Straw Mushrooms & Chicken Soup 草菇鸡汤

Straw Mushrooms & Chicken Soup 草菇鸡汤

 

 Wonderful tasting soup especially during the cold winter in Chaozhou

This is a typical Teochew soup. I have not tasted this soup until I married SK. This soup was only prepared  during the festive season when SK was young. When we visited SK's cousin in Chaozhou, back in 2000, this soup, too, was offered to us. After tasting it, SK got his cousin to show him where to buy all the Teochew dried foodstuff. Come to think of it, we need not have bought them as we were given so many packets of Chinese tea leaves and straw mushrooms by well-meaning relatives from Chaozhou City.

 

 Dried straw mushrooms

 

Ingredients

 

500g chicken ( wash, clean and drain dry )
50g dried straw mushrooms
1 tsp salt or to taste

Garnishing

1 stalk spring onion, cut into sections of 3 cm
1 stalk Chinese celery, cut into sections of 3 cm

Instructions

1. Wash the straw mushrooms to remove any grit and dirt
2.  Use 1.3 litres of water to soak the straw mushrooms for 1 hour
3.  Remove the hard parts at the base of the straw mushrooms
4.  Retain the top 90% of the water for soaking the straw mushrooms to boil the soup. Discard the bottom 10% of the water
5.  In a large pot, add 90% of the water from soaking the straw mushrooms and add in the straw mushrooms and bring it to a boil 
6.  Add in the chicken pieces and boil for 20 minutes.
7.  Add 1 tsp salt to taste
8.  Garnish with spring onions and Chinese celery

  Sweet and nutritious