Ginseng
Chicken Soup人參雞湯 (rén shēng jī tāng)
Ginseng has been treasured by Chinese as a tonic for thousands of
years. This dish is a tasty example of Chinese medicinal cooking.
Serves 7–8
Ingredients
2 kg (4 1/2 lb) whole chicken
30 g (1 oz) dried ginseng
1 cup clear rice wine (mijui)
1 teaspoon salt
Method
Rinse chicken inside and out.
Put breast-side up in a large
pot. Add enough water to cover chicken.
Bring pot to boil.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Turn off flame. Skim off any scum on water. Let chicken steep
for 90 minutes.
Add ginseng,
wine, salt and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for
30 minutes.
Serve directly in cooking pot so diners can help
themselves: meat can easily be prised away from carcass with
chopsticks, and soup ladled into individual bowls.
Chinese rarely sit down to a lunch or dinner that does not include soup (in the case of noodle soup, soup is the meal). Unlike the Western custom of having soup before the main course, Chinese prefer to eat soup during or towards the end of a meal. At a casual meal people tend to pick up the bowl and drink directly from it … more
