Oishinbo - Vol. 20 Ch. 181 - The Covered Baking Showdown (Part 1)

[MangaDex]

 

[friendly]

Man now this is a dish I'd love to try making. I wonder how you make sure clay is food safe though...

 

[Mugiwara325]

Man now this is a dish I'd love to try making. I wonder how you make sure clay is food safe though...

While I don't have a confirmed answer, I have some hypotheses.
Baking the clay requires a very high temperature, which should be enough to kill off any bacteria. Secondly, the chicken itself is wrapped in lotus leaves before being covered in clay. The leaves are not eaten with the dish, so they act as another protective layer between the chicken and the clay.

 

[Doedoel]

@Mugiwara325 You've tried Pomfret before? How was it?

 

[Mugiwara325]

@Mugiwara325 You've tried Pomfret before? How was it?

Light, succulent, and when cooked in qing zheng, it takes on a light acidity from the ginger in the sauce. Texture-wise, it's very soft, though not flaky the way salmon or cod is.
The fun part for me is cleaning off the flesh on the dorsal fin part. Very juicy, very delicious.