Chinese Chicken Stock

I don't normally use a recipe for chicken stock. Chicken bones, maybe a neck, and a bunch of veggies and/or peelings go in a pot with some salt and water and maybe a few herbs. Cook everything together until delicious, strain, use or freeze as needed. No recipe necessary! But, after trying the Chinese vegetable stock recipe and being so impressed by it, I figured I'd give the chicken stock recipe on the next page a try as well.

It was fine. It was a perfectly acceptable chicken stock. But it wasn't really anything special. It wasn't any better than my "just throw a bunch of things in a pot" method. It wasn't worse. It was just... very standard, run-of-the-mill chicken stock. It didn't have the depth and intensity that I was expecting based on how the vegetable stock came out. Nothing wrong with it; it just didn't rock my world.

Chicken Stock

Slightly adapted from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Ingredients

• 1 whole (3.5kg) chicken, quartered
• 900g chicken wings
• 4L water
• 125g fresh ginger, lightly smashed
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 4-5 scallions, cut crosswise into thrids
• 2 onions, quartered
• 60g fresh cilantro, cut into 7cm lengths
• 1/4 c. fried onions (from Onion Oil)
• 1/4 c. goji berries (boxthorn seeds), soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Place the chicken parts (including giblets) in a large pot.
2. Add the water and other ingredients.
3. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and adjust lid so that the pot is still mostly covered, but with a small crack for steam to escape. Simmer for 5 hours, skimming as needed.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pot.
6. Strain.
7. Stock may be refrigerated or frozen for later use.