Dezhou Braised Chicken

Dezhou Braised Chicken (德州扒鸡) is one of China's four officially recognized regional poultry dishes and one of the country's most widely distributed food products — sold at railway stations and in supermarkets across the country in vacuum-sealed packages. The version you eat in Dezhou, freshly cooked, is a different thing. The birds are slow-braised whole in a large pot of spiced stock with star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and other aromatics for four to six hours; the result is a bird that has absorbed the stock completely, with meat that separates from the bone at a touch and skin that has turned a deep lacquered brown.

The best place to eat it is at one of the restaurants or stalls around the central market area that specialize in the dish. Several establishments use traditional wood-fired cooking methods and charge per bird or per portion, serving it with flatbread (which serves as a plate and absorption vehicle) and vinegar. The Yu Hua Xiang brand, with shops in the city centre and at the station, is the most established producer of the packaged version if you want to take some away.

The dish is typically eaten at room temperature or slightly warm rather than piping hot — the braising process is finished hours before serving. It pairs well with local sorghum liquor or cold beer.

eating out restaurant
A story
Dezhou Braised Chicken was served at the imperial court during the Qing Dynasty, when the birds were sent to Beijing via the Grand Canal as tribute. The cooking method — slow-braising in a spiced stock for several hours until the meat falls from the bone — reportedly dates to the late seventeenth century and was perfected by a cook named Jia Jianchen during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. The recipe has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by the Chinese government, and the Dezhou Braised Chicken Corporation, the main producer, displays documentation of this lineage prominently.