As the Sichuanese summer fades and damp winter nights draw in, chestnut vendors begin to appear on the streets. These itinerant vendors roast chestnuts in their shells in enormous woks full of charcoal, then wrap them in cloth, keeping them warm. The hot nuts are the perfect snack to placate your hunger in a streetside teahouse. Chestnuts have been cultivated in China since antiquity. The character for chestnut appears on the Shang-dynasty oracle bones, the earliest examples of the Chinese script, and they are also mentioned in the ancient Book of Songs. The great Qing-dynasty gourmet Yuan Mei left behind notes for his own recipe for chicken stewed with chestnuts, while the following dish is based on a contemporary Sichuanese version that is widely enjoyed during chestnut season.

Method

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Lightly smack the ginger and spring onion whites with the flat of a cleaver blade or a rolling pin to loosen them, then cut each spring onion white into a couple of pieces. Cut the spring onion greens into about 4cm lengths.
2. Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high flame. When it is hot, add the ginger and spring onion whites and stir fry until you can smell their fragrance. Add the chicken pieces and fry until they are lightly browned: don't move them around too much, but let them rest against the base of the wok so they take a little colour. Drain off some of the excess oil at this stage, if you wish.
3. Splash the Shaoxing wine into the wok and stir well, then pour in the stock or water. Bring to the boil, then add the sugar, soy sauce, and chestnuts, along with salt to taste (about ½ tsp should do). Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through and the chestnuts to absorb some of the flavours of the sauce, stirring from time to time.
4. At the end of the cooking time, increase the heat to reduce the liquid, if you wish, and adjust the seasoning as needed. At the last minute, add the spring onion greens, cover for a moment to let them feel the heat, then serve.