Chicken poached gently, chilled, then steeped for a day or more in Shaoxing wine and served cold in pieces, skin smooth and pale.
What makes it shaoxing drunken chicken
Chicken poached just until cooked, then plunged into cold water so the skin tightens.
Steeped in Shaoxing wine with some of the poaching stock, salt and a little sugar.
Served cold, chopped through the bone.
Where it comes from
Shaoxing's rice wine has been made for well over a thousand years, and a jar was traditionally laid down at a daughter's birth to be opened at her wedding. Steeping food in it — zuì, 'making drunk' — is an old way of seasoning and keeping it, and chicken is the best-known result.
Shanghai claims a version too; it's a cold dish, often served at the start of a banquet.
How it varies
Zuì xiā
Drunken shrimp, steeped raw and sometimes still moving when served.