How to cook Chestnut Stewed Chicken Anhui style, by Danwei Canteen

Our new series, Danwei Canteen is a quick guide to traditional Chinese food as it’s prepared where the cuisine was born: in Chinese rural areas and villages. We’ll accompany the food with originally recorded music from parks and villages, and new interpretations of Chinese folk songs and the traditional repertoire. In the first episode, Li Zhongqing from Anhui prepares Chestnut Chicken Stew. The music is: – Performance by an anonymous lap steel guitar player in Ritan Park – Anhui Opera song ‘The Emperor’s Female Son-Law’ sung by Wu Fei – Anhui Opera song ‘Tianxianpei’ performed on guzheng, or Chinese zither, by Wu Fei Recipe: * Rinse the chicken. Cut off its nails and butt. Slice open the chicken belly lengthwise using a scissor. Pull all the innards out. Keep the stomach, heart and liver for later use and dump the rest. Extra attention should be paid not to break the inside layer of the chicken’s stomach when you slice it open. * Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Cut the green onion, ginger and garlic. * Pour oil into dry wok and let it heat for 1 minute, add garlic and ginger and stir them until it gives off a strong smell. Collect the fried spices into a bowl. * Pour more oil into the wok. Add a spoonful of soybean paste, add water and stir until it’s fully melted. Add the chicken pieces together with fried spices and stir until the water evaporates. Add salt to your liking while stirring the chicken. Add more water until the chicken is fully immersed. Cover the …