Week 32: Beijing Soup

The Recipe
(Serves 2)
100g assorted mushrooms
250g chicken (about 3 thighs)
1 carrot
1 leek
1.5l chicken stock (incl. reserved water from boiling the chicken)
4 tbsp vermouth (Martini)
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp sambal oelek
20g rice noodles (I couldn't find any, so used ramen noodles instead)
2 egg whites
4 tbsp corn flour (optional)

Bring water to boil in a pot and cook the chicken for about 1 hr. Remove chicken from pot (reserving the water) and leave to cool for a bit. Once it's cold enough to handle, peel the chicken, discarding the skin and bones.

Cut the mushrooms, carrot and the white part of the leek into thin stripes, about 2cm long.

Add chicken stock to the reserved water until you have about 1.5l. Bring this to a boil and add vermouth, lemon juice, soy sauce and sambal oelek. Add the mushrooms and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Add chicken and noodles and leave to simmer for a few minutes.

Gently whisk the egg whites (they should be frothy - NOT whipped) and add them to the soup while stirring. Stir until the eggs are fully incorporated into the soup and not just lying on top (this will take awhile, but they will eventually turn into thin white threads). Add carrot and leek and leave to simmer for a few more minutes. If desired, add corn flower mixed with water to thicken up the soup a bit (I omitted this step - I prefer my Beijing soup thin).

The Verdict
Beijing Soup / Peking Soup (not entirely sure what the difference is) is probably my very favourite thing to order at a Chinese restaurant, so I was eager to try to make it for myself. Fortunately this recipe was almost perfect! I do think it needed a tad more carrot, but otherwise it was almost exactly the way I like it. Definitely something I'll make again!