Use these chicken stock recipes to enhance flavour

Use the chicken stock recipes found here to make a mean pot of chicken stock to enhance the flavor of all your dishes, not just soups. A good chicken soup base is one of the most basic and indispensable ingredient in many chinese food.

You can make up a big batch and freeze for future use. Learn how to store excess soup stock.

Before you try any of the soup stock recipes here, you might want to read more about soup stocks in general first.

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Chicken stock recipe No.1

The flavour of this stock is very pure. Only ginger is added to tone the flavour down.

Boiling hens or stewing hens are basically chickens that are bred to lay eggs rather than for providing meat. I think the primary reason for that is that their meat is quite tough.

In chinese cuisine, there is an equivalent called the 老母鸡 (lao mu ji) in mandarin. Translated in English to mean mature or old hen.

The chinese likes to use old hens for making soup stocks. Apparently the flavour of the stock will be deeper. I find the similar comments when selecting beef bones for making beef stock.

Ingredients
2 kg chicken carcass
1/2 boiling hen
1 section of ginger
10 litres of water

Directions

1. Wash the chicken carcass and boiling hen
2. Parboil the carcass and boiling hen. Rinse
3. Bring the water to a boil
4. Place the chicken carcass and hen at the bottom of a big pot, with the ginger
5. Bring the water back to a boil
6. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, and cook for 4 hours
7. Remove the ingredients and strain the soup stock

Recipe link: Chicken stock recipe No.1

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Chicken stock recipe No.2

A richer flavour with the addition of chinese ham and onion.

Photo source: nipic.com

Chinese ham is a typical cantonese cured meat. A bit like Italian pancetta.

Ingredients
1 boiling hen
50g chinese ham (金华火腿 Jin hua Huo tui)
1 onion
1 ginger
2 stalks spring onion
1/2 cup cooking wine
8 litres water

Directions

1. Wash and parboil the boiling hen
2. Trim off any excess fats
3. Peel and wash the onion and ginger. Wash the spring onion
4. Place the chicken and vegetables in a big pot
5. Add the water
6. Bring the water to a boil
7. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, and cook for 3 hours
8. Remove the ingredients and strain

Recipe link: Chicken stock recipe No.2

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Chicken stock recipe No.3

Ingredients
600g chicken carcass
200g old ginger
20ml cooking wine
1 litres water

Directions

1. Wash and parboil the chicken carcass
2. Trim off any excess fats
3. Add all ingredients into a stock pot
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours

Recipe link: Chicken stock recipe No.3

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Chicken stock recipe No.4

This is a lovely chicken stock with the fragrance of sesame seed oil. This is an ideal soup base to prepare nourishing soups for new mothers.

Ingredients
500g chicken carcass
1/2 boiling hen
30ml sesame seed oil
200g old ginger, julienned
50ml cooking wine
1 tbsp salt
2.5 litres water

Directions

1. Wash and parboil the chicken carcass & boiling hen
2. Trim off any excess fats
3. Heat the sesame oil in a stock pot and fry the julienned ginger
4. Add the water and the rest of the ingredients
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 hours

Recipe link: Chicken stock recipe No.4

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Chicken stock recipe No.5

Another variation soup base for nourishing soups for new mothers. Because this contains danggui, it is not suitable for pregnant women.

Ingredients
1kg chicken carcass
1/2 boiling hen
20g dried goji berries
10g chinese angelica root or dang gui
100ml cooking wine
2 litres water

Directions

1. Wash and parboil the chicken carcass and boiling hen
2. Place chicken in a stock pot, add water and simmer for 2 hours
3. Add the goji berries and dang gui and simmer for another 30 minutes
4. Add the cooking wine, and simmer on medium heat for another 5 minutes

Recipe link: chickenstock5">Chicken stock recipe No.5

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