Chinese Chicken Broth

a white soup bowl containing Chinese chicken broth

Chinese chicken broth is quite different from what westerner's make as chicken broth. To start with Chinese chicken broth is made from a whole chicken not just a bunch of chicken bones. The only additional ingredients added to the pot with the whole chicken, are a few scallions and a couple of small pieces of ginger.

There are many recipes for Chinese chicken broth and the only variables are the cooking time and amount of water.

After numerous experiments we have found that an optimum cooking time is 2 1/2 hours (if you search the Internet for recipes you will find times that vary from 1 to 12 hours) and the amount of water is relative to the size of the chicken (we usually use a free range chicken, hormone and antibiotic free, around 4 pounds). I add water until it is 1 inch above the top of the chicken in the pot. This is usually 10 to 12 cups of water.

We rinse the chicken under cold water, remove any trussing and place it in the pot, add the water, scallions and ginger. Cover and bring to a light boil then back the temperature down to a very low simmer.

When cooked, we remove the chicken from the pot using a spider strainer and place in a large bowl. We then pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Note: Although some people discard the chicken, we find it is quite suitable for use in recipes such as our glop or with mayonnaise to make a chicken salad. Remember that the chicken has not been seasoned; no salt.

After it has been in the refrigerator a layer of fat will form on the top of the broth. we remove it with a spoon and discard it. Many people use the chicken fat for cooking.

The resulting liquid is a light yellow. Depending on what I plan on doing with the chicken broth I may boil it down to concentrate it before separating it into smaller containers and freezing it.

If you taste it, it will not be appetizing because no salt has been added. If you want to check the flavor pour some broth into a small bowl and add a pinch of salt.

Recipe Categories

Bon Appétit