Soak sweet rice in water for 1 hr. Wash and drain in a strainer.
Soak medicinal ingredient and dates in water for 1 hr and wash.
Remove giblets from inside the chicken if there are any. Wash the chicken thoroughly inside out. Cut of wing tips, tail and any fatty parts.
Add medicinal ingredient to water in pot and turn on stove on high.
Bend the neck of the chicken to block the top hole. Stuff the chicken, starting with 1-2 larger ingredients like chestnut, garlic or date so it further blocks the top hole to prevent sweet rice from escaping. Add some sweet rice and add more garlic, date or ginseng to your liking. If you don’t wanna bother stuffing, you can use infusion mesh bag or stainless herb infuser instead.
Make a small hole below the chicken thigh bone and put the other leg through it so the legs stay crossed to prevent stuffing to escape. (Can use string if you like.)
Add the chicken to the pot with water. Add garlic, dates and green onion.
Bring to boil Then boil on medium to high heat for 20 min. Leave the lid slightly open to prevent boil-over.
After 20 min. reduce heat to low (about 2-3 level) and let it simmer (boil softly) for another 20 minutes. Remove any foam or fat from the surface periodically. Add more water if it’s reduced too much. (If you add more water, time 20 min from the point it starts to boil again.) Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the chicken.
Serve with salt, black pepper and chopped green onions and add to your liking before eating.
You can dip the chicken in ground sesame seeds, salt and pepper mix if you like but not necessary.