| Superior Stock ~ The traditional Superior Stock is usually produced in quantity in China, which is a long and stylized process. When dining in a restaurant in Peking, one can usually call for Superior Stock to be served as soup free of charge. 1 chicken (about 3 pounds) ~ remove drumsticks and breast set aside. Remove liver) 2 pounds pork 2 pounds spare ribs 3 pounds pork bones 1 pound ham 8 - 10 quarts of water - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 tbsp of fresh ginger slices, 1 large onion, quartered 3 garlic cloves, smashed note: 1. For easy removal later, you can put these into a small cheesecloth bag 2. Do not add salt or MSG ~ these are added in the individual recipe. Remove the breast meat and 2 drumsticks from a 3 pound chicken (remove and discard liver), and boil the rest of the chicken for 15 minutes with 2 pounds pork, 2 pounds spare ribs, 2 pounds pork bones, and 1 pound of ham in 5 to 6 quarts of water, skimming off all scum and extraneous matter. Lift out the chicken and pork, then the pork bones, and place them all in a bowl containing 2 quarts of cold water. After turning the chicken and bones around in the water, pour half of it into the stock, in which the chicken, has been boiled. The sudden coolness of the water coagulates and precipitates more of the grease and impurities in the stock, these can easily be skimmed off. Before returning the chicken, pork, and bones to the pan for a further period of simmering, pour a quarter of the now augmented stock into a separate bowl to cool. This cooling stock will be used later on in the same way as the cold water was used to precipitate and coagulate grease and impurities. After the chicken, pork, etc. has been returned to the main pot, bring the contents to boil and simmer gently for 1 hour. The chicken, and pork are again lifted out, and the cooled broth water poured into the pot, again precipitating and coagulating more grease, impurities, and extraneous matter which are again removed. The above process is repeated twice more over a period of 3 hours, after which the stock will have become stronger as well as more purified. The final phase of the preparation consists of some seasonings and double clarification. The seasoning is done by the addition of a small amount of ginger, onion, and soy sauce (according to your own taste) Chop the breast meat and the meat from the drumsticks of the chicken, keeping them separate. The chopped darker drumstick meat is used for the first clarification, and the minced white breast meat is used in the second clarification. The clarification is achieved in each case by simmering the minced chicken in the stock for 10 - 12 minutes, then straining it. The important thing is not allowing the stock to come to a full boil at any time, thus creating what is called a stewed stock. The simmering has to be kept very gentle throughout to produce clear stock. For making larger quantities of this Superior Stock a duck, where available, can be added to every 2 chickens used. But only the chicken meat should be used for clarification. A fascinating and established way of conducting the process of clarification in restaurants is to place only a quarter of the pot over the fire, and a filter at the opposite side just below the surface of the stock. Because of the heat, the stock at the fire-end of the pot rises rapidly, carrying all the impurities with it. As the liquid reaches the top and pours over to the opposite end, the impurities are caught by the filter. As the process is circular and continuous, the stock becomes progressively and increasingly purified; and within the 10 - 12 minutes that the clarification is working, the stock will become crystal-clear. For more clarification, refrigerate stock for about 1 hours or until well chilled. Any oil will have then moved to the top where it can be removed. I use coffee filters and pour the chilled stock through the filters...slowly. Superior Stock can be frozen for later use. Superior Stock is essential in the preparation of soups and sauces if these are to be of the highest quality. Egg Flower Soup ~ Hot & Sour Soup About 8 quarts of stock. |
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