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a bowl of nourishing soup

Chicken Soup

Zach Beattie, MAc.OM, Dipl.O.M., L.Ac.
This chicken soup, brimming with TCM herbal medicine is just the thing to deeply nourish and support new mothers.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole Chicken silkie or black chicken if possible, regular chicken if not - around 2 lbs or 1 kg.
  • ¼ Cup (60ml) Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine or sherry
  • 4 (2oz or 60g) Scallions, chopped
  • 1.5 oz (45g) Fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
  • 1 oz (25g) Shiitake mushrooms (optional)
  • 1 bag Dried herbs from Cherry Blossom Healing Arts separate out the goji berries and red dates
  • White (or regular) soy sauce to taste (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Rinse chicken, remove giblets, and place in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Add in cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and bagged herbs.
  • Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and scoop off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue at a gentle simmer until the chicken is cooked through and falls off the bone, about 45 minutes.
  • Carefully remove chicken from the broth and allow time to cool before removing the meat (and skin if you like it).
  • Return carcass to broth, cover, and cook at a very gentle simmer for a clearer broth, about 3 hours, or a light boil for a creamier broth, about 2 hours.
  • Strain broth, discarding chicken carcass and aromatics. Return broth to the pot, add in chicken meat, goji berries, dates, and mushrooms. Simmer until mushrooms are cooked through about 2-4 minutes.
  • Season with additional salt, pepper, or soy sauce as needed.  Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy!