Chinese Chicken broth is an easy-to-make yet essential building block of cooking authentic Chinese food at home! It is used in Chinese noodle soups, hot pot, sauces, and more. I love Chinese soup so much, I can have 2 to 3 different types in a single meal, so we've been making chicken bone broth at home for years! I show you how to make both clear stock and milky stock.
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Vital ingredient for authentic Chinese cuisine: you'll find chicken broth used in everything from stir-frying noodles, to cooking Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice and soups such as abalone chicken soup, Napa cabbage soup, wonton soup, Pumpkin Soup, Hong Kong macaroni soup, egg drop soup, and more. It also adds great flavor to stir-fried veggies such as bok choy. If you enjoy Chinese cooking, you need to learn to make your own chicken stock: store-bought chicken stock and western chicken stock just isn't the same.
- Simple to make: it's really just simmering chicken bones in a pot of water, but I share some tips and tricks below on how to get a clearer and better tasting broth. For example, making chicken broth traditionally takes a long time, but using a pressure cooker can shorten the process. (See "Expert Tips" below.)
🥘 Ingredients
You really only need 2 ingredients to make the most basic chicken stock:
- chicken bones: you can also use a whole chicken or chicken meat and bone, but that is more expensive. (In addition, cooking chicken meat for the amount of time Chinese chicken broth needs turns the meat tough so I prefer to make a stock from just the bones, then poach a whole chicken until just done in the stock to make chicken soup.) Traditionally, most Chinese families were quite poor and thrifty, so they would turn leftover chicken bones into soup stock. Ideally, having some meat on the bones would give your stock more flavor. A good broth should be collagen-rich- it should turn into a jelly when it cools- so use more chicken feet and chicken wings if you can. (These are the collagen rich parts.)
- water: the water should cover the bones in the beginning.
However, it is customary to add a few aromatics to complement the flavor of the chicken and mask any meaty odors in basic Chinese chicken stock:
- fresh ginger: this is the most important of the 3 condiments, as ginger and chicken go together like peanut butter and jelly in Asian kitchens.
- green onion (also known as scallion or spring onions): this is the 2nd most important condiment. Wash and slice into 2 inch pieces or simply tie in a knot
Note: you can add fresh garlic if you want but it's not traditional. Unlike western stock, Chinese chicken stock doesn't typically include vegetables.
📖 Variations & Substitutes
Basic chicken stock is the most versatile. However, if you want to make a more luxurious soup stock, you can also add:
- dried seafood: this can be anything from dried scallops, dried abalone, dried conch etc. They'll make the stock more savory.
- pork meat and/ or pork bones: chicken and pork are sometimes mixed to make a "superior" stock (also known as high stock, gao tang and shang tang 上湯)), used in more expensive soup recipes.
- Jinhua Ham: this is like the prosciutto of the Chinese kitchen. If you can't get it, you can use Virginia ham or prosciutto. (Once you add it, you're not making a pure chicken stock anymore though.)
If you want to give the chicken broth some natural sweetness, you can also add the following. However, I tend to only add them when making the final soup- such as this ginseng chicken soup and evil chicken soup- so as to keep the taste of my chicken bone broth as pure as possible:
- dried longans: these are so sweet, they're used to make a Chinese herbal tea
- jujubes
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
A good Chinese cook would tell you that you MUST blanch the bones (i.e. bring the chicken pieces to the boil in cold water, then throw away the water, rinse the bones, return to a clean pot, cover with water and boil again.) This gives you a clearer chicken broth (like consomme.) However, I confess to usually being too lazy and skipping this step as chicken is "cleaner" than pork so produces less scum. (You can NOT skip the blanching when making pork stock.)
- Either way, add the cups of water and (blanched/ not) chicken bones to a large pot then bring to a boil. Use enough water to cover the bones.
2. Add the aromatics, if using.
3. Add the dried seafood (for umami), if using.
4A. For clear stock
- Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce to low heat. We want the pot only at a simmer, uncovered. Skim off any scum.
- Allow to simmer for at least 4-5 hours, skimming every now and then, and topping up with water as necessary. (If you don't want it to be cloudy, you have to ensure it doesn't come to a boil.)
- Fora super clear stock, sieve the stock through a cheesecloth lined strainer over a large bowl.
4B. For milky stock
- Follow the steps above but do not simmer the stock. Instead keep it at a constant boil over medium heat. You will need to add water more often if making creamy stock.
- Once done, strain or fish out the chicken pieces and aromatics.
🥡 How to Store
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days- discard if moldy or smelly.
