Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe: An Umami Chicken Soup!
Drinking herbal soup is a great way to nourish your body. The nutrients present in an herbal soup replenish the deficiencies in your body and keep you healthy. If you want a unique herbal soup, I will suggest this Chinese herbal soup recipe.
It is a chicken soup recipe that is made using a store-bought herbal spice mix. Besides, you need to use some fresh aromatics to make this soup more flavorful. This recipe is very simple yet flavorful. Follow the steps accurately to make an umami herbal soup.
Table of Contents
Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe Overview
Before you jump into cooking, know how much time this recipe will take and how many people you can serve.
| Course: Soup | Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Medium | ||
| Total Time: 50 minutes | ||||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Calories | |
| 4 persons | 10 minutes | 40 minutes | 199 kcal | |
Ingredients Needed for the Recipe
Here is the list of ingredients I use for this herbal soup. You can add other ingredients that aren’t listed here.
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- Bak Kut Teh: 1 packet of Bak Kut Teh powder, about 70g
- Chicken: 500g of chicken, cut into small pieces
- Garlic: 3 pcs
- Dark Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
- Light Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
- Oyster Sauce: 1 tbsp
- Mushroom: 100g of dried shiitake mushrooms
- Tofu: 100g of fried tofu
- Salt: ½ tsp
- White Pepper: 1 tsp of white pepper powder, freshly ground
- Black Pepper: ½ tsp of black pepper powder, freshly ground
Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
Besides the ingredients, you need patience to simmer the soup for some time. Let me show you how to make this herbal chicken soup.
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Step 1: Prepare the Chicken for Stewing
Clean the chicken and cut it into small pieces. Boil water in a pot and add the pack of Bak Kut Teh powder to the boiling water.
Step 2: Boil Chicken with Aromatics
Put the chicken pieces into the pot. Then, add three whole garlic to the pot as well. Stir them well and simmer them over low heat for about 30 minutes. Once you see the foam, remove it with a spoon. Then, cook it over high heat for about 5 minutes.
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Step 3: Add Sauces, Seasonings, Mushrooms, and Tofu
Pour 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp of oyster sauce into the pot. Sprinkle salt and white pepper powder over the soup. Put about 100g of dried shiitake mushrooms into the soup. Also, add fried tofu to the soup.
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Step 4: Season Again and Serve
Sprinkle some black pepper powder over the soup and garnish it with some sesame oil.
Nutrition Facts of the Recipe
Each serving of this herbal soup contains 199 calories. The calorie count can vary depending on the ingredients. However, here is a list of nutrients present in this soup.
- Total Carbohydrates: 49.6g
- Protein: 4.7g
- Total Fat: 0.3g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 4.4g
- Total Sugar: 41.1g
- Cholesterol: 8.7mg
- Sodium: 1224.2mg
- Potassium: 417.8mg
- Calcium: 44.4mg
- Iron: 0.7mg
- Vitamin A: 840.4IU
- Vitamin C: 1.4mg
Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe
Some tips and tricks can save you from a lot of hassle. Check out the following tips.
Do’s
- You can use fresh mushrooms instead of dried mushrooms for this recipe.
- If you use dried mushrooms, you must soak them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes.
Don’ts
- Don’t put a lot of salt in the beginning. Add a pinch and then adjust the amount based on the flavor.
- Don’t simmer the soup over high heat. Otherwise, it will be reduced too much.
Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Clean the chicken and cut it into small pieces. Boil water in a pot and add the pack of Bak Kut Teh powder to the boiling water.
- Put the chicken pieces into the pot. Then, add three whole garlic to the pot as well. Stir them well and simmer them over low heat for about 30 minutes. Once you see the foam, remove it with a spoon. Then, cook it over high heat for about 5 minutes.
- Pour 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp of oyster sauce into the pot. Sprinkle salt and white pepper powder over the soup. Put about 100g of dried shiitake mushrooms into the soup. Also, add fried tofu to the soup.
- Sprinkle some black pepper powder over the soup and garnish it with some sesame oil.
FAQs
You should be aware of the following facts about this recipe. So, I made a Q&A section to answer your queries.
Can I use ginseng or other herbal ingredients in this soup?
Of course. You can add ginseng or other herbal ingredients to increase the nutritional value of this soup. Remember, you might need to use different seasonings to maintain the flavor.
Can I drink this herbal soup regularly?
As this soup has a lot of sugar, I don’t recommend drinking it regularly. But you can drink at once or twice a week to get all the essential nutrients. This soup will also boost your immune system.
Do I need to marinate the chicken for this recipe?
No. You don’t have to marinate the chicken for this recipe. You can simply boil the chicken with the Bak Kut Teh powder.
How much water should I use to make this soup?
For this recipe, you need about 1 liter of water. As you simmer the soup, the water will be reduced to about 700-750ml. Adding more water will make the soup too thin.
Conclusion
You should drink herbal soup often to give your life a healthy boost. Among various herbal soup recipes, this Chinese herbal soup recipe is the most favorite to me. It has chicken, mushrooms, Bak Kut Teh, garlic, and a few different seasonings.
This umami soup contains a lot of essential nutrients and is very pleasing to drink. The soup is especially beneficial for elderly or sick people. So, if you have any elderly or sick person at home, you can serve this herbal chicken soup to nourish them. Try your version of the soup and let me know in the comments.
