HOW TO CUT A WHOLE CHICKEN

If you have to cut a whole chicken into pieces to cook a special dish, either you're doing it for economic reason, or because you want your chicken to be cut a certain way, this method may help you.  My mother-in-law, Uy Siok Hui (born in Fookien (or Fujian),China had taught me a lot of different home cooked Chinese dishes. She had imparted in me a culture I am very proud to have been part of for almost 29 years.

She is no longer with us but her memory will remain with me as long as I live.  We went shopping together at the wet farmer's market in Manila, cooked the most simple and tedious ways of cooking  home cooked meals. Together with my sisters-in-law, we made Siomai, Siopao, Lumpia Shanghai, Mah-Chang,  in the most authentic way, simple and  not using very many ingredients as I see how these Chinese delicacies are made today.

Amah (means grandma in Fookien chinese), as we called her, was a frugal cook.  Yet she always cooked three dishes for lunch and dinner except breakfast.  They were not fancy dishes.  They were simple home cooked meals. I remember, she always had soup, main dish (chicken, fish, beef, or pork), and a sauteed vegetable or a sauteed noodle dish with vegetables.  For dessert, she always had a bowl of fruits; bananas, apples, oranges, Lychees (canned or fresh), etc. As a sample of her repertoire, lunch menu was Braised Chicken in Soy Sauce with Eggs, Sauteed Egg Noodle with Carrots and Cabbage, and Simmered Pork Bones with Pigs intestines.  They were delicious!

Going back to how to cut a whole chicken into pieces, you must have two things, a sharp cleaver and a good size cutting board.  Your chicken must be in room temperature washed very well with warm water and dried with a paper towel.

Then, follow this instruction:

1)  CUT THE CHICKEN INTO TWO PARTS - Position the chicken vertically on the cutting board with the head part touching the board and the tail end (or butt) on top and the back of the chicken facing you.  With a sharp cleaver, start cutting the back tail (or butt end) of the chicken all the way to the bottom (or the head part).

2)  CUT THE HALF CHICKEN INTO PARTS - Depending on how

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