First cut off excess fat and skin from the outside of the chicken. Use a sharp knife to align with the chicken’s thigh with the torso, and separate the legs. Then do the same and remove two chicken wings.

Sticking your thumb down the neck of the chicken and grabbing the outside with your fingers: pull the meat out and cut down the joint with scissors. This will separate the chicken breast from the back of the chicken. Also, laying the chicken on it’s back, using a knife to slice down either side of its breast bone will separate breasts . Afterwards, use a knife to cut the joints of the chicken thighs and calves and cut them. Separate the two chicken legs and then cut the chicken wings into three sections.

The cleaned chicken pieces are like this:

To prepare the mushrooms, put all the dried mushrooms in a strainer, rinse with cold water, then put them in a large bowl, add warm water, and soak for 30 minutes. Pull them from the water, but don’t drain the water from the mushrooms and set it aside.

The whole dish is based on the flavor of mushrooms and the chicken itself. There are not many spices used, so you will only taste red pepper, star anise, ginger and green onion. Before frying the chicken, slice the ginger (not more than one-third of the size of the picture) and chop the green onions.

Take a large frying pan (because chicken has bones inside, do not use Teflon coated non-stick pan to avoid scratching the surface). Add a proper amount of vegetable oil after the pan has warmed up for two minutes so, so that the entire pan is covered with oil.

Put the cleaned chicken into the pot and stir until the surface of the chicken is mostly turning golden color.

Add the ginger, green onion, star anise, and red pepper. Stir well.

Add 50 ml of dark soy sauce and mix. This will make the colors darken and more vibrant.

Add about 5 grams of raw sugar to sweeten the chicken.

Let the chicken stew with the mushrooms so they can incorporate the flavors. I use Rum instead of cooking wine, because rum has a stronger, sweet flavor that matches the chicken and mushrooms. Rum is a strong spirit made from sugarcane, so it will not only add a sweet flavor, but also a kick to your dish.

Add mushrooms that have been drained and dried, and stir fry until the mushrooms and chicken are mixed evenly.

Add the rest of the water from the drained mushrooms, and use fresh water to bring the liquid of the pot to a high enough level to submerge the ingredients. Bring the liquid in the pot to the boil, cover with a lid, and lower the temperature to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes. After this process, it can be served. It is best when it is steaming hot!