-
1
Combine the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five-spice powder, and sesame oil. Rub the mixture thoroughly inside the cavity and over every external surface of the chicken. Place the bird in a non-reactive container, cover, and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours. The marinade must penetrate to the bone: insufficient time here cannot be recovered once the clay is sealed.
-
2
Drain and lay out the soaked lotus leaves in overlapping layers on a clean surface, forming a sheet large enough to enclose the whole bird. Centre the marinated chicken on the leaves and wrap tightly in 3–4 successive layers, tucking the ends firmly. The package must be sealed with no gaps; dry or poorly wrapped leaves will burn rather than perfume.
-
3
Work the clay into a smooth, even mass free of air pockets. Encase the lotus-wrapped parcel in a uniform layer of clay 2–3 cm thick, pressing firmly and sealing every join. A casing thinner than 2 cm will crack prematurely and collapse the cooking environment. The finished case should feel dense and unyielding with no soft or thin patches.
-
4
Place the clay parcel on a rack in an oven preheated to 220 °C. Bake for 30 minutes at this temperature to set and harden the clay shell. The surface will change from dull to a dry, pale-grey matt finish, indicating the casing has firmed.
-
5
Reduce the oven to 180 °C and continue baking for 2.5–3 hours. Toward the end of the cooking period the clay case will develop audible hairline cracks from the internal steam pressure — this is the correct and expected condition, not a failure. The aroma of lotus and five-spice will begin to escape through these fissures.
-
6
Transfer the intact parcel to the table. Using a small hammer, strike deliberately along the equator of the clay case to crack it in a single clean line. Lift away the upper dome of clay, then open the lotus leaves. The chicken within should be mahogany in colour, glistening, and yielding entirely to the slightest pressure — the flesh will fall from the bone.