Method:

1. Select a free-range chicken weighing about 2 kg. Wash clean and chop into 5-10 cm cubes. Blot the pieces with kitchen paper to dry and put into a steam pot, without adding any water. Add chopped scallions, ginger, salt. Ensure that the contents do not exceed one half to two thirds of the pot.

2. Add the ingredients that take the longest time to steam cook, for example, Xuanwei smoked ham. To make the chicken more health-giving, add some Chinese wolfberry, dried mushroom, Chinese angelica, Codonopsis pilosula, and more chopped scallion and ginger.

3. Place the steam pot into the same size boiler and then turn up the heat. Seal the lid to the base using kitchen paper or paste.

4. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and check whether there is any liquid in the pot. If so, this means the chicken was not adequately dry before cooking. Remove the water and dry the chicken thoroughly, wash and dry the pot, and repeat the method from step three.

5. Steam the chicken over a high heat for about three hours, and serve. More time may be needed to make the chicken more tender. During the whole process, one should check to ensure that the water in the pot does not boil dry.