Thursday 31 May 2012

Chicken With Mushroom & Cordyceps Militaris Soup


Blogging world is full of excitement and fun where flow of inspirations are always being circulated around through all kinds of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and etc. Recently while I am on holiday mood and feel so "lost" on what to prepare for our daily meals, I managed to pick up some really good ideas from friends' photos over at instagram. And without hesitate I tried this Cordyceps Militaris Soup shared by Julia, Aromacookery photo (link here).

Although this was not my first time using Cordyceps Militaris in soup but after seeing Julia's post, I decided to try out her version by adding in some dried shiitake mushrooms to enhance the taste of this nourishing soup.



Cordyceps Militaris (虫草子实体 / 虫草花) has an aftertaste which is quiet similar to "mushroom" flavour when it is used to boil soup and moreover it also gives a flavorsome finishing to the end product too. You can read more about it HERE.


CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOM AND CORDYCEPS MILITARIS SOUP



Boiling a pot of delicious and flavoursome traditional "long stewed soup (老火靓汤)" is something that every mother wish to do for the family especially those soups that consists nourishing effect for the body. And in order to achieve those restaurants taste of long stewed soup, there is no shortcut for it as you need to simmer the soup ingredients over low heat for sometime. Another point to note is too much of water would also dilute the taste of the soup so the amount of ingredients and water used must be in correct portions. 


(Serves: 4          | Preparation: 10 minutes            | Cooking: 60 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 or 2 Chicken Breast, skin removed
One Handful of Cordyceps Militaris
6 Large Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soak till soften
3 - 4 Pieces of Dried Scallops, optional
6 - 8 Big Red Dates
1 Tablespoon of Wolfberries
1.8 Litres of Water

Method:-
1. Rinse and soaked dried shiitake mushrooms and scallop in a bowl of warm water for about 20 - 30 minutes till soften. (you can retain the water used for soaking the mushrooms and scallops to cook the soup which in a way enhance the flavour)

2. Clean, rinse and blanch the chicken in boiling water for 2 minutes, rinse and set aside.

3. Bring 1.8 litre of water to boil in a soup pot(I am using big ceramic pot), add in all the ingredients and when the mixture comes to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer on the lowest heat for about 60 minutes.

4. Season the soup with salt according to your preference(i did not add any salt as the soup is already sweet and flavoursome to our liking) and serve warm before meal or together with meal.

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NOTE:-
~ I have used 1 chicken breast plus some chicken feet for this recipe.



Cordyceps Militaris is a very good ingredient to be added into herbal soup. For more ideas on using it for soup, you can refer to Elaine, Wokkingmum(HERE) or LK, Food4tots(HERE) for their recipe ideas too.

As I would be away on holiday till Mid-June, I do apologise for the lack of post(s) while I am away. But during this period you still can get some updates through our facebook page HERE if I could get hold of some network over there. Till then have a great week ahead.

15 comments:

  1. im hungry!! i really missed home cooked soup like this... awww, i miss my mother! lolz. no one to share with me if i make myself, my hubby and in law doesnt like chinese soup especially herbal type. do u have intention to move house? lolz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha Move to ???? lolz.... But then we really love soup and we MUST have soup everyday if it is possible despite of the hot/cold weather.

      Delete
  2. I definitely need to learn more soup recipes from you as I pretty much make miso soup most of the time... This one looks very healthy soup!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nami,

      How's your week so far. I love miso soup but then I am not good in making those.

      Delete
  3. So many ingredients here for me to learn about. I've never heard or seen Cordyceps Militaris and I see another ingredient too that is new...wolfberries. It all looks so delicious in your photographs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah, you have a great blog too. Would love to try out your pan-fry salmon in mango sauce :)

      Delete
  4. I love your photos so much, they are so sharp and the recipe looks so delicious! I can see very healthy ingredients that are also very tasty. Fantastic. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jenny, thanks for your kind word. You have a lovely blog too :)

      Delete
  5. Hi, where do u buy cordyceps militaris from? Never seen it before. Can I get them from the supermarkets?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Irene,

      You can get it from most Chinese Medical Shop such as ZTP, Fu Hua and etc.

      Delete
  6. Wow that looks really good! And with so few ingredients too. I never know what these ingredients are with all the long names...but you cook with them really well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Fern, I am always drooling over at your posts too :)

      Delete
  7. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It looks really yummy but was wondering whether this soup is suitable for pregnant ladies since it contains cordyceps.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Ellena

    Thanks for sharing the receipe. Can I use chicken drumstick and fresh shitake mushrooms instead? thks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there. Sure you can use chicken drumsticks or even chicken breast meat for this. As for the mushrooms, dried one will give a better flavour than the fresh type.

      Delete

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Regards
Ellena (Cuisine Paradise)

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