Base Chicken Stock and Soup Recipe
How to make Base Chicken Stock and Soup
Method
- To make the chicken stock, rinse the whole chicken (and wings if using) under cold water and place into a large saucepan, not too much bigger than the chicken. Add onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Cover with 2-2.5 litres of water, or until just covered. The less liquid you use, the stronger the stock.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and skim off any scum that appears on the surface. Simmer very gently for 1-1½ hours, skimming every now and then, when necessary. You may need to add more water in the last half hour of cooking, to ensure plenty of stock (to use for your chicken soup and other dishes).
- Take off the heat and set aside. Remove the chicken and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain well and season.
- Remove and shred all of the meat, discarding the bones (reserve the meat for another use).
- Allow the stock to cool completely before refrigerating. Once chilled, this is ready to use again. You can also freeze once chillled. When reheating, you can remove some of the fat from the surface or leave it in.
- To finish the soup, add in sliced carrot into a pot. Add enough stock for your soup serving size and bring back to the boil. Remove leaves from bok choy stems and add to pot. Add in tofu and bring to boil. Add in torn leaves. Reduce heat to moderate simmer 10 minutes. Taste.
- You can add more water if needed or increase the flavour with an additional stock cube. You can also add some of the cooked chicken (optional) before serving.
Tips: The chicken yields approximately 600g cooked meat. The stock can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Optional: Adding additional chicken wings will give a meatier, richer stock.