Chiang-Yu-Chi - Braised Soy Sauce Chicken

Chiang-Yu-Chi

2 cups cold water

2 cups soy sauce

1/4 cup Chinese rice wine, or pale dry sherry

5 slices peeled, fresh ginger root about 1 inch in diameter and 1/8 inch thick

1 whole star anise, or 8 sections star anise

1/4 cup rock candy broken into small pieces, or substitute 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon sesame-seed oil

PREPARE AHEAD:

1. Wash the chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels. 

2. Have the water, soy sauce, wine, ginger, anise, rock candy (or sugar) and sesame-seed oil within easy reach.

TO COOK:

In a heavy pot just large enough to hold the chicken snugly, bring the water, soy sauce, wine, ginger and star anise to a boil, then add the chicken. The liquid should reach halfway up the side of the chicken. Bring to a boil again, reduce the heat to moderate and cook covered for 20 minutes. With 2 large spoons, turn the chicken over. Stir the rock candy or sugar into the sauce and baste the chicken thoroughly. Simmer 20 minutes longer, basting frequently. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the chicken cook for 2 to 3 hours.

Transfer the chicken to a chopping board and brush it with sesame seed oil. Remove the wings and legs with a cleaver or sharp knife and split the chicken in half lengthwise by cutting through its breastbone and backbone. Lay the halves skin side up on the board and chop them crosswise, bones and all, into 1-by-3-inch pieces, reconstructing the pieces in approximately their original shape in the center of a platter as you proceed. Chop the wings and legs similarly, and place them, reconstructed, around the breasts. Moisten the chicken with 1/4 cup of the sauce in which it cooked and serve at room temperature.

NOTE: The sauce in which the chicken cooks is known in China as a master sauce and it is stored in a covered jar for use in red-cooked dishes. It will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, indefinitely in the freezer.