BEGGAR'S CHICKEN

Beggar's Chicken image

Provided by Betty Fussell

Time 6h

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 chicken, 4 to 5 pounds
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine or sherry
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 to 4 dried lotus leaves, see note
1/3 cup dried Chinese mushrooms, see note
3 large shiitaki mushrooms, sliced
1 cup duck potatoes or water chestnuts, peeled and sliced, see note
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, sliced, see note
1/2 cup lotus seeds, see note
1 cup bean sprouts
6 large scallops, cut in half
6 large shrimp, peeled
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Steps:

Rub the chicken inside and out with a mixture of two tablespoons soy sauce, one tablespoon rice wine and one tablespoon sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for one to two hours.
Soak the lotus leaves in hot water for at least 30 minutes, or until they are flexible. Rinse the dried mushrooms, then soak them in two-thirds of a cup of hot water for 30 minutes, or until soft.
If you are using a Schlemmertopf, soak the clay pot in cold water for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Prepare and assemble the remaining vegetables and shellfish.
Heat a wok for one minute until very hot. Add the peanut oil. Add the fresh mushrooms and brown them quickly. Add the reconstituted mushrooms, duck potatoes, bamboo shoots, lotus seeds and bean sprouts, with salt, sugar and the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce and rice wine or sherry. Stir well for one minute, then add the scallops and shrimp, stir-fry for one minute only and remove contents of wok to a plate to cool.
Stuff the chicken with the vegetable-shellfish mixture and sew the opening with kitchen thread. Wrap the chicken in layers of the soaked lotus leaves, place it in the clay pot and cover tighly. Bake the chicken at 250 degrees for about three hours.
Remove the pot from the oven, remove lid and serve the chicken in its lotus wrappings in the pot. Remove the top lotus leaves at the table to release the aroma. Carve the chicken with a spoon and serve with the stuffing and pot juices.