Comments on: Stock Clarity

By: HC

HC — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:38:28 +0000

I always boil a whole chicken to make White Cut Chicken (白切鸡). After the meat is used for that meal, I throw everything back in the pot and boil for 3 hours to make stock. That way, you are most definitely not wasting the meat!

By: Em

Em — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:51:36 +0000

thank you for this – we’ve just moved from Singapore and your site has helped us when create dishes that remind us of home!

By: Kian

Kian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:13:19 +0000

Hi Richard,

1) I’m afraid I don’t know “fortune chicken soup.” There are many herbal soups that call for young chickens. My understanding is that young chickens retains tender moist texture even after long simmering.
2) For a clear fish soup you want to simmer the stock on very low heat. The reason for this is so the stock will remain clear. However there are fish soups that calls for a “milky” stock. This stock is most commonly made with fish bones and cooked over very high heat. I believe cooking the fish bones in boiling liquid releases the milky particles from the fish protein.
3) For a clear soup I recommend using regular grade tofu. For a thickened soup I would use soft tofu. So if your recipe calls for clear fish stock I would use regular tofu.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:35:23 +0000

Dear All, I have a few question need to know , kindly tell me more about
1)Why is it important to use young chicken in fortune chicken soup
2)Why is is important to control the cooking temperature and time while preparing fish head soup
3)What are the Quality standard for tofu seafood Soup

thank u

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 02:00:46 +0000

I have seen stock recipes that boil the bones first then dump the water, wash and then add the bones to fresh stock water. I thought this was the Chinese way of getting rid of the scum. I have made it this way once making Pho. Making western chicken or beef stock I just skimmed. To boil, to skim or, no difference?

By: Kian

Kian — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:09:31 +0000

Nathan, Chinese soups, especially Cantonese, are usually made with various herbal ingredients, resulting in very flavorful herbal broth. I would suggest using dried shiitake mushroom, bamboo shoots and ginger in a chicken soup.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:20:37 +0000

Hello Kian it’s me again, if I wanna make a simple soup what could I add to the soup like what Chinese vegetables would go good or if I wanted to make a chicken soup with chicken meat and veggies?

By: Kian

Kian — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:31:49 +0000

Refrigerate the stock. Then just scoop off the fat with a spoon.

By: Michele

Michele — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:14:35 +0000

Any tips on de-oiling the stock?

By: Rayfil Wong

Rayfil Wong — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:03:11 +0000

Mr. Kho,

Great post. As the food writer for AsianWeek and writer for food blog (Campusblog), I must thank you. As a 30 year old Asian American, your post has helped me not only extend my knowledge on stock but preserve Chinese cooking.

I left Hong Kong when I was five. Without being able to read Chinese, there are not many sources to learn about traditional Chinese dishes. keep writing.

I also like your frank bio.