Saturday, October 17, 2009

Abalone with Chicken Soup | Easy Asian Cooking

Abalone with chicken home-cooked soup
Abalone with Chicken Soup 鲍鱼炖鸡汤

Groomy October started and continues with quirky rain, hence the meal that lurking in my mind seems to be something capable of exuding a nourishing smell to my soul. Naturally it revolves a bowl of warming soup, soup and again soup. As an advocate of herbal soup, it's not hard to find redolent of herbs keep wafting from my little kitchen. And it's the right time for abalone with chicken soup makes its appearance in my dining table.

Packed with some serious nutritional punch, abalone with chicken soup ("Uncle Sun" brand) comes in as commercially available all-in-one package comprises of Astragalia 黑芪, Rhizoma, Radix Codonopsis 党参, Diosoreae 淮山, Polygonathum 玉竹, Radix Glycymhizae 甘草, two pieces of dried abalone 鲍鱼干and a small bag encapsulating special grinded herbs, abalone powder 鲍鱼粉, Luo Pian 响螺片and seasoning. Copious amount of Polygonathum 玉竹 imparts a mesmerizing sweetness whilst Radix Glycymhizae 甘草 infuses an enticing licorice taste to the soup which make it an epicurean repast on its own. Savoring this comforting soup, I can feel the lingering heat which left me a feeling that carries me a long time until night, sated and fulfilled.

Preparing this healthy soup doesn't require you to exert much effort neither does it need an advance course in cooking to prepare. It's really easy to a noob cook like me. A slight difference to other pre-packed soup which is simmered together with pork ribs, I don't parboil or blanch the chicken but I skim off scum from the soup surface at the beginning and every now and then. In my opinion, chicken emanates less fatty scum and "bone marrow" flavor as compared to pork ribs, thus I don't want to lose any flavor in the parboil liquid.

Ingredients :

1 package of abalone with chicken soup pre-mixes (I use "Uncle Sun" brand herbs and spices mix 鲍鱼炖鸡汤料, photo as below)
1 whole chicken, cut into 4 pieces and rinse
3000ml water

Abalone with chicken soup pre-mixes with herbs and spices
Pre-mix package of abalone with chicken soup with its herbs and spices

Method :

1. In a stockpot or claypot, fill in 3000ml water and wait until it reaches rolling boil. Add in the chicken. When the scum floats to the surface, skim away the froth.  (Alternatively slow-cooker (or crockpot) or double-boiler can be used)

2. Add in a whole pack of abalone with chicken soup herbal and spices pre-mixes. Cover the lid and turn to low flame and simmer for 2-2.5 hours until the chicken becomes tender.

3. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot with steamed rice.


3 comments:

  1. yummmmmm...what a luxurious soup!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Always see this Uncle Sun soup ingredients in hypermarket, but a bit pricey compare to the others. No wonder, cuz it has hidden treasure inside. :)
    Thanks for dropping by my food blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @lululu : I was surprised to find 2 pieces of dried abalones enclosed in that little pre-packed package, which I was not anticipated for. I think this made the soup more substantial and seems luxurious. :)
    @Little Inbox : Yes, relatively pricey. I bought in twin packs during Raya promotion. Since it came along with 2 dried abalones, I think it's well-worth the value. :) Thanks for dropping by too, see you around.

    ReplyDelete

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