Double Boiled Chicken & Abalone Soup

Soups have always been a form of comfort food to the Chinese person in me despite my love for steaks and potatoes. Much credit must be given to my Mom who is a typical Cantonese Mom who loves her double boiled soups. Even then, I have never double boiled soups in my life... Ever. All I did was to throw an array of ingredients into one big pot and boil them down until I have extracted the essence of the ingredients. Double boiling can be a little tricky for a newbie like me. Here's a new recipe I have planned to embark on. The aim is to replicate that savoury clear chicken and abalone soup I had at Capella over a wedding banquet. This soup was first designed to be a base soup for many different confinement soups. So for new mothers, you might find this uncomplicated soup great for consumption as you won't be worried about the elements of Chinese herbs that you're unsure of.


The Double Boiling

There are several variations to this. My Mom used to have this white ceramic jar with some blue fishes painted on it. You should be able to get such wares from a Chinatown near you. You place this jar loaded with all your ingredients and top the jar up with water or stock. Place this jar in a pot of water with a stand to hold your jar. This is similar to "steaming" your soup. In fact, some traditional restaurants use their commercial steamer to boil these soups in individual ceramic jars. I found some jars made for double boiling that are quite new age (still very traditional looking), yet slightly fancy. See picture on the right. (Note: I found this picture on the internet so it belongs to someone else) I'm quite determined to find a similar device.




Otherwise, you can invest in a double boiler (Planning to do that when my house is ready to move in). There is such a thing! I took this picture from Hospitality Products and I suppose you can also order it directly from them. They are an Australian wholesale company so they do not provide worldwide delivery. If you happen to be living Down Under, there's where you can go to for all your culinary wares. Some departmental stores carry them too. I understand WMF has this in their ranges too but the capacity is a tad small.




Ingredients:
1 fresh whole chicken (skin removed)
1-2 fresh/dried large abalone (If you're using smaller abalones, gauge the quantity depending on its size)
5-6 dried scallops (Yew Chyu) - The most amazing ingredient of all and I add it in all my soup recipes 
5-6 dried mushrooms
4 pieces of spare ribs
1 handful of wolfberries (Only to be added towards the end. Throw in towards the last 15 mins of boiling) 
3 sticks of Huai Shan "淮山" (Dried Chinese Yam) 


This soup will require a good 4-5 hours of boiling so get yourself a good book. Prior to the double boiling, I will pre-boil the meats in a separate put to remove as much scum as possible, making it easier to reach the consommé state that I would like to achieve. You will also need to soak the abalone (if it's dried), dried scallops, dried mushrooms and wolf berries prior to adding them to the ceramic jar.


My Mom loves to check on the soup and the water level often so that she can remove the scum that floats to the top but I will refrain from doing that as it greatly affects the temperature of the soup. Avoid seasoning the soup until the very end, just before serving.  


So bring the water to boil on high then turn the heat down and let it steam. The end result - You should get this wonderful clear soup that's absolutely comforting.


Some of you might think that the abalone, now tender and pretty much tasteless will go to waste. Here's a way to whip up another great dish. Using some ginger and spring onion, fry it until it's at the legendary "golden brown" state, remove the ginger and spring from the oil. Add some stock, oyster sauce, a dash of dark soya sauce and some rock sugar. Add in the abalone and cook for about 45 minutes until the sauce is reduced.