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December 24, 2020 – 1:14 pm | 3,679 views

Soup Name:  Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

Traditional Chinese Name: 清雞湯 (qīng jī tāng)

Introduction: This is the base Chinese Chicken Soup stock that …

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Home » Chicken, Ingredients, Meats

Chicken (Whole)

Submitted by on December 23, 2008 – 10:06 am4 Comments | 27,298 views

 

Ingredient Name:  Chicken (whole), fowl, hen
 
Traditional Chinese Name: 雞 (jī)
 
What is this?
  • Literally, the WHOLE chicken
  • Which means, it may potentially come with a head, feet, and internal organs

How do I prepare it?

  • You will need to clean and then cut the chicken into pieces (quarters will suffice)
  • Some people prefer to skin the chicken and make the soup without the skin and reduce the amount of fat by trimming any fat off the chicken first
  • The Chinese will use the ENTIRE chicken (except the head), including the feet for their soup
  • Put the chicken into boiling water first, drain and then put the cooked chicken into the boiling soup base

Where can I buy this?

  • In any supermarket, you can purchase them fresh or frozen

What is the cost?

  • Depending on size and quality, you can purchase a frozen whole chicken for around $7 – $15 CAD / chicken
  • Fresh can vary as well ranging from $7 – $20 CAD / chicken
  • In Hong Kong wet marts, vendors are being phased out from carrying live chickens to date, but they range from $78 – $120 HKD / chicken (this applies to frozen chickens in wet mart as well)

Any benefits?

  • Boiled white meat is healthier to consume than red meats
  • Using the whole chicken (bones and all) helps with providing collagen
  • Skinless and boiled chicken is a great low-fat protein.  It is lower in calories, fats and saturated fats than most other meats
  • Chicken is extremely dense in nutrients, including protein, zinc, iron, phosphorous, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin 

Any precautions?

  • Wash your hands and cutting utensils thoroughly after handling raw poultry to avoid cross-contamination like salmonella

 

I am a big fan of using the whole chicken.  It always seems to taste better with the whole chicken and I highly enjoy eating the meat with the soup – it makes for a hearty meal.

4 Comments »

  • Faye says:
    April 23, 2011 at 10:58 am

    How long do we need to pre-boil the chicken before draining?

  • LadyTong says:
    April 24, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    Hi Faye,
    You should pre-boil or blanch for about 5 minutes. Make sure you put the raw chicken into boiling water (not cold water). The oil, dirt + extras all come out to give you a cleaner soup base. Hope this helps.
    Lisa

  • Lam says:
    May 28, 2013 at 11:02 am

    What kind of chicken should we use?

  • LadyTong says:
    May 29, 2013 at 3:47 pm

    Dear Lam, to be fair, any type of chicken actually. White, black are both OK. Hope this helps, Lisa

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