How To Make Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is the secret ubiquitous ingredient that enhances our cooking. It’s the essential base for soups, sauces, stews, stir-fry etc. Homemade chicken stock is far more superior than what you can buy at the store. It is guaranteed to be 100% natural, free of preservative and is nourishing. I use chicken stock in most of my cooking and have started to make my own chicken stock after I realised how easy it was. I find that it is quite similar to boiling my usual Chinese soups, only with different ingredients and steps.
There are various ways in making chicken stock. However, there is no right or wrong way if you were to ask me. Different methods and composition of ingredients will yield different depth of flavour, clarity and body for a stock. Irrespectively, the basic components for chicken stock must comprise of chicken carcass, mirepoix (a mixture of chopped celery, carrot and onion) and bouquet garni (bundle of herbs).
Here, I will share a simple and versatile chicken stock recipe that I have been making frequently at home. This recipe is adapted and modified from my fish stock recipe. It is extremely easy to prepare and does not require any special ingredients. I choose coriander leaves and bay leaves for this recipe as they are easily available and infuse a subtle aroma to the stock. Vegetables and herbs play a supporting role. You can vary their combination but keep the amount to not more than half the amount of the chicken carcass. I prefer to sauté the chopped vegetables before adding the chicken carcass to cook together as I like to add the aromatic taste of sautéed vegetables to my stock. But it’s optional.
You can freeze any leftover stock for future use. Just separate them into smaller portion and store them in convenient-sized container or ice cube trays before freezing. In this way, you can thaw whatever amount you need it later. You can keep the stock refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
If you have never made your own stock at home, consider doing it at least once. It is definitely worth the time and effort (just 2 hours of cooking) to make something healthy for your family to enjoy.
Here are some recipes you can try cooking using your own homemade chicken stock:
a) Cream of mushroom soup
b) Corn chicken soup
c) Quick congee
d) Superfast congee
e) Steamed silky eggs
f) Chicken and potato stew
g) Braised chestnut with chicken
Get the recipe and step by step tutorial for Homemade Chicken Stock at PAGE 2 BELOW.
I love back-to-basics posts like this. I like to make my own chicken stock too, but I took the easy way and just throw the whole chicken into my slow cooker with water and some herbs. I use the stock and my cats eat the flesh. Thank you for sharing all the helpful tips!
Angie
Angie: It’s great that you make full use of the flesh. I love this idea! 🙂
I make my own chicken stock too. For storing, I keep some as “ice cubes”(chicken stock cubes in the freezer),and sometimes when I stir-fry vegetables, I add a few cubes for flavoring- No oyster sauce required. 😛
Tigerfish: I always use my “ice cubes” stock when stir-frying noodles. 🙂
Hi hi! 🙂 Glad to see your sharing. I started dicing the onions for my chicken stock after reading somewhere that it improves the flavour and it is absolutely true! Seeing that you diced all veggies, I’m going to try it too. Sauteing the ingredients at the start is a good idea too 🙂 Imparts some browning flavour to the stock. 🙂
Never made my own chicken stock from scractch before! Thanks for the recipe, I have to make it!
Can replace chicken with pork? Thanks
Jean: Sorry, I haven’t tried pork with this recipe. You may try if you like. 🙂
Hi 🙂
May I know how long can I keep the stock in the fridge?
TQ
Nic.
Nicole: As mentioned in step 7, this stock can be refrigerated for 2-3 days or freeze up to 3 months. 🙂
Hi,
May I know where can I buy cheesecloth to sieve the stock? I used colander before but the stock is not as clear as your.
Thanks in advance.
Yen: You can buy this cloth from any shop selling kitchenware. 🙂
Thank you. I found it yesterday.
Thank you for the wonderful chicken stock recipe. I tried and my 2yo boy loves it very much. I surely share this recipe with my friends.
Yen: Thank you for your kind feedback! My family loves it too. I just made some yesterday. 🙂
Yen: Glad that you had found it! 🙂
Hi,
Sorry for the noob question, mil disappproved when I tried to freeze the stock, she said that it is cancer causing to store and eat anything with veggies overnight and beyond. I told her that the straining removes all the veggies, so it’s no issue, is this explanation correct?! TQ
Shuyi: Sorry, I’m not an expert in this issue. Instead of arguing the case, maybe you can try other way to resolve this matter. 🙂
Hi
Thank you for the good recipe.
I would like to know where can I buy the bay leaves?
Vivian: You can buy bay leaves in supermarkets. It is usually located at the section selling dried herbs and spices. 🙂
Hi, just to check if I put peppercorn will it taste spicy or got strong pepper taste?
Joanna: The stock will taste slightly spicy and peppery. But if you add the peppercorn in whole (without cracking them), the taste is even milder. 🙂