzhou" must "eat in Wuzhou", developed into a "Guangxi Hande" in food, and became Wuzhou's local food culture The leader in industrial development has played a role in demonstrating, driving and promoting the development of "Wuzhou Hande Culture"! Paper-packaged chicken has entered the "sauce-roasted era". Innovations in production technology and flavor series foods have enriched its cultural connotation, expanded its cultural extension, and enhanced its brand value.

In 2012, Lin, the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, founded Xinguang East Building, keeping the craftsmanship of paper-wrapped chicken unchanged forever. In 2016, the "Paper Chicken Making Technique" project was selected into the Guangxi Intangible Cultural Heritage List.