Big Plate Chicken 大盘鸡

I learnt about the existence of this dish from my friend when she cooked it for our gathering one time and I like it ever since. It's different from our normal oyster chicken with potatoes because it has that zing to it with the addition of szechuan chili and peppercorns. I heard that this dish normally goes with noodles at the bottom of the dish and hence you need a big plate to contain it. However it works just as well as a dish to go with rice.

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken, cut into large chunks
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, quartered
1 clove of garlic
2 cm of ginger, peeled and minced
6 dried szechuan chili, cut into halves if you like it spicier
1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorn
1 star anise
2-3 green chili pepper, or bell pepper, cut into chunks of equal size like the potatoes
2-3 tomatoes, quartered (optional)
salt
pepper
soy sauce
sesame seed oil
sugar
enough water to cover the chicken and potatoes
2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

Steps

1. Marinate the chicken in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine and a dash of pepper and a teaspoon of sugar for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat up about 4 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium heat and add in the szechuan peppercorns to fry for about 30 seconds to season the oil. You shall smell the fragrance of the peppercorns and remove them when done.
   
   
   
   
3. Add in the chicken to brown for a while and then add in the ginger, garlic, chili and onions and mix well.
4. Pour in the water and about 4 tablespoons of soy sauce or to taste, the star anise and simmer the chicken for about 3-5 minutes before adding the potatoes.
   
   
   
   
5. Turn down the heat and cover to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are about done. Add in the green chili peppers (and tomatoes if using) and simmer for another 5 minutes. You can adjust the taste with salt, pepper and Shaoxing wine according to your preference at this point.
   
   
   
   
6. Just before serving, sprinkle some sesame seed oil, stir and serve.