[Sca-cooks] Chinese Chicken Soup recipe

Stefan li Rous StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
Wed Jan 17 19:20:55 PST 2007


Phillipa posted:
<<< Poor 'Laine & Marie!
Feel better you guys!! If I were closer, I would cook you some
chicken soup.  A few years ago, Master A posted a wonderful Chinese
chicken soup that had a slight sweet taste to it. ...Trying to
remember,... did it have orange juice in it?? My old computer crashed
and I lost the recipe and haven't had the time to go through the
Florigium and find the recipe... I really should do that.>>>

I'm sorry but that recipe wouldn't be in the Florilegium since it  
isn't medieval or have much connection to the SCA or that time.

However, looking through the recipes I've saved from this list, I  
found this chicken soup recipe from Adamantius that might be the one  
you were thinking of. I've pasted it below. My apologies if someone  
else has already posted it. I'm still a bit behind in reading this list.

<<< I, on the other hand, for the first time in 2 years am starting to
feel better from this dreaded ulcerative colitis. Dare I say that?
<happy dance in any case>  >>>

Best wishes on handling this disease. My father suffered from this  
for 30 years or so.

Stefan
-----
Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 10:02:08 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: SC - OT Modern Chicken Soup Recipe

I just made this last night -- we have people with colds; it's pretty
standard cold-weather fare around our house, but I thought some of you
might be interested.

Gai Tong/Toisanese Chicken Soup (ToiSan is a region of the Kwangtung
Province of China, north of the city of Kwangtung, a.k.a. Canton. Once
upon a time most of the Chinese immigrants to the U.S. were from  
ToiSan.)

1 whole chicken, plus all giblets except the liver
2 quarts chicken stock, low-sodium if canned
Dried peel from 1/4 orange or tangerine, scraped off the white pith, 3-4
square inches
1 slice ginger, 1 inch across by 1/4 inch thick
1 scallion, tied in a knot so it holds together
8 dried black Chinese mushrooms, shiitakes are a poor substitute but
better than nothing

1 bunch scallions
2 oz fresh ginger root
peanut or vegetable oil, or vegetable oil with a little sesame oil mixed
in, for the sauce

Rinse the mushrooms in cold water to remove any surface dirt. Soak them
in a sealed jar or plastic tub in hot water, using the water level and
the cover to be sure the mushrooms are submerged. Soak for an hour or
so, until soft.

Place the chicken in a suitably sized pot, cover with the stock. Add
additional water if needed to just cover the chicken. Bring to a boil,
lower the heat to a low simmer, and skim off any foam, fat, etc. Add the
orange peel, ginger, and scallion. Remove the mushrooms from their
soaking water, wash them under running water to remove the last traces
of dirt. Add to the pot, then strain the soaking liquid into the pot  
as well.

Simmer for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender but not dry,
and the stock is rich and flavorful but not heavy. Note that there's no
salt in this; you really don't need it.

Possible additions might be Chinese red raisins (which are really a
dried fruit not closely related to grapes; they're about 1/4 inch long
and a sort of coral red), or 1-inch cubes of winter melon, added about
15-20 minutes into the cooking time, so that when the chicken and stock
are done the melon is translucent and tender. Peeled _fresh_ water
chestnuts are another option. They taste like coconut. Thinly sliced or
shredded raw Virginia ham is good too, as is a shot of rice wine, whisky
or vodka. None of these are strictly necessary, though.

When done, let stand for ten minutes, then remove the chicken from the
soup pot (I stick a big wooden spoon into the abdominal opening and
lever it up). Drain any liquid from the chicken, cut up and serve with
rice and a dip made from equal parts finely minced fresh ginger and
scallion (not the ones from the soup), sauteed in enough peanut or
vegetable oil to make a saucy consistency, until the ginger is tender.
Add a dash of light soy sauce (Japanese types like Kikkoman are okay for
this). Watch out for spatters. You can add salt if you don't want to use
soy sauce.

With the addition of a vegetable dish, or the winter melon if you
included it, you're all set. The ToySanese drink the soup alongside the
other food, as a beverage, but tea, wine or beer wouldn't be too  
inappropriate.

Adamantius

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****





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