Mallet-Struck Chicken

History

Mallet-Struck Chicken (捶雞) is one of the poultry recipes in the 羽族單 (poultry) section of the Suiyuan Shidan, the manual of gastronomy written by the Qing-dynasty poet Yuan Mei and first published in 1792. Yuan Mei's entry is brief: the whole chicken is struck until it is broken apart, then cooked in 秋油 (autumn soy sauce) and wine. The term 秋油 refers to a soy sauce associated with autumn — brewing that began in the hot summer "fu" days and finished by autumn.

Yuan Mei closes the entry with a single note of attribution: he records that the version made by the household of a Nanchang prefect (南昌太守) was the most refined. This is a household attribution of the kind Yuan Mei gives throughout the book — naming whose kitchen he judged best for a given dish — not a statement about the dish's social standing. Yuan Mei himself was a poet who, after leaving official service, kept his Sui Garden (the "Garden of Contentment") and its literary salon in Nanjing, where the book was compiled.

Beyond the recipe method and this one household attribution, the historical record examined here does not document an origin place, a date of invention, or any social or class meaning for this specific dish. The earlier claim that the technique had "become a marker of status, associated with the gentry and high-ranking officials of the Nanjing and Nanchang corridors" is not supported by any source consulted and has been removed rather than softened.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• autumn-pressed soy sauce (秋油)
• rice wine

Instructions

1. Strike the whole chicken repeatedly with a mallet to break and soften the meat throughout. Cook the mallet-struck chicken in autumn-pressed soy sauce (秋油) and rice wine until fully cooked.