Empress Chicken

Ingredients

2-3 pounds chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
6 slices ginger
1 medium onion, shredded
1 small can bamboo shoots, sliced
1 small can water chestnuts, halved
1 teaspoon MSG
2 cloves garlic, crushed and skinned
1 tablespoon sugar
4 to 6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking wine
2 stalks green onions cut into 2" length, divide white part from green part
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
few drops sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok or skillet until smoke starts to rise. Put in onions, ginger, white part of green onions, and garlic to brown. Put in chicken, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, wine, gourmet powder, dark soy sauce, salt, sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Stir and cover with a lid. Cook with medium to high heat for an hour. When done, add starch solution made with tapioca, sesame oil, and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then garnish with green onion parts when served. Dark soy sauce, usually found in Chinese specialty shops. Dark brown in color, has a sweet taste and is used frequently for stewing and food coloring in Chinese cooking (it does make a difference in the taste of the dish.) Tapioca powder. Very fine white tapioca powder similar to cornstarch but more starchy and turns any food from a dull color to an attractive glossy look. Used frequently to thicken sauce or gravy. It has a mild tenderizing effect on meats, therefore it is used in various marinations.