Cantonese cuisine is famous for its large variety of nutritious soup simmered on low heat over couple of hours so all the favours from the meat and vegetables are transferred to the broth. Chinese herbs are sometimes added to help rebalance your system. The herbs used below are some of the common varieties often used in chicken soup and adds a natural sweetness to the broth. Don't stress if you can't find them however, chicken soup slow cooked over 3 hours will be delicious regardless!
Silkie bantam chicken is a variety of chicken with black skin and white feathers known for it's nutritional values. You can buy them at some Asian poultry shops. If you can't find them, you can also use normal chicken for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 silkie bantam chicken
- 1 handful of ginseng slices
- 4-5 dried longans*
- 1 handful polygonatum odoratum (玉竹) (1)*
- 4-5 slices of dried Chinese yam (淮山) (2)*
- 2 codonopsis pilosula (党参) (3)*
- 2-3 tbsp goji berries
- 1.5 ltr of water
- salt
* These dry herbs are available at most Asian groceries in the dried goods section. A photo of these are also listed below to help you identify them.
(1) Polygonatum Odoratum (玉竹)
(2) Dried Chinese Yam (淮山)
(3) Codonopsis Pilosula (党参)
Method
1. Put the dry herbs (1-3) and goji berries in a glass bowl and cover with boiled water. This helps rehydrate the herbs as well as wash off the dirt for 10 minutes.
2. Add the whole chicken, the ginseng slices and the herbs to a large pot with 1.5 litre of water. Cook until boiled and turn to lowest heat on your stove and gently simmer for 3 hours. Season with salt.