Why was it called a beggar chicken in the first place? Changshu Beggar's Chicken is a local traditional delicacy in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. It has a history of more than 500 years and is very popular. It is bright red in color and fragrant. It is included in the "Chinese Famous Recipes". Let's take a look at the history of Jiangnan's food culture.

"Beggar's Chicken" originated from Changre, Jiangsu Province. It was a chicken stolen by some poor refugees (or beggars). They wrapped the chicken in mud and burned the mud on a fire. The mud heated the chicken. It's already cooked. This is a dish that cannot be considered elegant.

The first theory: Emperor Qianlong went out incognito to patrol the south of the Yangtze River and accidentally ended up living in the wilderness. A beggar saw that he was pitiful, so he gave him a "beggar's chicken" that he thought was a delicacy. Qianlong was hungry and hungry. After eating together, I naturally felt that the chicken was extremely delicious and finished eating it. When he asked for its name, the beggar was too embarrassed to say that the chicken was called "Beggar's Chicken", so he called it "Wealthy Chicken". Qianlong was full of praise for the chicken. The beggar later found out that the tramp was the current emperor. The "beggar's chicken" became the "rich chicken" because of the emperor's golden mouth. It has become popular today and has become a famous dish in elegant halls.

The second theory: Legend has it that a "beggar" got a chicken and had no place to cook it, so he killed the chicken without washing it or removing its feathers. He just wrapped it in lotus leaves that he picked up. It was cooked, coated with mud on the outside, stuffed into a fire loaf and burned randomly. When it was almost cooked, he took it out, smashed the mud and ate it. It was extremely delicious. From then on, "Beggar's Chicken" became famous.