What I Ate: November 3, 2009

Posted 3 November, 2009 at 10:06pm by Michael Chu

(Filed under: Food, What I Ate)

2 comments to What I Ate: November 3, 2009

Stephen, November 4th, 2009 at 4:44 am:

• Do you have a recipe for the chicken soup? From what I can tell of the picture, it appears that you cooked the soup with the chicken in it. When my Chinese grandmother made chicken soup, she didn't like the chicken and actually threw it out or did something that I don't know about with the chicken because apparently it was too tough. Also her stock was a lot darker. She's gone now but I always wondered how she made it and I couldn't replicate it.

Michael Chu, November 4th, 2009 at 12:41 pm:

• The soup we made yesterday was intended to be eaten with the chicken. Because of that, I used only drumsticks (thighs work well too). Using white meat yields chicken that is tough and unappetizing (and also does not provide much flavor to the soup).

  I chopped two pounds of carrots, 1 pound of celery, and 2 small onions (usually 1 use one medium onion, but the onions I had left were smaller) and threw them all into a stock pot. Then I dropped in about 3 or 4 pounds of drumsticks, added salt, pepper, and enough water to cover.

  With the lid on, I brought it to a boil, then reduced the heat to allow it to simmer for about one hour (stirring occasionally - every 10 to twenty minutes to make sure all the drumsticks spent most of the time under water).

  This produces a light, but flavorful soup. Add salt and pepper to taste when consuming. For a richer, darker stock, I start with roasted chicken which brings out a stronger flavor. Often I'll use the discarded bones and meaty trimmings (the back) from sectioning a whole chicken as a stock base. Here's how I make my stock.