Home Made Chicken Stock

All the while, cook shows talk about 'Chicken Stock' or 'Beef Stock' and stores have 'Real Chicken Stock' on their shelves. Often I wondered how the real deal tastes like. Here's how to make your own.

This recipe has been modified a bit to suit Asian dishes. This neutrality in flavour is important so that the stock can be used in Asian dishes.

Recipe:
Leftover chicken bones from 1 chicken (preferably from a roast; if raw, cook in a pan with salt and pepper)
1 or 2 sticks of Celery
2 large Onions
2 or 3 large Tomatoes
1 or 2 Carrots
12 Peppercorns, cracked
A generous pinch of salt
Around 4 litres of water, when filled to top of pot

Recommended Equipment:
5L Thermal Cooker Pot

Note that usually chicken stock would contain parsley and a bay leave, which have been omitted here. The absence of these 2 herbs allows the stock to be adapted for Chinese dishes later.


Fill the pot to simmer all the vegetables. There's no need to fill the pot to the brim as the stock is meant to be concentrated. It is also a lot quicker to heat the pot this way. Typically, the stock is boiled for around 6 hours. I have a trick up my sleeves to keep this hassle free!

Tip Alert! [Boil stock in Thermal pot, and leave it over night. Reboil it in the morning before heading off to work. When you return at night, the stock would be as good as after a 6 hour continuous boil!]

After 6 hours or overnight when using my thermal pot trick, use a masher to crush the vegetables. This is to get every drop of goodness from the vegetables. The chicken bones would have boiled themselves into an unrecognizable pile anyways.

No point saving the leftovers as they do not have much nutritional value any more. Everything is in the stock now! Strain the stock and discard the leftovers. And voila, Home Made Chicken Stock.

Alternative Alert! [Alternatively, you can use beef bones. Lamb and fish bones leave an undesirable smell, which limits their versatility.]

Alternative Alert! [Vegetable stock would require more vegetables, especially root vegetables such as turnips, parsnips or carrots as these guys pack a lot of flavour. Throw in some leftover vegetables such as the thick stems which can be consumed. These parts have even more flavour!]

The stock can be used for risotto, pasta, soup base, gravy, stews and more for Western dishes! For Chinese dishes, the stock can be used for noodles, soup base and sauces for stir fries!

Total time:
6 hours, or
Overnight using Thermal Pot

Longevity:
Refrigerates for 5 days before requiring reboiling
Freezes for 3 weeks