中国饮食文化源远流长，民间流传着许多与饮食有关的故事。嘴里品尝着名菜，耳里听着有关名菜的故事，是不是也是一种享受呢？下面就是一个关于杭州名菜——“叫化鸡”的故事。
　　
　　Long long ago, there was a beggar. One day he stole a chicken and was pursued by the owner. When he was almost caught and no place to hide, he suddenly hit upon a good idea. He smeared the chicken all over with clay and threw it into the fire. After a long while the beggar removed the mud-coated chicken from the fire. When he cracked open the clay he found, to his astonishment, that the clay together with the feather had formed a hard shell in which the chicken had been baked into a delicious dish with wonderful flavor. That night he had a very enjoyable meal. Hence the name of the dish.
　　
　　很久以前,有一个乞丐，他偷了一只鸡，被鸡主人追赶着。情急之下, 无处可藏的他想到了一个好主意。他在鸡身上涂满了泥，并把它扔到了火里。过了很久，当他从火里取出那只鸡，剥掉鸡身上的泥巴时，他非常惊讶地发现，泥已经和鸡毛粘在一起，形成了一层硬壳。而硬壳里的鸡肉已被烤得香喷喷了。那天晚上，乞丐美滋滋地享受了一顿美餐。因此这道菜的名称就成了“叫化鸡”。
　　当然咯，现在这道菜已经不直接用泥巴来涂了，而改用荷叶包裹，外涂泥巴。这种散发着荷叶清香的鸡肉可是比只涂泥巴的肉更胜一筹呢。
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