🍽️ Xuzhou Di Guo Ji

Chicken stew with stuck flatbread.

Xuzhou Di Guo Ji, literally 'pot-stew chicken,' is a signature hearty dish of Xuzhou, Jiangxi's northern neighbor at the north-south crossroads. Free-range chicken is cut up and braised with green pepper, dried red chili, ginger, garlic and broad-bean paste in a glossy red sauce. The key touch is a ring of unleavened corn-or-wheat flour flatbreads stuck to the pot rim; their lower half soaks up the chicken gravy while the top bakes into a crisp crust over the steam. The chicken is tender and well-seasoned, savory with a spicy kick, and the bread chewy outside and soft inside, half charred and half juicy, best dipped in the sauce. Generous and filling, it is a centerpiece for group meals and guests in Xuzhou, and sharing a steaming pot captures the hearty, open-handed dining style of northern Jiangsu.