What kind of chicken soup is nutritious?

Chicken is inexpensive, has high nutritional value and tastes delicious. According to Chinese medicine, chicken has the effect of warming the middle and replenishing qi, which can make a weak body strong and promote blood circulation. Chicken can improve malnutrition, relieve fatigue, and improve irregular menstruation and anemia. There are many ways to cook chicken, such as making soup, stewing meat, roasting chicken, etc. What kind of chicken soup is nutritious? Let’s take a look at it next.

1. First, you need to know how to choose the chicken

People like to choose old chickens for making soup, but in fact, young chickens are more suitable for making soup. The meat of young chicken contains more protein and very little elastic connective tissue, making it easier for the human body to absorb. Secondly, the chicken used to make chicken soup should preferably be a hen. The soup stewed with a hen is more nourishing and suitable for people who have just recovered from a serious illness. The chicken after stewing in chicken soup tastes tasteless, but it can be used as a cold dish.

2. Freeze the chicken before slaughtering

Needless to say, buying live chickens is mainly to ensure the delicious taste of the meat. After buying fresh chicken, you should put it in the freezer of the refrigerator for about 3 hours before taking it out to thaw and make soup. Doing this is based on the same principle as removing sour meat. The chicken meat will be of the best quality and the soup made from it will taste more delicious.

3. Soak in rice water

Before making chicken soup, you can soak the washed chicken in the water used to wash rice for more than ten minutes. This can remove the odor on the chicken skin and make the chicken more tender. Using the simplest and most readily available materials can achieve extraordinary results.

4. Flying Water

The so-called boiling water is the process of putting chicken, cold water and ginger slices on the stove together, lighting the fire and boiling them. Blanching not only removes the raw fishy smell of the chicken, but is also a thorough cleaning process that can make the soup clear, not turbid, and fresh and fragrant without any peculiar smell.

5. Delete attachments

This step can be said to be the key among the keys. Removing some of the chicken's attachments is the key to making delicious chicken soup. These accessories that affect the color and taste of the soup include: the red internal organs of the chicken, such as the liver, gizzards, lungs, heart, etc. (which can be reserved for other dishes), but must be removed when making chicken soup. Clip the nails on the chicken's feet. There are a lot of bacteria in the nails, and making soup with them is not good for hygiene. Chicken nose. It is the distance between the upper part of the chicken's beak and the eyes. If it is not removed, the chicken soup will have an unpleasant smell. Chicken butt. This part can be cut off more. When making chicken soup, be especially careful not to retain any leftovers.

6. It is best to use a casserole for stewing chicken soup

Chicken soup should be made in a casserole instead of a cast iron pot. Because the iron pot will bring the smell of rust into the chicken soup, it is not as good as the casserole which can gather the umami flavor and add deliciousness.

7. Water Generates Heat

It is best to use cold water to make chicken soup, and add enough water at once. Do not add water at will during the process. Generally speaking, a chicken weighing about 3 kilograms should be put in about 6 kilograms of water. Allow the raw materials to fully release nutrients and aroma as the water temperature gradually rises. When stewing chicken soup, you should cook it on high heat for about 10 minutes, open the lid, and skim off the foam on the surface while it is boiling. This way, the chicken soup will be white and clear without any impurities. After skimming off the foam, turn to low heat and do not remove the lid casually. The soup will lose its original flavor if it loses its steam.

8. Rinse with cold water to set

After blanching, the chicken should be taken out quickly and rinsed under cold water. This can not only wash away some of the foam attached to the chicken when it is blanched, but also prevent the meat from falling apart during the cooking process, and maintain the integrity of the skin and meat.

9. The heat should be appropriate

The key to stewing soup is to boil it over high heat and simmer it over low heat. This will allow the food protein extracts and other delicious substances to dissolve as much as possible, making the soup fresh, mellow and delicious. Only by simmering over low heat for a long time can the extract be dissolved more, making it clear and rich. You can add some oil-absorbing foods such as winter melon and mushrooms to cook together, which can help reduce cholesterol absorption.

10. Add salt at the end

The time when salt is added can in some sense determine the taste of chicken soup. Whether some people say to add salt when putting the food in the pot or when it is half cooked, it is wrong. If the salt is boiled for a long time, it will react chemically with the chicken, locking the protein in the chicken, making the soup taste bland and the meat difficult to stew. Salt and other seasonings must be added when the chicken soup is ready. After adding salt, turn to high heat for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat. Do not remove the lid in the middle of the process. This will not only allow all the flavors to be absorbed, but also make the chicken soup more delicious.

11. Notes

Note: do not stir after adding the salt, as this will leave a raw salt taste.