Chinese Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is a common input to any number of Western dishes, but it is of course a frequent ingredient in many locale's staples. The cuisine of China, in particularly, values chicken stock as a crucial and delicious component of its cooking. This recipe is for a chicken stock in the general style of China, and in particular that of Canton.

Chinese Chicken Stock

Like a Western chicken stock, the base is chicken meat and bones, slow simmered with aromatics in water, until the meat is tender, the collagen infuses the liquid, and the fat begins to render. Onion is a shared aromatic, but Asia invites to the pot thai chili peppers, ginger, lemongrass, scallion, and star anise.

Although chickens are a vital link in nature's chain, do not use them to play chicken ball in the house

My approach blanches the chicken before starting the stock, to remove impurities and yield a clearer, purer resultant. You occasionally see such blanching in French preparations, but it is common in, if not a requisite of, Chinese recipes. It does indeed yield a clearer stock, and you will have less scum to skim, so go ahead and spend the extra effort for the authentic approach.

Properly dressing the chicken

Note that, as with all of my stock recipes, this is unsalted.

Makes about 8 cups of stock plus one chicken worth of meat.

Ingredients:

one 3 pound chicken, dressed whole, preferably free range
about 16 cups plus 16 cups cold spring of filtered water
3 shallots, quartered
2 red thai bird's eye chili peppers (prik ki nu), halved lengthwise
two 1.5-inch pieces lemongrass
one 2.5-inch piece ginger, thickly-sliced
4 scallions, white and green parts, sliced into 2-inch pieces
1 pod star anise
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine

Place the chicken in a large stockpot. Cover by about 2 inches with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. With tongs, carefully remove the chicken to a strainer. Discard the water in the pot. Rinse the pot clean. Gently rinse the chicken with cold water, removing any scum.

Bringing all of the ingredients to a boil

Return the chicken to the pot. Add the shallot, thai chili peppers, lemongrass, ginger, scallions, and star anise. Again cover by 2 inches of cold water. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and tender and the stock is rich and infused, about 2 hours. Occasionally, skim any scum off the surface. If the water becomes perilously low, add more as needed; although toward the end of cooking, some reduction in the liquid is welcome.

Remove the chicken to a strainer (make sure you thoroughly cleaned the strainer from earlier) and let cool.

Add the Shaoxing wine to the stock. Return to a simmer and cook just 2-3 minutes, to integrate. Remove from heat and let the stock cool slightly and then strain twice through a chinois. Reserve the strained stock to a clean pot if using immediately or an airtight container if storing.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Remove all of the meat from the bone. With a fork, pull apart and shred into bite size chunks. Reserve.