Tea-smoked chicken (Cha xun ji)

Tea-smoked chicken is a traditional dish that's especially popular in the northern parts of the country. It's usually made with a combination of a whole chicken, ginger, sesame oil, salt, and Shaoxing wine or sherry. The smoking materials include tea leaves (oolong is recommended), sugar, and barley.

The chicken is rubbed with salt, chilled, rinsed, dried, flattened, scored, and smoked with a mixture of tea leaves, flour, sugar, and barley in a steamer. The bird is then rubbed with a mixture of wine, sesame oil, and ginger before it's steamed for about an hour or until fragrant.

The meat is carved and the dish is often served with noodles on the side. If desired, garnish the chicken with chopped coriander before serving.