Name: Master Sauce Chicken (滷雞)
Yield: Serves 4–5 as a main course, 6–10 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ⅓ cup Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 12 individual points star anise (equal to 1½ whole stars); 2 ounces Chinese golden rock sugar, crushed (equal to ⅓ cup smashed bits); 1 thin scallion, cut into 3-inch lengths; 1 tablespoon crumbled Chinese cassia bark, or 1½-inch cinnamon stick, broken into bits; 3½–4 pound perfectly fresh chicken, fresh-killed best (weight after removal of head, neck, feet, wingtips, tail and fat sacs); 2 cups thin (regular) soy sauce (read the cautionary note regarding brands); 1 thumb-size piece home-dried orange or tangerine peel, blanched in plain simmering water for 10 minutes and drained; 2½ cups water; ¼–¾ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; 4–5 quarter-size slices fresh ginger

Preparation info

Serves
4–5
as a main course .

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

North Chinese kitchens harbor the smells that are most dear to me and among them is invariably that of a potted chicken, simmering slowly in a rich soy brew. It is a dish that requires almost no work to produce, and at the end of several heavenly scented hours you are left with a sublime chicken and an inspired master sauce from which you can create any number of homey, tempting dishes.