Northeast Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms

Clean the chicken pieces and squeeze out the excess water. Add plenty of oil and a pinch of salt, then stir-fry the chicken pieces in hot oil over high heat. (Stir-frying raw chicken is tastier than blanching.) After a while, add star anise and an appropriate amount of green onion and ginger (I think I added quite a bit of green onion) to enhance the fragrance. Reduce the heat slightly; my mom says to stir-fry for a while longer to evaporate the moisture, so the meat tastes delicious.

Add a generous scoop of soy sauce and half a scoop of cooking wine. Stir-fry for a bit longer (this step is crucial for stir-frying the chicken).

Add the mushrooms that have been soaked in hot water, making sure to squeeze out all the moisture! (This is very important; my dad often gets scolded by my mom for forgetting this). Stir it all together. (Actually, you should wait until the chicken feet have started to cook before adding the mushrooms, but since these mushrooms were too dry, I added them earlier.)

Add hot water and skim off the foam once it boils. Let it simmer for a while, adding a little salt (adding too little salt makes the meat tough). Once the chicken feet are cooked and have opened up, it’s time to add the vermicelli! We’re using sweet potato flour from our region, which smells delightful! If unavailable, you can substitute with crystal noodles! The vermicelli absorbs the broth, so you may need to add water again.

Once the water is almost absorbed and the vermicelli is soft, it’s time to serve!