Alternatively, freeze for up to 6 months.
You can also freeze in a silicone ice cube tray, to make the chicken stock easier to use.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: When turning the chicken stock into Asian chicken soup, you can add spices such as white pepper or star anise, and season with fish sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine etc.
Tip #2: I like to use my Le Creuset pasta pot to make stock. It's basically 2 pots: a colander pot (with holes) in a bigger pot. The bones go into the colander section, so I can remove them easily, without sieving, after making my stock.
Tip #3: If you just want a tasty homemade chicken broth, and are not fussed about makign authentic chinese dishes, you can add vegetable scraps too.
Tip #4: To cool the stock more quickly (so that you can store it in the fridge), you can put the pot in an ice bath. (One way is to fill the sink with ice.)
💭 Recipe FAQs
You can use a chicken bouillon cube. However, the best substitute is chicken seasoning powder, found in Asian grocery stores.
Yes. In fact, using a pressure cooker can help you get a clear chicken soup more easily, as the liquid is still inside (and not at a boil.) You add the ingredients and water to the pressure cooker, making sure not to exceed the maximum line, seal, start it, and cook for 45 minutes. At the end, rapid-release the pressure or let the cooker reduce pressure slowly as it cools. (If you want a clear stock, you need to go with the slow option.)
🥗 What To Make with Chicken Stock
You can make anything from soupy rice noodles to Chinese chicken soup!
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Chinese Chicken Broth
Equipment
- Pot
- strainer
- Cheesecloth If you want a super clear stock
Ingredients
- 4.4 lb chicken bones (2kg- or use as much as you have. However, if you have too little bones, you won't get much stock, and it won't be worth the hours of cooking.) Ideally use pieces with more meat. Use as much chicken feet and chicken wings as you can get to create a collagen-rich, gelatinous stock.
- 8 Cups water Or enough to cover the bones in the pot. (This does not include the water needed for blanching, if you want to blanch the bones first.)
- 3-4 inch fresh ginger No need to peel, just wash and smash with a rolling pin or the back of your knife. See recipe post above for additional ingredients you can add. (Under Variations and Substitutes.)
- 8 scallions Wash and slice or tie in a knot
Instructions
Blanching (Optional)
- A good Chinese cook would tell you that you MUST blanch the bones (i.e. bring the chicken pieces to the boil in cold water, then throw away the water, rinse the bones, return to a clean pot, cover with water and boil again.) This gives you a clearer chicken broth (like consomme.)
- However, I confess to usually being too lazy and skipping this step as chicken is "cleaner" than pork so produces less scum. (You can NOT skip the blanching when making pork stock.)
Making Stock
- Either way, add the cups of water and (blanched/ not) chicken bones to a large pot then bring to a boil. Use enough water to cover the bones.
- Add the aromatics and dried seafood, if using.
A. For clear stock
- Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce to low heat. We want the pot only at a simmer, uncovered. Skim off any scum.
- Allow to simmer for at least 4-5 hours, skimming every now and then, and topping up with water as necessary. (If you don't want it to be cloudy, you have to ensure it doesn't come to a boil.)
- Fora super clear stock, sieve the stock through a cheesecloth lined strainer over a large bowl.
B. For milky stock
- Follow the steps above but do not simmer the stock. Instead keep it at a constant boil over medium heat. You will need to add water more often if making creamy stock.
- Once done, strain or fish out the chicken pieces and aromatics.
Storage
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Jane says
Hi! If I'm freezing the stock, how much do I use when required? I'm hoping to make congee with it whenever I get a craving! Do I just use the recommended chicken stock amount required or is it more concentrated and needs diluting? Also, can I heat up in a pan straight from frozen?
Sorry for all the questions!
Zen says
Thanks for stopping by Jane! You can definitely freeze it- I often do. The easiest way to freeze is to boil down till super concentrated then freeze in a Silicone Ice Tray (so you can pop them out easily)- that way you can use just a bit for stir-fries, and two just for congee and soups 🙂 As for how much to use when making congee, this will depend on how long you boiled it for (and how high the fire is.) The more concentrated it is, the less you need to use (make up the rest with water.) Generally, if you see that the stock has gelled over after cooling in the fridge, you've done a good job and gotten a concentrated stock, so you can use less (than the recipe calls for and dilute with water.) (The more stock you use, the more flavourful your recipe will be, generally.) Sorry I couldn't be more exact, but hope this helps!
Dorene chew says
Enjoy your recipe of chicken stock - my helper use it very often to make mee Hoon soup for me, soup with seafood, tofu and cabbage. Thank you very much !