Silkie Chicken Herbal Broth
烏雞湯·(wū jī tāng)
Lou Fo Tong: Mother's Slow-Simmered Love
In Cantonese households, a slow-simmered old fire soup is a mother’s liquid prescription for whatever ails you. The star here is the silkie chicken, a striking, black-boned bird prized for its deeply restorative, pristine broth. To make this ancestral remedy work on a Tuesday night in Ohio, we turn to the electric pressure cooker, but we never skip the crucial technique of cold-water blanching to gently draw out impurities. The result is a profoundly savory, amber-hued broth that tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Trim the silkie chicken.
Using heavy kitchen shears or a cleaver, chop off the head and the nails of the feet, and discard them before blanching.
Pit the red dates.
Always snip dried jujubes in half and remove the pits, which are considered 'heaty' in traditional medicine and can cause sore throats.
Ingredients
- whole silkie chicken1 1/2 lb
- lean pork loin1/2 lb
- fresh ginger1 large
- Shaoxing cooking wine1 tbsp
- American ginseng slices5
- dried red dates8
- dried Chinese yam slices5
- dried longan1/4 cup
- astragalus root slices4
- goji berries2 tbsp
- water8 cup
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Blanch the meats in cold water.
Place the chicken and pork in a large pot, cover completely with cold tap water, and add three slices of ginger and the Shaoxing wine. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for two minutes to gently draw the murky impurities from the bones.
- 02
Rinse the meats thoroughly.
Carefully remove the chicken and pork and rinse them under cold running water until perfectly clean to guarantee a clear, sweet broth.
- 03
Soak the dried herbs.
Place the ginseng, red dates, Chinese yam, longan, and astragalus root in a small bowl of water for five minutes to wash away any dust, then drain them well.
- 04
Simmer under pressure.
Place the rinsed meats, soaked herbs, and remaining ginger into an electric pressure cooker. Add exactly enough fresh water to barely submerge the chicken, secure the lid, and cook on high pressure for 55 minutes.
- 05
Release the pressure and steep the goji berries.
Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Open the lid and stir in the goji berries, letting the residual heat soften them for five minutes so they do not turn mushy or sour the soup.
- 06
Season and serve.
Stir in the salt at the very end to prevent the meat proteins from tightening during the long cook. Ladle the clear, amber broth into small bowls, pulling off tender pieces of the dark meat to serve alongside.
Notes
Source a pre-packaged herbal mix.
If individual herbs are difficult to track down, look for a 'Qing Bu Liang' or chicken soup herbal mix packet hanging in the dry goods aisle of your local Asian market.
Serve the meat with a dipping sauce.
While the broth is the main event, the meat is entirely edible; whisk together soy sauce, black vinegar, and a drop of sesame oil for a quick dipping sauce.