Hainanese Chicken Rice-Inspired Ginger Scallion Chicken Bone Broth

Amidst the chilly Spring showers that have been frequenting my geographic location, I felt inspired to recreate a soup-for-the-soul warming broth. If you're looking for a complete Hainan Chicken Rice recipe, look no further than Woks of Life for a good reference, but there are plenty of other good references out there too.

My Recipe:

Cookware:

• Stainless steel pot

• Chef's Knife

• Filtering/Strainer Ladle

• Tasting Spoon
  

Ingredients:

• Parts of a whole chicken (or a whole chicken), I used leftover Rotisserie chicken bones, with bits of cartilage, skin, fat, tendon, otherwise not edible for other dishes

• Sea salt

• Ginger

• Scallion

• Garlic (optional)

• Water

Directions:

1. Fry the chicken pieces in the pot, allowing the schmaltz to render out a bit, and brown -- this will help create and impart more flavor into the broth.

2. Once the bottom of the pot is entirely lubricated with a thin layer of schmaltz, add in aromatics (ginger and scallion - I plucked large green pieces from the garden). For a clear broth / fine-dining experience, I recommend grinding the ginger into a fine paste.

3. Fry again for a bit to impart aromatic flavors.

4. Add water, put on high heat to boil, then simmer until preferred done-ness.

5. I knew mine was done when the broth had a milky, full-bodied color and the meat fell off the chicken bones and the cartilage was soft.

6. I added some pinches of salt to taste. I use a tasting spoon for this.

7. Using a filtering ladle, I removed all the inedible meat and bone bits (still left in residual green onion and tasty meat bits)

8. Et voila! Enjoy!

I found this broth was INCREDIBLE for using as a base for other soups - I tried different versions, one where I added to a doenjang jjigae, the other where I added spice powder-paste on top, and it tasted AMAZING. One could also use as a base for porridge - the options are endless!