Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

3 1/2 lb Frying chicken 1 ts Sugar
3 Dried lotus leaves 1 ts Fresh ginger root, minced
4 lb Wet modeling clay MIXTURE FOR SKIN:
STUFFING: 1/2 ts Salt
1/2 lb Ground pork 1 tb Medium sherry
2 tb Salted mustard green, minced 1 ts Sesame oil
1 tb Peanut oil 1 tb Dark soy sauce

A beggar wrapped a plucked chicken in lotus leaves from the pond to
prevent it from burning, then coated it with mud to disguise his
prize. Onto his small fire it went. When he unwrapped it 2 hours
later, this aromatic dish awaited him.

Prepare Chicken: Trim excess fat from chicken; remove wing tips. Mix
mixture for skin; rub chicken inside out with it. Leave uncovered
at room temperature, while coating is absorbed and dried. Repeat if
necessary.

Stuffing: In hot wok, heat peanut oil to smoking. Stir-fry ground
pork 2 minutes; add mustard green, ginger sugar; stir-fry 1 more
minute. Remove cool.

Lotus Leaves: Number of leaves depends on their size that of
chick- en. Reduce heat under boiling water to simmer, steep leaves
for 3-5 minutes, until wet through pliable (no longer or leaves may
shred). Now soak in cold water for 10 minutes, or longer, until time
to use them; open folded leaves in cold water to wash them.

Wrap Chicken: Preheat oven to 550 degrees. Stuff chicken with pork
mixture. Cut hard center out of lotus leaves, then slit along fold
about 3" on each side of center, so cut away center can be
overlapped. Wrap chicken in 3 layers of lotus leaves. Tie securely
with piece of cotton or fiber string (don't use nylon; it might
melt). Spread soft, wet modeling clay about 1/2" thick on sheet of
newspaper. Bring clay pack around chicken seal. Remove newspaper.
(Use foil if clay unavailable.)

Roasting: Place clay-covered chicken on rack in shallow roasting pan
in preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour; reduce heat to 350 degrees
bake for another 1 1/2 hours.

Serve: Present fired clay chicken to table. Crack clay with suitable
object, allowing some of steam to escape before you proceed. Remove
clay; carefully cut open lotus leaves with scissors. Chicken will be
very soft tender; break apart to get at stuffing. Serve guests, or
invite them to pick with chopsticks.

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