Chinese Soy Sauce Chicken - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut into parts
1/3 - 1/2 cup soy sauce (use low sodium if you like)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or 1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, crushed
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 -2 piece star anise
2 cloves garlic
chopped birds eye chile (optional)
1 stalk scallion, chopped
sesame seeds

Preparation

Mix all ingredients, except chicken, scallions, sesame seeds in a large pot over medium heat.
Add chicken, then let simmer 30-40 minutes, turning chicken pieces occasionally.
Remove chicken pieces from sauce and set aside in a serving platter.
Skim fat from the sauce, thicken it with cornstarch mixture (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 TB water) and pour the sauce over chicken.
Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds and serve with rice.