Milky Chicken Broth with Fish Maw

• 1 Whole chicken
• 8 Chicken feet
• 1.1 lb Lean pork
• 3 1/2 oz Jinhua ham
• 6 piece Dried fish maw
• 12 1/2 cup Water
• Ginger, for blanching the fish maw, to taste
• Rice wine, for blanching the fish maw, to taste
• Dried Chinese yam, to taste (optional)
• Dried longan, to taste (optional)
• Goji berries, added near the end, to taste (optional)

Steps

1. 1.Soak the dried fish maw in cold water overnight. The next morning, bring a pot of water to the boil with ginger and a splash of rice wine, add the fish maw, cover, and simmer over medium heat about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered to steep for half a day.0:15
2. 2.Cut the chicken into quarters. Put the chicken, chicken feet, Jinhua ham and lean pork into cold water and bring to the boil to blanch, then drain.0:21
3. 3.Add 3000 ml water to a pot with the blanched chicken, chicken feet, ham and pork (plus the Chinese yam and dried longan if using). Boil hard for 5 minutes, then turn to low and simmer 1.5–2 hours.0:24
4. 4.Lift out all the solids, pressing them to squeeze out as much liquid as possible, and set the broth aside. Take out the yam and dried longan with them.0:27
5. 5.Return the drained solids to the dry pot and dry-fry with no oil at all, until dry and broken up and fragrant — about 10 minutes. This is the step that turns the broth milky and thick.0:30
6. 6.Pour the reserved hot broth back over the fried solids, add the rehydrated fish maw, and simmer a further 10–20 minutes. Add goji berries near the end if using.0:39
7. 7.Strain out the solids and skim the fat off the surface before serving.
8. 8.Optional second broth: return the spent solids to the pot, cover with fresh boiling water and boil 15 minutes for a light clear chicken stock — good frozen in cubes for noodles.