Prepare a large pot of water and add green onions, ginger, dried gardenia fruit, and a pinch of salt. Then, bring to a boil. Blanch the chicken in boiling water for about 10 seconds, lift it out, and repeat these steps three times to ensure the chicken has a balanced temperature on the inside and outside. The dried gardenia fruit turns the water yellow. Before blanching, you can stretch out the chicken legs to help cook it evenly and prevent undercooked parts.

Once the chicken is cooked and ready, remove it and immediately soak it in ice water for about 3 minutes until cooled. This step is crucial since it stops the chicken from cooking further and gives it a crisp texture and tender meat.

Tip: Don't throw out the water from the simmered chicken since you can use it as chicken stock for your other recipes.

Optional step: After soaking the chicken in ice water, you can brush the skin with oil to keep the skin moist and have a bit of shine.

Chop the chicken into small pieces. You can start by removing the head, neck, and feet. If including the chicken feet, make sure to trim the nails. Then, chop off the wings, thighs, and drumsticks. Split the chicken into two halves and chop it into smaller pieces. When done chopping, lay the chicken cuts onto a serving plate and decorate it looking like a whole chicken laid on its back.

Prepare dipping sauce #1: In a small bowl, mix sand ginger, shallots, hot oil, and light soy sauce. Prepare dipping sauce #2: In a small bowl, mix ginger, green onions, hot oil, and salt. If you want the sauce to be hot and spicy, you can add chili oil or chopped chili peppers.