Chinese chicken stock is essential for making delicious Chinese dishes at home, particularly in soups, where it serves as the flavor base. This recipe is straightforward to prepare, but you have to keep an eye on it for several hours as it cooks.
Try using this homemade chicken stock in recipes like Chinese Chayote Soup.
Making homemade chicken stock is a quick and easy way to elevate your Chinese cooking at home. Essentially, all you need to do is simmer chicken along with some aromatics in a pot of water until the flavors of the ingredients are extracted. The resulting liquid is flavorful, savory, and extremely tasty. A homemade stock helps to provide body and round out the flavors of other dishes.
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🥄 What Chicken to Use
When making stock, it's essential to use both meat and bones. The meat adds flavor to the stock, while the bones give it body and thickness. Bones contain collagen, which melts into gelatin when heated. This gelatin is what gives the stock body and definition.
I recommend using any combination of skin-on, bone-in chicken, like whole chicken legs, thighs, wings, drumsticks, necks, backs, and feet, for this recipe. You can also use an entire chicken.
🧂 Ingredients
- Chicken - See the section above; use any combination of skin-on, bone-in chicken, like whole chicken legs, thighs, wings, drumsticks, necks, backs, and feet. You can also just use a whole chicken.
- Ginger - Aromatic and slightly spicy. An essential flavor for Chinese chicken stocks.
- Scallions - Scallions, or spring onions, provide the stock with a subtle onion and grassy flavor.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1. Boil ingredients
In a large stockpot, combine all the ingredients. Bring them to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the mixture to simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Step 2. Break up chicken pieces
After one hour, use a pair of tongs to break apart the chicken meat into smaller pieces for better flavor extraction. Simmer for another 3 hours.
Step 3. Strain
If you're not using the stock immediately, let it cool completely, strain it, and transfer it to plastic bags or containers. Keep it in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze it later.
💭 Top Tips
- Ensure you use chicken with skin and bones still attached. The skin and bones contain collagen, providing flavor and body to the stock.
- Add additional water as needed. If the water level falls below the meat, add more until it is slightly above or equal to the meat level.
- Skim off the scum during the first hour for the clearest stock. If you don't skim it off, it's okay, too; the stock will just become cloudier as the scum will emulsify into the stock. The flavor doesn't change much; it just doesn't look as nice.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Store Chinese chicken stock in plastic bags or air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing: You can store the stock in freezer-safe bags or containers for up to 3 months, but that can take up a lot of space in your freezer. A better method is to further reduce the stock by boiling off the water for 1-2 hours. By boiling the stock, water evaporates, and the stock becomes more concentrated and reduces in volume.
📖 Recipe FAQs
The terms are often used interchangeably, but there's a subtle difference between the two. Stock is typically made from bones, which contain collagen and lend a richer texture to the stock.
Broth is made with meat, producing a lighter but more flavorful liquid. This Chinese chicken stock recipe combines the two, but generally, we refer to it as a stock.
🍽 Recipes that use chicken stock
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📋 Recipe
Chinese Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- 12 cups water
- 2 pounds chicken (any combination of skin-on, bone-in chicken, like whole chicken legs, thighs, wings, drumsticks, necks, backs, feet, or a whole chicken)
- 3 slices ginger
- 2 scallion
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, combine all the ingredients. Bring them to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the mixture to simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
- After one hour, use a pair of tongs to break apart the meat into smaller pieces for better flavor extraction. Simmer for another 3 hours.
- If you're not using the stock immediately, let it cool completely, strain it, and transfer it to plastic bags or containers. Keep it in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze it for later use.
Notes
- Ensure you use chicken with skin and bones still attached. The skin and bones contain collagen, providing flavor and body to the stock.
- Add additional water as needed. If the water level falls below the meat, add more until it is slightly above or equal to the meat level.
- Skim off the scum during the first hour for the clearest stock. If you don't skim it off, it's okay, too; the stock will just become cloudier as the scum will emulsify into the stock. The flavor doesn't change much, it just doesn't look as nice.
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