Chicken Stewed with Ginseng and Red Dates

I’m totally bad in keeping up with my time right now. I’m been busy with everything these days and don’t have a chance to update my blog and me being in the kitchen to try new dishes is hard. I really miss doing what I love to do most.

So today, I’m going to share with you guys a new recipe on SOUP! It’s a Chinese soup. I grew up in a family where soup is very important and a must on every dinner. I’m so regret that I learn anything when I was younger because I thought I don’t have to cause I will always stay close with home but I’m so far away and I don’t know how to make soup. And I have to learn everything by myself. It will be lucky if I make soup once a month but things gets better now cause I’m getting better and better in making it. That is why I would love to share with you guys this recipe cause it’s one of my favorite soup and it’s good for you. You know, if you’re Chinese!

Ingredients:

1 fresh chicken or 4 chicken legs

10g (1/3oz) ginseng rootlet filaments, rinsed

5 seedless red dates (hong zao), rinsed

2 slices fresh ginger root

1 ½ litres (6 cups) water

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  

Method:

1)   Wash and clean the chicken. If using whole chicken, keep it whole or cut into large pieces. Cut the chicken legs in half. Poach the chicken in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and drain. Alternatively scald the chicken with boiling water.

2)   In a large heat-proof bowl, place the chicken together with all the other ingredients except the salt. Steam in a steamer or wok over boiling water for 2 hours, constantly replenishing the water in the steamer or wok as needed. Remove from the heat, stir in the salt and serve hot.

Notes:

Instead of sliced ginseng root, which is warming and most appropriate for winter, this recipe uses the fine rootlet filaments that grow from the main roots of ginseng. These have similar tonic properties to regular ginseng, but they are slightly cooling and may therefore be used in summer cooking. In addition, this recipe used red dates, a herb which is a tonic to the spleen and stomach, thereby improving digestion and assimilation of tonic nutrients. Red dates also have a calming effect on the whole system, while at the same time increasing available energy.