Golden Mushroom
Chicken Soup
A nourishing, golden-broth old hen soup featuring tender chicken, earthy morels, and cordyceps flowers, easily perfected using a pressure cooker.
Achieving a rich, golden, and crystal-clear chicken soup starts with a simple yet essential technique: browning the chicken first rather than adding water directly to the pot. This traditional home-style method locks in savory flavors, removes any unwanted gaminess, and creates a deeply comforting broth infused with wholesome mushrooms and red dates.
Ingredients
- 1 whole old hen or chicken, cut into pieces
- 5 slices fresh ginger
- 1 handful morel mushrooms
- 1 handful cordyceps flowers
- 5-6 pieces red dates
- 1 small handful wolfberries
- 2 stalks scallions
- to taste cooking oil
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp chicken essence
- 1 large bowl clean water
Instructions
- 1Fry the ginger
Heat oil in a wok and add ginger slices, frying them until fragrant.
Tip: Make sure the oil is properly heated before adding the ginger to release its aroma. - 2Add the fresh chicken
Pour fresh raw chicken pieces directly into the wok along with the fried ginger and hot oil.
Tip: Use fresh chicken pieces for the best flavor and texture in the soup. - 3Stir-fry the chicken
Stir-fry the chicken pieces continuously in the wok until their surfaces turn slightly browned.
Tip: Stir-frying the chicken first helps remove any fishy smell and enhances the rich flavor of the soup. - 4Transfer to pressure cooker
Transfer the sautéed chicken pieces into a pressure cooker pot for pressure cooking.
Tip: Ensure all the chicken pieces are transferred securely into the pot. - 5Add mushrooms and cordyceps flowers
Add your favorite dried mushrooms and cordyceps flowers on top of the chicken inside the pressure cooker.
Tip: You can use any mushrooms of your choice to complement the chicken broth. - 6Add clean water
Pour a large bowl of clear water into the pressure cooker over the chicken and mushrooms.
Tip: Never add water directly to the pot without browning the chicken first; clear water helps create a golden broth. - 7Add salt to taste
Add salt according to individual taste into the soup to season the broth before pressure cooking.
Tip: Seasoning with salt before pressure cooking allows the flavors to penetrate the chicken deeply. - 8Add red dates after pressure release
After the pressure is released from the cooker, open the lid and add the red dates into the cooked soup.
Tip: Adding delicate ingredients like red dates after pressure cooking prevents them from overcooking and disintegrating. - 9Add chicken essence and stir
Add an appropriate amount of chicken essence to the soup using a spoon and stir well to enhance the overall flavor.
Tip: Stir gently to ensure the chicken essence dissolves completely into the hot broth.
