Steam - Pot Chicken        7/22/2008 8:25:33 PM

Steam - Pot Chicken is a famous local specialty of Yunnan. It is renowned for its unique way of cooking, fragrant aroma and rich ion.                                                    

Steam - Pot Chicken became popular in southern Yunnan during the reign of Emperor Qian Long of the Qing Dynasty. Jianshui County is famous for pottery products. A craftsman named Yang Li created a special steampot with an empty pipe in the middle. When chickens are steamed, they are put in the pot with some ingredients and covered. Then the steampot is put in a larger pot filled with water. The chicken is cooked by the steam, and the steam gathers and combines with the chicken in the steampot. Therefore the chicken is tender, delicious and nutritious. 

In 1927 the Steam- Pot Chicken spread to Kunming. A restaurant in Fuzhao Street was famous for serving the dish. What was different was that some famous medicinal herbs like sanqi (pseudo - gin-seng) and chongcao (Chinese caterpillar fungus) were put into the soup, which added to the nutrition and medical function of the soup. The restaurant was named "Pei Yang Zheng Qi" and became very famous.