Double-boiled silkie chicken with Chinese yam and goji berries
淮山杞子燉烏雞
replenishes qinourishes bloodstrengthens the spleennourishes yinbrightens the eyesnourishes the complexionAll yearAutumnWinterdouble-boiled · 3.5 hoursA$12–22
“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”
Double-boiled (隔水燉, cooked in a covered pot sitting in a pan of boiling water). The saying goes 煲三燉四, three hours for a boiled soup and four for a double-boiled one. Put the ingredients in the stewing pot and pour in boiling water to just cover them, about 1 litre in a family-sized pot. Seal the top with cling film, traditionally gauze paper, and put the lid on. Sit it in an outer pan with water reaching one third to halfway up the pot and cook for 3 to 4 hours, topping up with boiling water as you go. Salt goes in last.
Chop the black-boned chicken into pieces and blanch it with the lean pork (汆水, a quick boil to drive off blood and scum).
Give the dried Chinese yam and goji berries a quick rinse, and pit the red dates.
Put everything into the stewing pot and pour in boiling water to just cover.
Seal with cling film, put the lid on and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours, topping up the outer pan with boiling water along the way.
Season with salt before drinking.
Who it suits
low qi and blood
a pale complexion
tiring easily
tired eyes
Who should take care
No double-boiled tonics while a cold has not cleared (general warning across this whole collection)
People who are dry and heaty should go easy on it
People with gout should take care, since long double-boiled meat soups are high in purines
Soup stories
This is the most basic gentle tonic double-boil in a Hong Kong household. Silkie chicken is the nourishing meat, traditionally said to build qi and blood and to cool while it nourishes, and it is paired here with the mildest herb pairing there is, 淮山 Chinese yam and 杞子 goji. Almost anyone can drink it, and it suits autumn and winter best.
moistens the lungssupports the kidneyssoothes cough3.5h slow fireWinter
百子櫃Cordyceps· 3 to 5 pieces百子櫃Teal (small wild-type duck)· 1百子櫃Dried fig· 2百子櫃Aged dried tangerine peel· a quarter piece街市Fresh ginger· 2 slices
“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”
Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.
問阿媽ASK AH MA
Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.