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The Chinese CookBook

Beggar's Chicken

Although milder, this sauce can be used as a substitute for Hoisin sauce in marinades and dips

INGREDIENTS:

1 fresh chicken, 3 to 3 1/2 pounds, cleaned

Marinade:
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon ginger juice
2 teaspoons salt

Stuffing:
6 shiitake mushrooms, fresh or dried
4 ounces lean pork
2 ounces Chinese pickled cabbage, or preserved mustard greens
2 green onions
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder (optional)

Other:
2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying
2 large sheets aluminum foil for wrapping chicken

PREPARATION:

To make the ginger juce, grate the ginger and squeeze out the juice until you have 1 teaspoon. In a small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Rub the marinade ingredients over the inside and outside of the chicken and let marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables and pork. If using dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstitute by soaking in warm water until softened. Squeeze dry and cut into thin slices. For fresh, wipe with a damp cloth and slice. Cut the pork into thin matchstick pieces. Finely chop the remaining vegetables.

In a wok or heavy frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high to high heat. Add the green onion and the pork. Stir-fry until the pork is crisp and nearly cooked through, then add the mushrooms and preserved greens. Stir in the soy sauce, rice wine or dry sherry, sugar, sesame oil and five-spice powder if using. Remove from the pan.

Stuff the chicken loosely with the stuffing and close with skewers or strong toothpicks. Wrap the chicken tightly in the aluminum foil. Place the wrapped chicken in a roasting pan.

Bake the chicken for 75 minutes. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the juices run clear and the temperature of the chicken in the thickest part of the thigh is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the stuffing and serve with the chopped up chicken.

Yield: 4 Servings