Braised Soya Sauce Chicken and Mushroom

I have been craving soya sauce dishes these few days... what better way to satiate the craving than cooking them myself?

Ingredients :
1 whole chicken of about 1.2 kg approx. (halved if plan to chop into pieces or quartered if would like to serve as-is after cooking)
4 tbsp thick soya sauce (I use Elephant Brand)
4 tbsp light soya sauce (I use TST Brand/ or Pearl River Bridge)
2 inches old ginger (smashed)
2-4 tsp white pepper
8 dried Chinese mushroom (soaked in hot water for about 1/2 hour, washed and remove stem)
sesame oil
2 bulbs garlic (smashed lightly)
2 cups water approx. (or just enough to cover the chicken in the pot - so, really depends on your pot size)
1 head of broccoli the size of a fist (cut into florets) or 1 cucumber

Method :
1. Heat up about 2 tbsp sesame oil in a pot huge enough to just accomodate the chicken pieces laid flat.
2. Throw in garlic bulbs and ginger, stir till fragrant.
3. Place chicken pieces with skin side up in the pot.
4. Pour in the 2 types of soya sauce into the pot along with white pepper. Add in water to just cover the chicken pieces (amount of water really depends on the size of the pot - don't use too big a pot). Bring to boil, add in the mushroom and thereafter maintain medium heat for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to lowest and braise for 45 minutes more moving the chicken pieces lightly every now and then with a spatula.
6. Turn off heat and leave the chicken in the covered pot for 2 more hours or so.
7. Remove and serve as you like (chopped or as-is) with the mushroom. The meat will be falling off its bones.
8. Meanwhile, bring braising liquid to boil and reduced to gravy thickened with some potato or corn flour (about 2 tsp) diluted with very little water. Or, you may keep the liquid in the fridge to braise next batch of chicken wings etc.

To blanch broccoli, bring water to boil in a saucepan, add a tsp of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Blanch sliced stem first by about 1/2 minute earlier followed by the florets for 1/2 minute. Rinse immediately under running water to stop the cooking process. Delicious dunked in the gravy.

Great with hot fluffy white rice and bird's eye chilli dip (ground or pounded bird's eye chilli/minced garlic/light soya sauce/lime juice).