Ingredients

• 1 small free-range chicken or Cornish hen, whole or cut into 4-8 pieces

• 8 (~ 15 gram) dried red dates/jujube fruit (Chinese: hong zao)

• 2 tablespoon (~10 gram) goji berries (Chinese: gou qi)

• 3 slices (~ 5 gram) angelica root (Chinese: dang gui)

• 1 slice (~ 5 gram) astragalus root (Chinese: huang qi)

• 10 pieces (~ 15 gram) codonopsis root (Chinese: dang shen)

• 8 slices (~ 10 gram) Sichuan lovage rhizome (Chinese: chuan xiong)

• 1/2 tablespoon (~ 5 gram) American (yellow) ginseng

• 1/4 tablespoon (~ 3 gram) Korean (red/panax) ginseng

• 2 teaspoon salt

• Fill pot with enough water to cover entire contents

Instructions

Rinse and drain all the dried herbs to remove dust and dirt.

Place all ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is tender and fully cooked. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Recipe source: Daily Cooking Quest

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds beef stock bones (*see footnote 1)

2 pound beef chuck or brisket, cut to 1.5 to 2 inch chunks (*see footnote 2)

Vegetable oil

2 green onions

1 thumb ginger, sliced

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup Japanese sake

Aromatics

2 chili peppers, dried

2 pieces cloves

1 whole star anise

1 whole nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).

Spread stock bones and meat in a large roasting pan. Spray a thin layer of oil onto the bones and meat. Roast on the bottom rack until the bones and meat turn an even golden brown color, about 40 minutes. Flip once, halfway through, and check on the bones frequently. If a higher part of the bones cooks too fast, cover with aluminium foil to avoid burning.

Transfer bones and meat to a large stock pot (I used a 16-quart pot). Pour a cup of hot water into the roasting pan and scrape the brown bits off the pan. Pour everything into the stock pot.

Add cold water to the stock pot to cover the ingredients by one inch. Turn on high heat. Add green onion, ginger, bay leaves, Japanese sake, and aromatics to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir a few times, and turn to low heat. Cook the broth at a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 4 to 6 hours (remove the beef during this process), until all the collagen on the bones has fallen off and the marrow is mostly dissolved. During the cooking, check on the stock and skim the brown foam from the top with a large spoon.

When the stock is ready, you can remove the bones and turn to high heat to reduce the soup so it’ll be easier to store.

Drain the stock with a colander and transfer it into airtight containers. Do not skim the fat from the top. You can store the stock in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

You can ask the butcher to saw the bones when you’re shopping for them. They release flavor much faster this way and will allow you to shorten the cooking time. I was working on another project while cooking with these bones, so I had to cook them whole. I cooked the stock overnight to get the desired thickness.

Do not cut the beef into tiny pieces. It will lose moisture faster and you will spend extra time dealing with it. You can always slice it into smaller pieces before serving.

In this recipe, you'll notice that the cooking process will take about 4-6 hours. Animal bones contain a lot of a protein called collagen, which is full of many beneficial amino acids. But because you can't digest bones, the long cooking process breaks down the collagen into a more digestible form called gelatin. It's this gelatin that makes this beef stock incredibly healthy and great for improving your digestive and joint health.

Recipe source: Omnivore’s Cookbook

This soup is said to have benefits related to blood pressure and hypertension. It can be a daily soup for all ages.

Black fungus / dried wood ear mushroom (with white backside) 50g

Red dates 5 pieces

Lean pork 100g

Fresh ginger two slices, approximately ¼” thick

1.5 litres of water

Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 2 hours.