Chinese Herbal Soup with Abalone
Soup Name:
Chicken Herbal Soup with Abalone
Traditional Chinese Name:
鮑魚清雞湯 (bào yú qīng jī tāng)
This soup is warming in nature and sweet to taste.
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One of my favourite basic chicken Chinese soups – ever! And it’s special when I add abalone because it’s delicious to eat as part of the meal and brings a special savory taste to the soup. You can’t really taste the sea, but it does really accent the soup! This soup is warming in nature and sweet to taste. I made this soup for my daughters post menstruation and it’s perfect for cold winter days or when you’d like to replenish qi or blood and have excess yin (feeling cold in the limbs, have a pale tongue, pale complexion).
I buy my abalone frozen from the local supermarkets. These are a little smaller ones and are perfect for soups. To use, you can thaw the night before or soak in cool water. Remove from the shell gently, ensuring you don’t break any of it and then you can use a knife or your fingers to gently remove the bottom portion (also the stomach and reproduction parts of the abalone). Be sure to also wash them. I’ll use a toothbrush because it’s smaller and can get into the crevices of the abalone. Some people use a brush as well. You can also do this under running water.
What’s involved?
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 15 mins
Serves: 4 bowls of soup
Ingredients
- 1 whole fresh silkie black chicken
- 5 fresh (or frozen) abalone
- 2-3 slices of dong quai
- 10 dried red dates
- 10 dried dragon eyes
- 5 dried Chinese Yam
- 2 L of water
Cooking Instructions
- Begin to boil a separate pot to blanch your chicken in
- Prepare your chicken (I usually remove the legs and wings and quarter it)
- Prepare the abalone by removing it from it’s shell and removing its organs
- In the blanching pot, pre-boil the chicken and abalone to remove excess debris, blood, bones, and fat. Once it boils again for 5 minutes, you can remove it from the hot water. It doesn’t need to be fully cooked as that will happen in the soup.
- Begin to boil your soup water
- Once your soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
- Boil on high for 30 mins and reduce to a low boil for another 2.5 hours
- Serve and enjoy! No salt needed – try it! This soup is delicious!!
Benefits
- This soup is warming and amazing for replenishing and nourishing blood and qi
- It also helps tonify the blood
- Perfect for those who have excess yin and need more yang in the body (see this post on and introduction to yin and yang in the body and soups)
Precautions
- This is a warm soup, so not suggested for those who have yin deficiency (too much yang) in their bodies
