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1
Combine the sliced chicken with the marinade oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and cornstarch, mixing until every piece is evenly coated. Rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature, so the cornstarch and soy have time to work into the surface and the coating turns lightly glossy and slightly tacky — a dry, patchy surface now means the sauce will slide off and the meat will toughen in the wok. Do not rush this rest.
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2
Place the dried wood ear mushrooms in cold water and soak until fully pliable and expanded, approximately 20–30 minutes — cold water rather than hot gives a more even, tender result without the mushrooms going slack before the wok sees them. Drain, trim any hard stems, and tear into bite-sized pieces. Arrange the mushrooms alongside the ginger matchsticks and spring onion lengths so everything is at hand before the wok is lit, because the cook who pauses to prep once the heat is on will lose it.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies: heat the wok over the highest available flame until it begins to smoke, then add the neutral oil and immediately lay the marinated chicken in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed for 30–40 seconds so the edges colour and the pieces release cleanly from the surface, then toss — crowding the wok or pulling back the heat traps steam and turns the chicken grey and soft instead of lightly caught at the edges and opaque throughout.
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4
Add the ginger matchsticks and reconstituted wood ear mushrooms to the wok and toss everything together over high heat for 60–90 seconds, so the ginger loses its raw sharpness but keeps a distinct, fibrous bite — taken further it will collapse to mush and overwhelm the dish with heat rather than fragrance. The mushrooms need only to be heated through; prolonged high heat turns them rubbery.
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5
Pour the combined sauce — oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and sesame oil — over the contents of the wok and toss rapidly so every piece is coated, the liquid reduces, and nothing pools at the base of the wok within 20–30 seconds. Watch the aroma as much as the colour: when the raw, sharp edge of the soy disappears and is replaced by the rounded depth of the oyster sauce, the sauce has caught correctly and the wok is ready for the final step.
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6
Add the spring onion lengths and toss once or twice — no more than 10–15 seconds — so they wilt only at the edges while the stems hold their green colour and structure, since any further heat turns them drab and gives off a sulphurous note that cuts across the ginger. Plate immediately and serve.