1 whole fryer chicken or capon, about 3 1/4 lb
2 tsp Soya sauce
2 tsp rice wine
4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 oz dried Chinese black mushrooms, soaked & sliced
2 oz bamboo shoots, sliced
3 tbsp scallions, chopped
5 tsp fresh ginger, sliced
2 oz Yunan preserved vegetable (a kind of salted mustard), sliced
1 oz dates
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp ground Sichuan pepper corn
2 tbsp corn starch, dissolved in 2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp MSG (optional)

Chicken With Oyster Sauce

1. Mix Soya sauce, rice wine and rub over the chicken inside and out. Heat the oil in a wok to 230 degrees F. Add the chicken and deep-fry until brown. Remove and drain. Pour the oil out of the wok.
2. Blanch the mushrooms and bamboo shoot slices briefly in boiling water, drain, and set aside.
3. Pour 3 1/2 oz of oil back into the wok and heat over high to 340 degrees F until the surface ripples. Add the scallions, ginger and stir-fry.
4. Add the remaining rice wine, Soya sauce, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, preserved vegetable, dates, stock, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, peppercorn and chicken. Boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer chicken until cooked. Add MSG (optional).
5. Remove mushrooms, bamboo shoots, dates, and place in serving dish. Remove chicken, chop into 1 by 2 inch chunks, and stack in the serving dish. Discard preserved vegetable.
6. Stir corn starch-water mixture, add to the wok, stirring, until thick. Pour over the chicken and serve.