Daokou Red-Cooked Chicken

The Daokou red-cooked chicken is a traditional dish of Anyang, Henan Province. Created in 1661 during the Qing Dynasty, the dish, with improvements over hundreds of years, now enjoys equal fame in China as Beijing roast duck and Jinhua ham.

It is said that the chicken was first cooked by the Yixingzhang restaurant in Daokou Town, Huaxian County. At first, the chicken did not sell very well. Later the owner got a recipe from a royal cook to make mouth-watering chicken, which was passed down from generation to generation with a distinctive local flavor added.

The Daokou red-cooked chicken's fame should be attributed to its meticulous cooking process. The use of multiple Chinese medicinal herbs and the long-cooked soup give the chicken a bright color and good therapeutic and tonic effects. It takes three to five hours to prepare the soup, not to mention the well-timed adjustment of the fire, which requires rich experience and a high level of expertise.

道口燒雞

道口燒雞是河南省安陽(yáng)市的一道傳統(tǒng)名菜，始創(chuàng)于清順治十八年（公元1661年），成型于清乾隆時(shí)期，經(jīng)過(guò)幾百年的傳承與發(fā)展，道口燒雞已經(jīng)成為與北京烤鴨、金華火腿齊名的中國(guó)名菜。

據(jù)傳，道口燒雞由滑縣道口鎮(zhèn)“義興張”燒雞店所制，開(kāi)始制作不得法，生意并不興隆，后從清宮御膳房的御廚處求得制作燒雞秘方，做出的燒雞十分香美。道口燒雞的制作技藝由此歷代相傳，并逐漸形成其獨(dú)特風(fēng)格。

道口燒雞之所以享譽(yù)海內(nèi)外，關(guān)鍵在于它精細(xì)的制作工藝。其使用多種中藥輔之陳年老湯，成品燒雞色澤鮮艷，極具食療和保健功能。老湯就是煮雞的陳湯，每煮一鍋雞，必須加上頭鍋的老湯，如此沿襲，越老越好。單單煮雞一道程序便需要花上3至5個(gè)小時(shí)，再加上火候的調(diào)整，制作技術(shù)要求很高。