Mala (Spicy & Numbing) Dry Pot Chicken (麻辣干锅鸡 Ma La Gan Guo Ji)

Cut the half chicken with a cleaver into small chunks (about 1 inch or 2.5 cm wide) and put all the pieces in a deep bowl. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine or rice wine to the chicken chunks, mixing well. Let the chicken marinate for 20 to 30 minutes on the kitchen counter.

While chicken marinates, prepare all the other ingredients. Mince the 2 inch (5 cm) long piece of ginger (mince as tiny as possible). Cut the 3 green onions into long pieces, the garlic gloves into thin slices, and the Thai chili peppers (or other fresh spicy chili peppers) into small pieces. Put the ginger mince, green onion pieces, garlic slices, Thai chili peppers, and the 2 star anise together in a small plate and set aside.

Cut the dried chili peppers in half or thirds and set aside. Cut the onion and the celery into thin long pieces and set aside.

In a separate small bowl, prepare the sauce by adding everything listed under "sauce" (see ingredients above) except the Chinese dark vinegar or balsamic vinegar. This includes the 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Thoroughly mix the sauce so the sugar and the oyster sauce are evenly dissolved.

Heat a large wok or skillet under medium-high heat. When the wok is getting hot, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. After a few seconds, add the chicken pieces. (The oil only needs to be warm but not hot when adding the chicken.) Lower the heat close to medium to slowly cook the chicken. Stir and toss often to prevent burning. After a while, the chicken pieces will shrink and become tight. Some water and oil will come out from the chicken as a result. Be patient here! It takes at least 10-15 minutes for the chicken to cook through. Make sure no more pink blood is oozing out. Alternatively, chicken pieces can be fried or double fried like in restaurant versions of this recipe.

Transfer the chicken to a plate, leaving any oil behind. Clean the wok and put it back on the stove under medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the oil is getting hot, add all the Sichuan peppercorns to fry. After about 30 seconds to a minute, as the Sichuan peppercorns become dark, transfer them to a small mortar, leaving the peppercorn-flavored oil in the wok (to be used in the next step). Turn off the heat. Use a pestle to grind the peppercorns to small bits. (Do not skip this step, as the ground Sichuan peppercorn is the key to producing the tingling numbing sensation in the mala flavor.)

With the same wok and oil from step 6, set the heat back to medium-high. When the oil is getting warm to hot, add the set-aside plate from step 2 with the ginger, green onion, garlic, Thai chili peppers, and star anise. Toss and stir for a few seconds to release the fragrance of the ingredients. Then add the dried chili peppers, the ground Sichuan peppercorns, and the 1 tablespoon of fermented chili bean paste. Keep stirring for a few seconds to mix all the spices.

Turn up the heat to almost high. Add back the cooked chicken pieces and the sliced onions and celery sticks, quickly mixing everything. Then pour in the sauce from step 3, stirring and tossing to distribute the sauce evenly. Continue stirring for 1 to 2 minutes then turn off the heat. Add the 1 teaspoon of Chinese dark vinegar or balsamic vinegar to the wok and give it a last stir to mix evenly. At this point, the Mala Dry Pot Chicken is ready to be plated.

Transfer the Mala Dry Pot Chicken to a large plate or a deep bowl. Or you can transfer the dish to a smaller pot and put it on top of a portable gas stove to keep it warm on the dinner table. The latter option is especially great for an intimate dinner party.