Recipe: Master Stock Chicken ()

Recently, I've gotten engaged in an interesting debate about the definition of Master Stock. In other words, what makes a Master Stock, Master Stock? From the debate, I've learnt a lot of things. Although I was inaccurate at some point, I am glad that the debate happened because it refreshed memories of having once owned a Master Stock (I used it only three times and it spoilt at the fourth) and the anger over how difficult was it to remove the aroma of the Chinese spices from my apartment.

In Chinese, Master Stock is called (Lou Shui). Basically, it means poaching or braising water that is meant to be reused again and again. In Cantonese, Master Stock is called , an indication that the stock has been around for a thousand years.

Sounds disgusting no?

Well, that's because back in the olden days, people do not need to pay for their gas bills. All they need to do is to gather wood, set it on fire, and let the Master Stock boil away in an earthenware every day. An earthenware is used to keep the stock from iron rust and the smell wood mildew. Some kitchens that sell braised items would have a Master Stock because they braise items everyday. This means that there is a reason to let the fire run the entire day.

Moreover, the layer of fat on top of the Master Stock will prevent the Master Stock from deteriorating. However, there is a precaution. According to one of the articles on Master Stock at MeishiChina.com, too much of fat and the Master Stock will start to develop mildew. Too little of fat, the MasterStock will deteriorate in no time. Most importantly, the stock has to beboiledevery single day if it is not to be frozen.

Apart from that, only one kind of meat is to be allocated to a Master Stock. That is, if you were to use a Master Stock to braise or poach chicken, you cannot use it for pork. However, from the websites I've came across, most people cross-contaminate their stocks with a jumble of ingredients. The most common ones are chicken! mary la nd, pork belly, goose feet and wings and duck gizzard. Sometimes, pork innards were used too!

However, my mom told me that once you use the Master Stock to poach tofu and eggs, the Master Stock is as good as dead because the ingredients can turn the stock can sour. Not sure how that works but it is better to be safe than sorry.

With this knowledge in head, I am confident that I can keep my Master Stock up to next year and prepare something for my parents. I've used my freshly made stock to make Master Stock Chicken. However, my mom did warn me that I have to be really careful with how I deal with my stock. After each use, I am supposed to strain it and then reboil it. Then, I would have to let it cool on the bench and let it drop to room temperature before freezing it. If I were to put it in the fridge, I would need to reboil it everyday.


Enough of prattling, here's the recipe:



Recipe for the base of the Masterstock:

Ingredients:

Wet:
-750 ml of water
-250 ml of light soy sauce
-75 ml of Chinese rice wine

Dry:
-100 grammes of rock sugar
-A dash of high quality dashi stock (cheat)
-10 white peppercorns, crushed
-12 Szechuan peppercorns
-2 Szechuan dried chllies
-1 cinnamon quill and 1 star anise
-1 piece of dried tangerine skin
-3 bay leaves
-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
-1cm knob of ginger, sliced into pieces
-4 spring onions, root chopped off, cut into halves

Instructions:

1. Bring wet ingredients to boil. Insert dry ingredients. Bring down to simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, sieve impurities. Set stock aside to cool before storing it in a glass tupperware to be frozen orrefrigerated.

2. Reboil stock before each use.
!


The long cooking time would render the fats that are sitting under skin, ensuring that you get to enjoy the skin without feeling guilty about blowing up your arteries

Recipe: Chicken Masterstock. (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

-Masterstock

-1 chicken maryland cut at the joints

Instructions:

1. Blanch chicken in boiling hot water for 4 minutes to remove blood and impurities. Remove chicken, rinse in cold water. Set aside.

2. Bring masterstock to simmer and then place chicken inside. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3. After 1 hour, the meat should still be intact and not falling off. However, when eating the chicken, the meat should come off the bone without much effort.

4. Serve the chicken with rice or noodles and greens.

5. The stock should be sieved and reboiled again before storing it away.

Chicken served with oyster sauce tossed with shrimp egg noodlesI've discovered the wonders of oyster sauce yesterday. I decided to go adventurous with my noodles and incorporated oyster sauce with my shrimp egg noodles. Will share with you guys the recipe in the next post. :)


My idea of ! comfort food
Have a great Wednesday!