Napa Cabbage Chicken Soup

Method12 steps · about 4 hr 30 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Bring the source three bowls of blanching water to a boil in a separate pot. Add the ½ kg pork ribs and boil for about 8–10 minutes, checking from 8 minutes, until scum rises. Drain and discard the blanching water, then rinse the blanched ribs carefully and remove visible clots from the bone crevices.

   Drain blanched pork ribs · 8 minUses ½ kg pork ribs · 3 bowls water, for blanching pork ribs · Clean water, for rinsing blanched ribs

2. 2

   Step 2: Check the cleaned large whole chicken (1 large) and remove any giblet packet or loose innards. Pat dry with clean paper towels and keep refrigerated until adding it to the soup, using separate utensils from the ready serving foods.

   Uses 1 large whole chicken

3. 3

   Step 3: Soak the 8–10 dried shiitake mushrooms in enough hot clean water until fully soft. If a prolonged soak is needed, refrigerate it. Remove and discard the hard stems. Strain and reserve the soaking liquid, keeping the cleaned mushroom caps separate.

   Uses 8–10 dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms · Hot clean water, enough to soak the dried shiitake mushrooms

4. 4

   Step 4: Peel the thumb-sized piece of ginger (1) and cut it into thick slices.

   Uses 1 thumb-sized piece ginger

5. 5

   Step 5: Wash the napa cabbage (1) thoroughly and cut it crosswise into strips about 2.5 cm wide. Drain and keep ready for the late cooking phase.

   Uses 1 napa cabbage, approximately 500 g · Clean water, for washing napa cabbage

6. 6

   Step 6: Pour hot water over the 30 g Chinese salted ham and two preserved duck gizzards, then rinse thoroughly to remove their surface waxy oil. Drain and keep the ham and gizzards separate. This recipe leaves the gizzards in for the long simmer until tender.

   Uses 30 g Chinese salted ham (Yunnan or Jinhua) · 2 preserved duck gizzards · Hot water and rinsing water, for ham and preserved gizzards

7. 7

   Step 7: Cut the drained ham from step 6 into thick slices. Keep the two rinsed gizzards reserved for the soup pot.

   Uses Ham only, excluding gizzards and discarded rinsing water

8. 8

   Step 8: Measure the strained mushroom-soaking liquid from step 3 in a suitable jug. Add enough fresh water to make 3.5 l combined liquid in total, then pour it into a large soup pot with room for the chicken and other foods. Bring the combined liquid to a boil over high heat.

   Uses Strained liquid only, excluding cleaned mushrooms and discarded stems · Fresh water, only enough to reach 3.5 l including the reserved mushroom liquid

9. 9

   Step 9: Add the drained blanched ribs from step 1, cleaned whole chicken from step 2, softened mushroom caps from step 3, sliced ginger from step 4, sliced ham from step 7 and drained gizzards from step 6 to the boiling liquid from step 8. Return to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for about 3 hours, checking the pot throughout. Keep the foods covered by liquid and adjust the heat to avoid excessive evaporation.

   Add prepared napa cabbage · 180 minUses Boiling measured 3.5 l combined soup liquid · Ribs only, excluding discarded blanching and rinsing water · Prepared cleaned whole chicken · Mushroom caps only, excluding the separately used liquid and discarded stems · Prepared peeled ginger slices · Sliced rinsed Chinese ham · Gizzards only, excluding ham and discarded rinsing water

10. 10

    Step 10: Add the drained cabbage from step 5 to the soup from step 9. Return to a gentle boil and cook for the first 15 minutes of its 30-minute finishing phase.

    Add late wolfberries · 15 minUses Three-hour chicken, rib, mushroom, ham and gizzard soup · Cabbage only, excluding washing water

11. 11

    Step 11: Rinse the 20 g wolfberries just before adding them to the soup from step 10. Drain, add them and cook for another 15 minutes, completing 30 minutes for the cabbage. Check the cabbage and gizzards are tender, the ribs are fully cooked and chicken meat reaches 74°C at the thickest breast and thigh without touching bone. Continue as needed to these endpoints. Taste without adding extra salt; the preserved ham and gizzards already season the soup.

    Check finished chicken-cabbage soup · 15 minUses Soup after the first fifteen-minute cabbage phase · 20 g wolfberries · Clean water, for the last-minute wolfberry rinse

12. 12

    Step 12: Serve the finished soup and cooked foods from step 11 hot, with separately prepared warm jasmine rice if wanted. The author gives eight soup portions as a guide. Cool leftovers promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate; reheat cooked soup and chicken thoroughly to 74°C before serving again.

    Uses Soup and cooked foods only, excluding the discarded wolfberry-rinsing water · Ready cooked jasmine rice, for serving if wanted