Dishes · A classic of Fujian · Fuzhou and eastern Fujian
Red wine lees chicken
Also Hong zao ji, Foochow red wine chicken, Red yeast chicken
Chicken braised with red wine lees, ginger and rice wine until it turns a deep rosy red — sweet, winey and warming.
What makes it red wine lees chicken
Red wine lees, fried in oil with plenty of ginger until fragrant.
Chicken on the bone, braised in the lees with red rice wine or Shaoxing.
A deep red colour, and a taste both sweet and a little sour.
Where it comes from
Northern Fujian makes a red rice wine with red yeast rice, and the thick red paste left behind — hóngzāo, red wine lees — is one of the region's great seasonings. Chicken braised in it is a home dish, and often cooked for new mothers, for warmth.
Foochow emigrants took it to South-East Asia; in Sibu and other Foochow towns it's served over long, fine mee sua noodles.
How it varies
Red wine chicken mee sua
Over fine wheat noodles in the broth, the way Foochow communities in Malaysia serve it.