Salt-Baked Chicken

The nomadic Hakka have long prepared dishes that reflect their ability to create, and eat, in transit. One of their most famous preparations is chicken baked in a crust of salt, originally cooked over stones set in a hollow dug into the ground. When they settled in Guangdong, the top of the stove replaced the hole in the ground, and the chicken was baked in a wok.

The salt that surrounds the chicken becomes the oven, sealing in heat and flavor as the chicken bakes. Yet the chicken d