Monday, January 10, 2011

Chinese Yam Chicken Soup 淮山鸡汤

I love Chinese Yam (淮山 huai shan /山药 shan yao) and is actively looking for new soup recipes to try out.  After I found this recipe by Food 4 Tots, I've been cooking this fairly often as my kids love this soup very much.

The chinese yam sold in the supermarket nearby weigh 500g and above.  I do not want to use half of it and keep the balance so I always throw in the whole lot into the pot.

PS: I hate taking soup pictures as they are always so boring.

Chinese Yam Chicken Soup (淮山鸡汤)
Ingredients
500g chicken meat/bones
500g fresh huai shan(淮山 huai shan /山药 shan yao), peeled and cut into chunks
2 - 3 large carrots
100g yu zhu (玉竹)
2 tbsp gou zi (枸子)
20 - 30 red dates (I added in these dates to increase the sweetness of the soup)
1.5 - 2 litres water

Seasonings
2 tbsp rice wine (sometimes I use homemade ginger wine 姜酒)
Salt to taste

Method
  1. Remove skin of carrots and cut into smaller pieces.
  2. Rinse red dates and yu zhu, soak in water for 5 - 10 mins or till soft.
  3. Blanch chicken meat/bones.
  4. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients (except wolfberries) in a pot. Using medium fire, bring water to boil again and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, reduce to small flame and simmer for 2 hours. 
  5. Add in the wolfberries and let it brew in low fire for another 5 - 10 mins.
  6. Add salt and rice/ginger wine to taste before serving. 

8 comments:

  1. I always enjoy making and having chinese herbal soup.
    I love chinese yam, there are like a lighter version of potatos. Need to try the rice wine add.
    Thank you for sharing, and i like your photo too :)
    Lisa
    CookNg Sisters

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  2. Mmm...delicious and nutritious. My family loves this type of soup...perfect for the cold winter here.

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  3. Seeing your soup reminded me so much of my mom's home made soup. awwww...

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  4. My mil has been telling me how good Chinese yam is and encourage me to try using it in soup ..

    thanks for the recipe .. i hope I can find a time to use it..

    anyway your soup picture is not boring cos got carrot colour.

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  5. Wendy,
    The Chinese Yam is not slimy after cooked, in fact it texture is very much like cooked potatoes.

    Lisa,
    Thanks for visiting. You've got a great blog! I'll be checking out your soup recipes as my kids love soup too!

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  6. MaryMoh,
    A hot soup is definitely great for a cold weather, what's more cold winter! Happy New Year!

    Edith,
    I know I know, I miss my mom's soups too!

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  7. Sherlyn,
    I hope you will like this soup.

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