Chang-shu Beggar-chicken is also called stewed chicken. It is said there was a beggar in Yu-shan, Chang-shu. He once caught a chicken but he had no cookers or condiments with him. So he killed and emptied the chicken. Without plucking it up, he daubed it with mud and roasted in fire. After it was ready he rejected the mud, with which the feather fell off. It turned out to be limp and fragrant when eating. Later, people seasoned such kind of chicken with condiments and produced distinct flavors. It is thus named “Beggar-chicken”.

Although the title doesn ' t sound elegant, it is a famed dish at home and abroad. In 1983, it was appraised as “ famed product of Jiangsu province ” . The beggar-chicken today is made of small-head-big-body “ three-yellow chicken ” , that is, yellow mouth, yellow legs and yellow feather. After the chicken is emptied, it is to be seasoned with chicken gizzard, ham, mushroom, etc. The whole chicken is daubed with perfume. Then wrap it with lotus leaves first and at last smear the whole with mud and roast it in fire. When it is done and the mud is rejected, place it in a dish, it is ready for service.

At present, there are several restaurants that are famed for their “ beggar chickens ” , among which those in Chang-shu and the “ Wang-si Restaurant ” in Taijian Lane in Suzhou are the most popular.