Beggar’s Chicken is hot in the C-drama world, because it was featured in several popular C-dramas like Legend of Condor Heroes and most recently, in Legend of Fei.
So why is everyone in the know going crazy over Beggar’s Chicken?
Because it is delicious and amazingly juicy – all the flavors and juices are trapped inside!
It is NOT EASY TO MAKE, so it has become RARE. Here in Manila, I have only heard of a few places who offer it, and it is always some kind of special order. Also, many “fake” it by using dough instead of real clay.
What is Beggar’s Chicken?
It is a whole chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, further wrapped in clay, and then slowly cooked.
There are many stories about how this was invented, but generally, people say a beggar stole a chicken. To avoid being caught, the beggar wrapped the chicken in lotus leaves, and then hid it by wrapping it in clay / mud, and cooked it in the ground.
When the beggar finally opened the clay to eat the chicken, lo and behold, the chicken turned out amazing! Thus, it is called Beggar’s Chicken.
MNL Food Co’s Beggar Chicken is Amazingly Good!
Our friends at Ang Kusinero asked me to try their newly-developed Beggar’s Chicken and see if it passes muster 🙂 Take note that this isn’t the final version, but it’s already really good! Their final version has more layers of wraps and their logo stamped on the clay.
Opening the Beggar’s Chicken
When the Beggar Chicken arrived, it was a rounded whole piece of clay. It was exciting to break it open with a mallet 😀 Tip: Don’t do this at the main table – use a separate table for this 🙂
After breaking open the clay, I removed the contents, and carefully opened the several layers of wrappings to reveal the succulent and fragrant chicken! The chicken was still hot!!!
Don’t let that unassuming whole chicken fool you! There’s treasure inside! 😀
My mouth was watering the entire time I was unwrapping it, it smelled so good! It smelled earthy and punchy with warm spices, and permeated with the distinctive scent of lotus leaves.
The chicken meat was fall-off-the-bone tender! All the juices from the chicken and the fillings were trapped inside, keeping the chicken succulent and locking in all the flavors.
We loved the fillings! It has mushrooms, chestnuts, lotus seeds, dried scallops, shrimp, liver sausage, etc… it’s like all the star classic Hong Kong/Cantonese flavors were brought together in this dish.
It’s so good, we finished it in one meal. Everybody wanted a second piece! And you know what? Normally, people go for the thighs and wings because they are the most flavorful parts, but the scent/flavor of the Beggar’s Chicken permeated even to other parts like the breast meat. Even the breast meat was aromatic and silky.
Uses the Prized Yellow Chicken Breed
One of the things that makes this Beggar’s Chicken different is that they use the more expensive Yellow Chicken. This breed is prized for its yellow hue and smoother, silkier meat. It takes longer to grow to market size, and the chicken is meatier and has less fat than regular broiler chickens.
Uses Real Clay
My friend told me that they searched far and wide until they found a good source of clay in Pangasinan. Using clay makes a difference, especially in the aroma. It adds a certain earthiness to the fragrance.
Has Fillings Fit for a King
The chicken is filled with sumptuous surprises like shitake mushrooms, chestnuts, liver sausage, lotus seeds, dried scallops, shrimp and goji berries.
Price
The price is P2,600 but it’s worth it because it’s a showstopper of a dish, AND it uses premium ingredients. It’s also not that easy to find.
SUMMARY
If you’re looking to try something special for a celebration, check out Ang Kusinero / MNL Food Co’s Beggar’s Chicken! It’s something rare & unique that you’ll remember for a long time 🙂 It’s also delicious, but I must admit that people who are not familiar with these ingredients might find it a bit different. However, if you are a fan of authentic Chinese cuisine, this is a MUST-TRY!
I know the price tag of P2,600 for a chicken might sound a bit high, but there is no way I can make this dish on my own, and even if I could, all the work and sourcing of ingredients is too much trouble, not to mention messy! I wouldn’t even know how to bake the whole thing – it’s just better to pay the P2,600 for this rare delicacy. Worth it naman 🙂
MNL Food Co
26A Betty Go-Belmonte, QC
0918 898 4253
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mnlfoodco
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