Luyuan Royal Beggar's Chicken is a specialty dish from Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The dish got its name from a beggar's method of cooking chicken in ancient times and has been a local specialty for over 100 years.

Xu Yongqing is a renowned 59-year-old chef with expertise in cooking chicken, and the Luyuan Royal Beggar's Chicken is his signature dish.

Xu Yongqing, a renowned chef in Zhangjiagang, shows his signature dish, the Luyuan Royal Beggar's Chicken. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

His recipe features Luyuan chicken, also a Zhangjiagang specialty, topped with sauce and filled with diced chicken, pork, shrimp, ham, and other ingredients. The mixture is then wrapped in layers of lotus leaves, pork fat, and yellow clay, before being slowly stewed to perfection.

In addition to being a renowned chef, Xu is also the general manager of Suzhou Caiyuanzi Internet Technology Co Ltd, which specializes in making chicken and cold chain transporting agricultural products.