1Remove any giblets from the chicken and rinse the cavity to thoroughly clean it out (depending on how your chicken was processed, it may still contain some organ tissue in the cavity). Pat the chicken and the cavity dry with a paper towel. Be sure to disinfect your sink and work surface after handling the raw chicken.
2Place the chicken in a baking dish (or any vessel you can marinate it in). Rub the entire chicken with the Shaoxing wine, inside and out. In a small bowl, combine the oil, salt, sand ginger powder, sugar, ground Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper, five-spice powder, and mushroom or chicken powder (if using). Thoroughly rub the chicken inside and out with the spice mixture. Place the garlic, ginger, scallion, and bay leaf in the cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the back. Cover and marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigerator.
33½ to 4 hours before serving, take the chicken out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. (Cooking a chicken straight out of the refrigerator will result in undercooking or uneven cooking.)
