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One of the most classic of all dishes in the Hakka repertoire, salt-baked
chicken is also incredibly delicious. Rarely available anywhere outside of the
homes of good Hakka cooks (read: grandmas), this is a dish to master and enjoy.
Like so many other recipes from this
ethnic group in South China’s hill country, it is both clever and startlingly
flavorful. But despite the fact that the bird is packed solidly in a thick
layer of rock salt as it cooks, the salt doesn’t penetrate the wrapping;
instead, a tight cocoon of lotus leaf and parchment paper seals in all of the
juices, so you are left with what can only be described as the essence of
chicken. As you unwrap layer after layer, tendrils of steam curl out, greeting
you with the scent of nothing less than a perfect roast bird dusted with a few
aromatics and the haunting aroma of lotus.
Some
Hakka or Cantonese restaurants in the U.S. will offer salt-baked chicken on the
menu, but I have yet to be served an authentic salt-baked chicken outside of
Hakka homes because it does call for a modicum of work and most people are
satisfied with the white-cut chicken (the Chinese name for poached chicken) that
is usually served instead.
Truth be told, there is
little reason why restaurants should be so lazy about this dish because it
really isn’t that difficult. Yes, it does require lots of rock salt, but that
can be used over and over and over. Yes, the chicken needs to be wrapped, but
that is pretty much the extent of the labor required. And yes, it does mean
that a great-quality bird is called for, but charge a little more, I say, and
let diners order the dish ahead of time.
(Read the rest here on Zester Daily...)
