SERVES 2 TO 3 IN LARGE BOWLS, 4 TO 6 IN SMALL BOWLS
My staff always laughs at me for floating a dozen ingredients in any bowl of soup, so this very pleasant soup with only nine components came to be called “simple soup.” No reason, however, to hold back! Some fresh kernels of corn and a bit of fresh tomato dice—now that I look at it—would be simply lovely in this soup.
This is an easy soup to prepare. Once the chicken is marinated it can be finished in minutes.
VELVET MARINADE:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ pound fresh chicken breast, skinned, boned, and cut into ½-inch cubes
8 cups China Moon Infusion (page 72)
Kosher salt
Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt (page 5)
SOUP TRIMMINGS:
1 packed cup finely slivered Napa cabbage
6 large fresh water chestnuts, cut into thin half-moons
⅓ cup finely shredded carrot
½ cup thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
¼ cup finely chopped Chinese chives
⅓ cup toasted, sliced almonds
¼ to ⅓ cup Fried Ginger Threads (page 29)
The easiest ginger to use for Fried Ginger Threads is mature Hawaiian ginger with its long finger-like extensions. So-called “baby ginger” with its translucent skin and rosy and pale green shoots—the same beast pulled from the ground several months earlier—has the advantage of being fiber-free but is usually too moist to fry successfully. Fijian ginger, which is round and knobby, will not give you an appropriately long and pretty julienne, though the taste and frying will be fine.
1. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the velvet marinade until thickened. Add the chicken and toss well to coat each cube. Seal airtight and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking and re-toss to loosen the cubes.
2. Just prior to serving the soup, partially cook the chicken: Bring a small saucepan filled with water to a gentle simmer over moderate heat. Add the chicken cubes, stir with chopsticks, and cook until the outside is 90 percent white, 30 to 40 seconds. Drain the chicken and set aside. The chicken will be rare inside but will finish cooking in the soup.
3. In a non-aluminum, heavy pot, heat the infusion over moderate heat to a gentle simmer. Season with enough kosher salt to bring out the garlic flavor, then with a dash or more of pepper-salt to excite the tongue.
4. Portion among heated soup bowls the chicken, cabbage, water chestnuts, and carrots. Ladle the steaming infusion into the bowls and top each with some of the scallions, chives, almonds, and a small mound of fried ginger.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: A light soup such as this invites the company of springrolls or buns. A long baguette toasted in the oven or a basket of hot Mandarin Breadtwists (page 66) would be another delicious alternative.
