Dishes
banquet braised whole chicken
扣全雞
Also called: 鳳梨栗子扣全雞 · 封雞 · 滷封雞
A whole chicken fried, braised and steamed over many hours, then turned out of a bowl under a sweet-savoury sauce: a centrepiece of the Taiwanese banquet.
What it is
A slow 'kung fu' dish from the banquet table. The chicken is cooked whole with mushrooms, chestnuts and pineapple, packed into a bowl and turned out to serve. Chicken has a fixed place at a Taiwanese banquet, where it stands for building up the family.
Where it comes from
It belongs to the 辦桌 (bando) banquet tradition, which Wikipedia traces to the Qing era and to banquet customs brought by migrants from Fujian and Guangzhou. Michelin notes that the chicken is also one of the dishes that makes the leftover 'banquet tail soup' (菜尾湯) taste good.
How it is made
At Dong Shang in Tainan the chicken is shaped with its head tucked in, blanched and fried in oil above 200°C until the skin crisps. It then steams in a braise of fried mushrooms, chestnuts, garlic, ginger, dried flatfish and spring onion with pineapple, and is sauced with soy, rock sugar, pepper and plum syrup. The whole process takes about ten hours.
How to eat it
This needs ordering at least two days ahead, and it is meant for a group meal.
In Tainan
Dong Shang, a Bib Gourmand pick since 2022, has made versions with Tainan produce such as Kuantian water chestnuts, Kuanmiao pineapple and plum syrup from Nanxi.
Where to eat it in Tainan
Sources