Dezhou Braised Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, 1.4 to 1.6 kg
• 2 tbsp maltose or honey
• 4 tbsp warm water
• 1.5 litres neutral oil, for deep frying
• 2 litres chicken stock or water
• 100 ml light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 30 g rock sugar
• 20 g fine salt
• 6 slices fresh ginger
• 4 spring onions
• 2 star anise
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 1 piece dried tangerine peel
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Before you cook

• Pat the chicken completely dry inside and out.
• Break the wing joints and tuck each wing tip back behind the neck so the bird sits compact.
• Cut a small slit in the belly skin and push the ends of the drumsticks through it so the legs stay tucked in.
• Stir the maltose into the warm water and brush it over every part of the skin.
• Leave the chicken to dry for 30 minutes, until the glaze feels tacky.
• Tie the star anise, cinnamon, bay, fennel, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, white peppercorns, tangerine peel, black cardamom and coriander seeds into a piece of muslin.

Steps

1. Heat the frying oil to 190C in a deep pot.
2. Lower the chicken in breast-side down, standing well back, and fry it for 60 to 90 seconds until the skin is deep reddish gold.
3. Lift the chicken out and let it drain.
4. Bring the stock, both soy sauces, the wine, rock sugar, salt, ginger, spring onions and spice bag to the boil in a pot just wide enough to hold the bird.
5. Lower the chicken in breast-side down so the liquid almost covers it.
6. Boil hard for 10 minutes.
7. Drop the heat to the barest simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours.
8. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken sitting in the liquid for a further 30 minutes.
9. Lift the bird out very carefully with two large spoons, because the meat now slides off the bone.
10. Rest it on a plate for 10 minutes.
11. Boil 200 ml of the braising liquid down hard for 5 minutes to a syrup.
12. Brush the syrup over the chicken and serve it warm or at room temperature, pulled apart by hand.