Chinese Pantry Broth
This time of year we tend to make lots of soups. Not only because it warms us up but because it’s cleansing—a much needed break from the holiday feasting...
HAZLO🤓👩🍳
Chinese Pantry Broth
This time of year we tend to make lots of soups. Not only because it warms us up but because it’s cleansing—a much needed break from the holiday feasting. The importance of using good broth for Chinese cooking (and really, any cooking) cannot be overstated. This amazing broth is completely versatile (which is why we consider it "pantry"). In making soups—hundreds of varieties can be made. Get creative, place rice or noodles in the bottom of your bowl, throw in your favorite veggies, meats or both and ladle your hot soup right over it, which is what we love to do! Use it as the foundation for more complicated soups like a classic corn soup, chicken and mushroom soup, tomato and egg et cetera, et cetera....you get the idea...heck slurp it up on it's own!
Make a large batch, keep it in your fridge for a week or freeze it in smaller quantities. A new soup can be had everyday! P.S. we also use this to make grains, poach eggs, braised carrots or even brussel sprouts.
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, meat stock or vegetable stock
(follow us here to make either three from scratch
or if you don’t have time you can use a really good store bought stock)
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
3-4 dried bok choy (a nice big handful )
1 teaspoon pepper corn
1 whole dried lemon
2 slices of dried orange peal
5 dried liquorice slices
handful dried red dates
2 star anise
1 medium size onion
1 small red pepper deseeded and sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, whole and smashed with the back of a cleaver
1 chunk ginger (think golf ball) roughly cut in cubes and smashed with the back of a cleaver
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 tablespoon of mirin
1 tablespoon shaoxing rice wine
2 small rock sugar
Stalk:
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If you are making your stock follow this link for full ingredients and method
Chinese Pantry Soup:
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Pour stock into a large clay pot and heat on very low. Clay pots are amazing to use, because they add flavor while cooking low and slow, but you can always use any heavy bottomed pot.
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Meanwhile wrap dried bok choy, cardamom seeds, peppercorn, handful of dried red dates, dried lemon, dried orange peal and 2 star anise in a cheese cloth and tie up. Place in broth.
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Cut and peel your onion in half, add garlic, ginger and drop your rock sugar into the pot.
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Add fish sauce, mirin, shaoxing rice wine and soy sauce. Turn your pot up to medium slowly bring it to a simmer for 45 minutes.
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Using a fine mesh strainer, pour broth through to discard all solids. Place back into pot if you are going to use immediately and bring it back up to a simmer, otherwise you can store the broth for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze in smaller portions to use later.
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To make soup prepare your bowls with noodle or rice, cooked meat or vegetables and ladle the hot broth over. Thinner tender vegetables will cook right in the broth, while vegetables that need more time to soften should placed into the pot of broth before hand.
