Today I would like to introduce you to spices and herbs. In particular, we will focus on Chinese spices and herbs (an introduction to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia will be on another occasion).
Although it is difficult to trace the exact origins of spices and herbs, it is said that they were already used by the four great civilizations of ancient times, including the Indus Valley Civilization, Yellow River Civilization, and Egyptian Civilization.
Even today, Southeast Asia and South Asia are the main producing areas for spices and herbs.
Click here for a list of spices and herbs
At Taiyo Market, we carry over 50 types of spices and herbs in household size, ranging from those commonly found in regular supermarkets to rare ones.
Today, using these spices and herbs, I will introduce a time-consuming but super easy and delicious Chinese soup recipe inspired by Yunnan province's exquisite hot pot dish, "Qi Kozi."
What is steam pot chicken (chee cozi)?
Chikoji is a type of steamed chicken that is an exquisite hotpot dish from Yunnan Province, China. It is made using chicken thighs and various spices and herbs. By slowly steaming the chicken in a steamer, the steam created by boiling the water will slowly steam the chicken, making the meat extremely tender and juicy. It is characterized by its simple yet deep flavor. Although it is a simple cooking method, it is loved by many people because it maximizes the natural taste of chicken and allows you to enjoy its unique texture and flavor.
material
- Chicken thigh (appropriate amount)
- Dried shiitake mushrooms
- Wolfberry
- Flower pepper (hua jiao) or blue pepper (chin hua jiao)
- ginger (several slices)
- salt
Optional materials
- Grass and fruits (I see, tsao kho)
- Jujube
- octagon
- cumin seeds
- cinnamon
- bay leaf
- coriander seed
- cloves
- chili pepper
- dried shrimp
- dried wood ear fungus
- dried scallops
- Mushrooms with a good aroma and less sliminess, such as enoki mushrooms and maitake mushrooms
- Flavorful bivalves such as clams and clams
How to make
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
- Place the cut chicken thighs and other ingredients in a clay pot. If you don't have a clay pot, you can also use a rice bowl.
- Steam it slowly in a steamer (I want to steam it slowly for at least 3 hours). There is no problem whether you use a bamboo steamer or another type of steamer.
That's all. This is all you need to make an exquisite soup.
If you make this soup, not only adults but also elementary school children will enjoy it many times.
Tips for making delicious food
- Not all optional materials need to be used. Please choose according to your personal preference. However, the more ingredients you use, the more complex and deep the flavor will become. Personally, I recommend adding herbs, cumin seeds, and cinnamon.
- Ideally, you should steam it without adding water, but you can also add a small amount of water.
- You can leave edible items as they are, but it is more convenient to put inedible spices in a disposable bag before putting them in a steamer.
- When it comes to the amount of spices, we recommend using small amounts of all spices at first. After you try making it a few times, you'll probably find the proportion you like.
To make this exquisite soup, I tried both methods: slowly brewing it in a steamer and cooking it over an open flame. In conclusion, the extraction method using a steamer yielded good results.
It's delicious even over an open flame, but you need to add enough moisture to prevent it from burning. Also, since the ingredients dance over an open flame, you can enjoy a deeper flavor if you extract the ingredients slowly and evenly using a steamer.
All of the spices listed can be purchased at Taiyo Market.
