Baofeng Maigen Braised Chicken 宝丰买根烧鸡

Baofeng Maigen Braised Chicken (宝丰买根烧鸡) is a whole chicken slow-cooked in an old master stock in Baofeng County (宝丰县), Pingdingshan (平顶山), Henan. It is named after Mai Gen (买根), whose son Mai Hongwei (买红卫), the fifth generation of the family to make it, chose the name in his father's memory.

Where it comes from

According to Daxiang News (大象新闻) of Henan Radio and Television, the Mai family's ancestral home is Handan (邯郸) in Hebei. They have made braised chicken since the late Qing dynasty and came to Baofeng to escape war. People's Daily Online counts it among the heritage foods that began on Cangxiang Street (仓巷街), a small lane in Baofeng's old town. The Pingdingshan city government put the Maigen braised chicken making technique (买根烧鸡制作技艺) on its third supplementary list of municipal intangible cultural heritage in 2013. Daxiang News lists the original shop as a halal (清真) shop.

How it is made

The cooks choose local free-range chickens of about four jin (two kilograms), whose firm flesh stands up to long cooking and keeps some chew. After slaughter each bird is washed several times, and its legs are folded back with the feet tucked into the cavity so it keeps a neat shape. The stock has been handed down through five generations of the family, which carried it along even when fleeing war. Cooking starts after two in the morning: the birds go straight into the stock, weighed down with an iron rack and stones so every one stays submerged, and the pot is brought to a boil over high heat, then left to simmer on low. After an hour and a half the chickens are hooked out and swapped top for bottom so they cook and take up flavour evenly. After four hours the skin is tender and the meat very soft, and the chickens come out.

How it is eaten

Before serving, the seller puts the whole chicken in a bag, holds the bag from below and gives it a gentle shake, and when the bag is opened the meat has come away from the bones. Daxiang News describes the meat as fragrant and very tender, evenly seasoned in every part, with flavour even in the marrow; the skin lifts off in one piece and is supple, soft and smooth. A local livestreamer quoted by People's Daily Online described it as soft, tender, fresh and fragrant, easy for old people and children to chew.