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1
Combine the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and water in a pot large enough to hold the whole chicken. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the rock sugar has fully dissolved. The liquid should smell of warm spice and deep soy.
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2
Lower the chicken breast-side down into the master liquid. Reduce the heat so the liquid holds at no more than 85 °C — there should be the barest tremor on the surface, not a rolling boil. This is where the dish lives or dies: boiling at any point will tighten the proteins and produce tough, dry flesh; the correct temperature gives a silky, yielding texture throughout.
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3
Poach for 30–40 minutes, turning the chicken every 10 minutes so that colour and heat penetrate evenly. Each time it is turned, the skin should show a progressively deeper amber; by the final turn it will be approaching mahogany.
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4
Remove the pot from the heat. Leave the chicken to rest in the liquid, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Carryover cooking finishes the interior while the skin absorbs colour and gloss from the liquid. When lifted, the juices from the cavity should run clear with no trace of pink.
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5
Lift the chicken from the liquid and allow any resting juices that drain from the cavity to be collected and returned to the master liquid. Set the chicken aside to cool to room temperature. The surface should carry a deep, even mahogany lacquer; the skin should feel taut and slightly tacky to the touch.
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6
Chop the chicken Cantonese-style through the bone into neat pieces. Arrange on a platter. Spoon master liquid over as a sauce. Serve at room temperature. The flesh should be moist and silky, the skin glossed dark with the reduced soy glaze.
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7
After service, strain the master liquid, skim the rendered chicken fat (reserve it as a cooking oil), and store the liquid refrigerated or frozen. Each subsequent use deepens its complexity. The liquid is maintained and reused indefinitely.