CHICKEN STOCK CHINESE STYLE
Ingredients:
- 1 organic chicken 1 onion
- 5 thick slices of ginger
- 5 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons of chinese vinegar
- water
Method:
Strip the chicken of breast and other meat and put aside for other dishes. Leave some meat on the carcass and include wings or thighs (if you like), then cut it into small pieces. You will need a meat cleaver. Make sure you cut through the bones and crack them as this will release the bone marrow into the soup.
Start by browning onions and adding the 5 slices of ginger. Then add the chicken pieces and fry for better taste. Once onion and chicken pieces are brown add soy sauce, vinegar and finally cover with water. Don’t use too much water, just enough to cover the meat and ingredients well.
Bring to the boil, then turn to down and let the soup simmer for 4-5 hours.
Remove the bones and any scum.
This good old fashioned stock recipe is an excellent basis for all sorts of meals (e.g. risotto, vegetable soup etc). The special Chinese method of breaking the bones and cooking it for hours plus the generous amount of soy sauce ensures that the most precious part of the chicken – the bone marrow – dissolves into the stock. This is what nourishes and restores your core kidney energy. Adding fungus can also help to restore your blood (especially after child birth, blood loss in accidents, surgery or heavy periods).
If you like you can also add ready-made Chinese herb packages that are available for multiple purposes: strengthening the lung, stimulating the spleen, or tonifying general health and well-being. Be a little careful around the amount of herbs you put in as the taste can be overwhelming and unusual for the Western palate.
Avoid drinking this soup when you have a cold or infection. Make sure any infection is completely gone first, only then use the soup as a tonic.