My mum loves cooking herbal chicken soup for us and has been doing that since eons ago. Just like any TCM doctor or believer, or the older generation in general, she believes that drinking this soup will not only help to boost energy and immunity, but also strengthen and nourish the body. We can then focus better in our studies and get the good results we desire.
It is supposedly the case that using black chicken to cook herbal soups would help to make the soup richer, more savoury and more beneficial, specifically in terms of anti-oxidant properties. I wanted to try to get a black chicken for this recipe, but couldn’t find it in the usual supermarket. No choice, we’ve got to make do without this time. Hopefully the next time I get round to doing this again, I can finally find one in the market to try.
To be honest, I am not a soupy person, and I don’t really like to drink soup. Unless I’m drinking a bowl alone for a meal, that’s fine. Otherwise, it’s just too much for me to take. This bowl makes for a nice meal by itself (without rice please) and I’m pleasantly surprised that the boy loves drinking the soup too. Have thought that he might be put off by the taste of the herb but it’s proven to be a baseless fear after all.
Enjoy this chicken soup too, and I hope it becomes a chicken soup for your good soul.
Ingredients:
- Chicken: 1 half (chopped into pieces if desired)
- Chinese herbs: 1/2 pack (including dang gui, dang sen, wolfberries, yu zhu, bei qi, ji zi, hui san etc)
- Salt: 2 tsp
- Water: 1 litre
Method:
- Place chicken, herbs, salt and water into a slow boil pot.
- Slow boil on high for 4hrs.
- Add in more salt to taste if desired.
Trick:
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I bought my Chinese herbs off the supermarket shelf. They come nicely packed for a serving cooked with one whole chicken, so you can take half a portion of each pack to cook this.
Serving:
3 – 4 persons
