Preparation of beggar's chicken 101: I guess in the absence of an oven in the old day the beggar come up with this ingenious way of cooking, first they wrapped the chicken with lotus leaf(but modern day now they use paper+aluminium foil) then again cover with layer of clay(mixing yellow soil and water) then buried in hot ashes of charcoal fire. Of course the main ingredient is up to your own preference, be it chicken little, donald duck or porky pig stuffed with herbs.
Before it can be served, need to knock off the clay layer.
Like it or not all the beggar's dishes come in only one size (as an old saying, beggar can't be choosy, right?), so you need to estimate how much is enough to feed your crowd, the inconvenient truth is all beggar's dishes need to pre-order, and the shop only operate 3 days a week after 5pm (wed, sat, sun) + public holidays, despite all the terms & conditions their business is still very brisk and people still come with bus load. So you tell me human being is not lorry jean?
One may be of the view that since medium of cooking is using mud pie, it should be cheap as dirt right? Pinch your ignorant self.Here is your DIY heart test, take a look at the price list, don't mislead yourself that beggar's meal need to come with beggar price tag at this small village. Hints: For best result, peek at Buddha jump over the wall. Did your heartbeat skip? No worry it prove that you are still conscious.
At first glance, the beggar's chicken looks like herbal chicken, but it also taste and smell like herbal chicken, the meat also as tender as herbal chicken, I cannot be drunk so naturally the million dollar question come to mind is: how's it different from herbal chicken (value wise)? IMHO, the taste is totally different from the one offered at Jugra Banting which also came darker in color. Among the two I rate this one at Ijok with higher grade.
Next is the sticky glutinous rice that come with generous serving of salted egg yolks, mushroom, dried shrimp and marinated pork, it's just like an enlarge Chinese rice dumpling nothing less, taste addictively good though. One serving is more than enough to feed 4 mouths, and I bet you need not beg for food for the rest of the day.
The pork's stomach hot soup in clay pot sure taste yummy which pepper play no small part in it. Another good warm up dish I must admit.
In summary, some may feel disappointed if they purposely drive a distant for the food only. But you are doing a good deed. Don't believe me? The kids are laughing all the way to the bank and saying thank you for sponsoring their education.
However if you happen to visit nearby i.e. Batu Arang then accidentally drop by Ijok, it's still a worthwhile experience :D.
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