Authentic Old Hen Soup
正宗老母鸡•汤 · pan chinese cuisine
The author notes that year-round city produce rarely tastes of much — vegetables lack their true flavor and meat lacks its natural sweetness, so good ingredients come first. She almost never buys whole chickens because the flavor isn't right; this hen was raised by her mother, slaughtered, cut into pieces, and frozen for the trip home to Shanghai. In cold weather she soaks a handful of black wood ear and dried shiitake, puts everything into the stew pot, and lets the aroma of rich chicken soup fill the kitchen. A bowl warms both heart and body.
Maggie TranSecond-gen Vietnamese, first-gen meal prepper. I batch-cook pho broth monthly and I'm not sorry about the freezer situation. Ask me about fish sauce brands.Nutrition & allergens
No supported allergens detected from surveyed ingredients.
Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.
Per serving (4 servings)
- Energy (kcal)
- Unknown
- Protein (g)
- Unknown
- Fat (g)
- Unknown
- Carbs (g)
- Unknown
- Sodium (mg)
- Unknown
Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.
mu ji母鸡
0.5 whole
scallion葱花
as needed
3.0 slice
mu er （ gan ）［ hei mu er ， yun er ］木耳（干）［黑木耳，云耳］
as needed
as needed
0.13 cup
salt盐
to taste
Techniques you'll use
- Blanching (chao shui) ↗
Par-cook in boiling water to clean, tighten, or prep ingredients.
- Simmering (dun) ↗
Gentle low-heat cooking in liquid until flavors merge and meat softens.
- Chicken stock (gao tang) ↗
Simmer bones and aromatics slowly for a clear, savory base.
Steps
Thaw the chicken ahead of time, and soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and black wood ear fungus in advance. Put the chicken in a pot of cold water with three to five slices of ginger and 2 spoonfuls of cooking wine, blanch, then rinse the chicken in warm water to remove any blood residue and set aside.
✅ Done when: Done when the chicken is blanched and, after rinsing in warm water, shows no remaining blood or scum.
Add enough water to the soup pot all at once. Add three to five slices of ginger and 2 spoonfuls of cooking wine — this is optional; if the blanching was thorough, you can use plain water with no seasonings to taste the pure flavor of the chicken. Once the water boils, add the blanched chicken and the soaked, rinsed black wood ear and dried shiitake mushrooms. Boil over high heat for 10 minutes, then reduce to medium-low and keep simmering for 3 hours. Add salt about half an hour before the soup is finished.
✅ Done when: Done when the soup has simmered about 3 hours total — 10 minutes at a boil, then a long gentle simmer — and the broth is rich and golden.