Ginseng Silkie Chicken Soup 花旗參竹絲雞湯 is a traditional Chinese medicinal soup that has been used for thousands of years. It’s a good soup to make when your body needs a bit of a boost in immune function and energy. Perfect during exams or long work hours to heighten brain function, strengthen the immune system and preserve eye health.
Silkie chicken has 4 times less fat than regular chicken and it also has double the amount of carnosine. Carnosine shows benefits for anti-aging, anti-fatigue, cataracts, weight loss and healing. The skin is high in amino acids and iron so don’t remove it! The taste of the silkie chicken is slightly gamey and quite mild.
It’s very common to add lean pork meat or pork bones with the silkie chicken when making soup. The pork has two functions. One is tor enhance the flavour of the soup and the second is to counter the coldness of the chicken. In Chinese herbology, all chicken is considered cold. Consuming too many cold foods can lead to poor digestion and poor blood circulation. Adding ginger and pork can counter the coldness of the chicken. However, adding pork bones will make your soup slightly cloudy. If you want a clear broth, you will need to add lean pork meat instead.
If you want to make this soup without any pork, consider adding a small hand-full of toasted uncooked rice to lessen the coldness of the silkie chicken and the ginseng. This is probably why in Korean ginseng chicken soup, they stuff the inside of the chicken with roasted rice.
Ginseng is a great ingredient to add to silkie chicken soup. It can further elevate the immune and energy boosting benefits. I hated the taste of ginseng when I was younger but I have grown to love it now. If you don’t like it, you’d find it bitter and when you like it, you’d probable describe the taste as sweet and earthy. I think it grows on you with age. I am not an expert on ginseng, however, it’s safe to assume that the more expensive it is, the more potent. Ginseng has been shown also to reduce inflammation and may help with lowering blood sugar, preventing cancer and improving erectile dysfunction.
The number one question is how much ginseng should I add? In general, you can add 15-20g of ginseng to a pot of soup that serves 6-8 people which would contain approximately 2 litres of water. I recently found a big bag of ginseng from many years ago in my cupboard. It was a gift from a relative. Since it has likely lost some of its flavour, I add about 20% more than normal. For more details or specific information, you can ask the practitioners at your local Chinese herbal store.
Follow my easy Ginseng Silkie Chicken Soup 花旗參竹絲雞湯 recipe that’s healthy for the whole family.
How about a healthy dessert soup for after dinner? Try my Papaya, Peach Resin and Coconut Soup 木瓜桃膠椰汁糖水
Ginseng Silkie Chicken Soup 花旗參竹絲雞湯
Ingredients
- 1 Silkie chicken approx. 900g
- 900 g Pork bones or use 1lb lean pork meat
- 20 g American ginseng
- 4 slices Ginger
- 50 g Red dates pitted
- 20 g Goji berries
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 2 L Water
Instructions
- Chop silkie chicken into smaller pieces
- In a large pot, put in silkie chicken pieces and pork bones. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
This step is to cleanse the meat so that your soup can be free of any impurities and bone residue. You may want to scoop out the impurities and foam before pouring everything out so that it doesn’t stick to the meat - Pour into a colander and rinse clean with cold water
- Soak ginseng, red dates and goji berries for 10 minutes to soften and to rinse off any dust
- Remove the pits in the red dates
Pits can cause heatiness and is often removed before cooking - In a clean pot, place silkie chicken, pork bones, ginseng, red dates, goji berries, ginger and 2 L of water. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to low
- Cook on low heat for 3 hours
- Taste and add salt to suit your taste.
- Serve
- Silkie chicken and meat on bones can be eaten. It’s common to serve with soy sauce for dipping. I generally will not eat it and I add another 1.5L of water and make more soup for the next day.
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