We use this chicken stock in a LOT of our dishes, and Asians don’t go making diluted stocks like French cooks do, so our stock is made superconcentrated so that the water barely covers the bones in the process. The Starry Kitchen way is to engulf the kitchen with the aroma from the stock until you can SEE the flavor in the stock. And that ain’t a joke or euphemism either—you can LITERALLY see it!
2–4 SERVINGS
1 pound chicken breasts
1 pound chicken wings*
4 cups cold water
2 fresh ginger, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
1 stalk scallion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Chinese cooking wine or sherry
FOR ADDED BODY (OPTIONAL):
1 (¼-ounce) packet unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
BALLS OUT
40–80 SERVINGS
10 pounds chicken breasts
10 pounds chicken wings*
10 quarts cold water
20 fresh ginger, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
10 stalk(s) scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
6⅔ tablespoons Chinese cooking wine or sherry
FOR ADDED BODY:
10 (¼-ounce) packets unflavored gelatin
2½ cups cold water
1. Rinse chicken under cold running water. Place chicken in a large pot, add water, and if the chicken is still exposed add more water to barely cover the chicken. DON’T use hot water to speed up the boiling process. Hot water straight from the tap leaves a distinctly artificial, technically “yucky,” and cloudy flavor.
2. Add ginger, scallions, and rice wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, occasionally skimming off the gunky foam that rises to the top so you can rid your stock and the world of the impurities that will taint you and your stock.
3. Cover (with a tiny crack) and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours. Remove from heat and strain finished stock through a chinois, or fine-mesh strainer, into a large enough container or bowl.
4. If the stock doesn’t have enough body to your liking, in a separate bowl mix unflavored gelatin with cold water, then mix with chicken stock.
5. Do not season! To make sweet and deep savory love to your mouth, hold off on seasoning the stock until the time is right. It is best left for whatever wonderful recipe you’re cooking. Each dish is seasoned with different savory elements in the place of salt, but you can get creative for your own recipes as long as you think of whatever you season it with as being a “salty” element = fancy mix- and-matching with something like kelp (aka kombu) or similar.
6. If storing for later, cool off stock uncovered until it is lukewarm or close to room temperature before storing in a refrigerator or freezer. If you’re trying to be smart and think the fridge will cool off the stock for you, you’re wrong and it may ruin other ingredients in your fridge because it will heat your fridge up instead and the stock will go bad because it wasn’t cooled off properly.
* Any combination of chicken meat works, but we recommend this particular ratio for flavor and depth. Adjust to your liking, but remember, every little bit counts . . .