A showpiece banquet dish from the ancient capital of Chu, where a crispy eel fanned across the plate in dragon form and a lacquered whole chicken posed as a phoenix share one platter. Dragon and Phoenix — eel and chicken — united in a dish that has symbolised auspicious union at Jingzhou banquets for centuries.
Jingzhou served as the military and political hub of Liu Bei's southern campaigns during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). Local tradition holds that Zhuge Liang staged a celebration feast upon Liu Bei's return from Eastern Wu with Lady Sun, presenting eel as the dragon and young chicken as the phoenix to mark the auspicious union — giving birth to the name Dragon and Phoenix. Whether or not the precise anecdote is historical, the dish has been among Jingzhou's four famous delicacies for centuries, documented in regional Hubei gazetteers as a staple of Jingchu banquet ritual, and remains a centrepiece of formal dining in the Jingsha corridor.
The eel arrives in a gleaming amber coil — exterior shattering crisp from double frying, interior sweet and gelatinous. The chicken follows softer, lacquered bronze, offering a savoury counterpoint. Sweet-sour glaze on the eel, salt-umami depth in the chicken: two registers, one platter.
Two distinct Maillard pathways converge on one plate. The eel is scored deeply, coated in starch-and-pork-paste, then double-fried: a first fry at 170 °C sets a golden crust, a flash fry at 190 °C drives out residual moisture for maximum crunch. The eel's abundant collagen keeps the flesh moist beneath the brittle shell. The chicken is par-braised to 70% doneness — enough to set the proteins — then flash-fried to caramelise the skin without drying the meat. The sweet-and-sour glaze (rice vinegar and sugar) on the eel amplifies umami via acid-brightening of glutamate receptors.
Variations
A refined banquet version substitutes softshell turtle for chicken, known as Dragon and Terrapin; a simplified home version simmers both eel and chicken together in one broth rather than frying separately, producing a rich shared soup.
On the Palate
Where Jingzhou Dragon and Phoenix sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 50 min active + 40 min waiting
- 115 min
Prepare eel: kill, debone and clean a large yellow eel (about 500 g); lay skin-side down on a board; score flesh in a herringbone pattern; mix pork mince with fresh ginger and potato starch into a paste; coat both sides of eel strips evenly.
Watch outScore the eel deeply in a herringbone and coat it evenly in the pork-starch paste — the scoring opens it to the oil and the coating shields the flesh.
- 230 min
Braise chicken: clean a spring chicken; place in a pot with soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, star anise, and ginger; simmer until 70% cooked (about 30 minutes); remove and pat completely dry.
- 34 min
First fry eel: heat oil to 170 °C; gently lower coated eel strips into oil; fry 3–4 minutes until golden, turning once; drain on a rack.
- 41 min
Double fry eel: raise oil temperature to 190 °C; return eel for a 30-second flash fry until exterior is shatteringly crisp; drain immediately and arrange in a dragon coil on one side of a large serving platter.
Watch outFlash-fry the eel a second time at 190°C for 30 seconds — this second fry drives out the last moisture for a shell that shatters.
- 56 min
Fry chicken: in the same oil at 180 °C, fry the braised chicken 5–6 minutes until skin is deep lacquered-red and crisp; drain; chop into bite-sized pieces; arrange in a phoenix shape on the other half of the platter.
- 65 min
Make sweet-and-sour glaze: ladle some braising liquid into a small saucepan; add rice vinegar, sugar, and a splash of soy sauce; reduce over medium heat to a glossy glaze; pour over the eel portion only.
Watch outReduce the sweet-and-sour glaze to glossy and pour it over the eel only — the acid brightens the umami, and keeping it off the chicken keeps that side crisp.
- 72 min
Finish and serve: scatter minced garlic and fine ginger shreds over the platter; garnish edges with scallion curls; serve at once while the crust shatters.
