Chicken Essence Recipe

I’m a firm believer in the saying that ‘beauty isn’t skin deep’. As much as I believe in a good skin care regime, I believe in nourishing my body through the food I eat as well.

I find that how I look and feel at any given time depends on my lifestyle (I’m still trying to achieve the elusive eight hours of sleep daily). As a woman, I’m discovering that simply eating healthily may not be enough, and I find my diet needs to be supplemented, especially after every menstrual cycle.

I’m always encouraged to see both women and men who look younger than their age, with glowing skin. These people are not those who frequent facials or undergo Botox. One such lady (as I’ve mentioned in my previous post) is Datin Anisah, who at 72 looks no more than 50. Datin’s secret is herbal remedy and detox. My husband has a friend who is a dealer of bird’s nests and, now in his 50s, he has such wonderfully smooth skin he looks 20 years younger as well. I have also noticed many Chinese medicine shops owners have young-looking skin as well.

So here, I would like to share some of the healthy recipes I’ve been using for years to keep my skin looking in great condition. They are practical recipes and most do not require expensive ingredients. Do check back often as I update these recipes regularly.

Series #1 Chicken Essence Recipe

The consumption of chicken essence has long been used as a traditional remedy for fatigue in Asian countries, due to its richness in the antioxidants anserine and carnosine. In a study entitled Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Stress and Cognition of Human Volunteers it was found that students who ingested essence of chicken fared significantly better, and in fact, during my own high school and university days, I remember having Brand’s Chicken Essence during my exams to boost mental alertness.

Essence of chicken has concentrated amounts of proteins, amino acids and peptides.

It basically means double boiling a whole chicken to extract the essence, with no water needed or added. One whole chicken will normally make one rice bowl of essence (or soup).

During my confinement period, my confinement lady made me a bowl of chicken essence a day – that’s daily for 30 days! I still remember how I felt so energetic, without needing a nap at all during the day. Nowadays, even though this soup boasts of its energy-giving ability, I like making it every month because it is protein rich and, as we all know, protein is important for beautiful skin, hair and nails.

Furthermore, I like using black chicken or the Silkie breed of chicken, because it has less fat than regular chicken and double the amount of carnosine.

The following recipe uses a double-boiling method. The inner pot of a double boiler is covered with a lid and its content does not come into direct contact with any external matter, not even the steam. Hence, the original nutrients and flavour of the ingredients are safely ‘locked’ inside the inner pot and do not run the risk of being carried away by the hot water vapour.

What you need:

• 1 x whole black chicken.
• A pinch of salt to taste.

Preparation:

• De-skin chicken for less fat in the soup.
• Cut chicken to small pieces.
• Smash up the chicken pieces using the back of a chopper so that the essence from the chicken can be easily released.

Equipment:

There are two ways of making essence of chicken.

1. Using a double boiler pot.

This type of double boiler can be hard to come by. It has an inner pot with a perforated lid about an inch above the base, which can be easily lifted up. The chicken pieces are placed on top of this lid. When the pot is boiling, the essence will drip down through the hole to the base of the inner pot. After double boiling for four hours, allow the pot to cool. Remove the covers, and remove all the dried-up chicken pieces from the inner pot. Lift up the perforated lid and there you have your essence of chicken: this looks like a clear, golden broth.

2. Make your own double boiler

What you need:

• 1 x rice bowl
• 1 x Chinese boiling jar

• 1 x steaming wire plate

• 1 x metal stockpot (ensure this pot is large enough to put in the Chinese double boiling jar)

Let the fun begins:

• Turn the rice bowl upside down and place it into the bottom of Chinese double boiling jar.
• Place the steaming wire plate at the bottom of the stockpot and then place the Chinese double boiling jar on top of the steaming wire plate.
• Place all the mashed up chicken into the Chinese double boiling jar. It should look like this:
• (INSERT PHOTO HERE)
• Cover all the lids and double boil for three hours.
• Turn off the fire and let it cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Open the lid and remove the dried up chicken. Once you turn off the heat, the essence from the chicken (which by now sits at the bottom of the jar) will slip through to the rice bowl facing down. Higher air pressure from the jar will push the liquid to the vacuum area of low pressure inside the rice bowl. That is why you don’t see any liquid when you remove the chicken pieces.
• Slowly, remove the rice bowl and the essence will splash right out.
• Season with salt and drink warm!

Tips:

You may want to further sieve the essence with an oil sieve to remove oil and other residues from the chicken. Enjoy cooking and trust you will find yourself “recharged” after consuming the soup!

Karen Loke – Founder and Practitioner, Restoring Mums

 我一直深信「美貌並不是膚淺的」。如同我相信做好皮膚護理可以護膚，我相信食療可以滋養調理好我的身體。

我發現我的生活方式會影響我的外觀和感覺（我仍在努力做到每天睡夠八小時）。作為一位女性，我發現單單吃得健康是不足夠的，補充品是需要的，由其是在每次月經之後。

當看到男性和女性看上去比實際年齡年輕，有著容光煥發的皮膚時，我總會感到鼓舞。他們不是經常去做美容或打Botox（肉毒桿菌）。有一位名叫Datin Anisah的女性（我在上一篇提及過她），她72歲，但看上去只像50歲。Datin的秘密就是草藥和排毒。我的丈夫有位朋友是燕窩的經銷商。現在他50歲，但他光滑的皮膚令他足足年輕了20年似的。我也留意到很多中藥店的店主也同樣有著年輕的肌膚。

所以在這裡，我想分享一些我多年來用來護膚的健康食譜。它們是實用的食譜，大部分都不需要用到很昂貴的食材。我會定期更新這些食譜，請大家不時留意。

系列＃1滋補美味雞精食譜

在亞洲，食用雞精一直是傳統的提神方法，因為它有豐富的具抗氧化作用的甲肌冴和肌冴。一項名為《雞精對於人類志願者的壓力和認知能力的作用(Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Stress and Cognition of Human Volunteers)》的研究發現服用了雞精的學生明顯地表現得更好。再加上其實，在我讀高中和大學的時候，我記得我在考試時都有飲過白蘭氏雞精，去令頭腦清晰。

雞精含有大量濃縮的蛋白質，氨基酸和肽

這代表著雞精的做法是不加水，將雞用雙沸騰去提取它的精華。一隻雞通常可以做到一碗（飯碗）雞精（或雞湯）。

我坐月子的時候，我的陪月員每天都幫我煮一碗雞精──煮了足足30日！我仍然記得全日我是多麼的精神有力，完全不需要打瞌睡。現在，雖然雞精提升活力的功效是吹噓的，但我每個月都會服用它，因為它有豐富的蛋白質。我們都知道，蛋白質對皮膚、頭髮和指甲好。

此外，我喜歡用黑雞或竹絲雞，因為牠們比普通的雞有較少脂肪和兩倍的肌冴。

以下的食譜用的是雙沸騰方法。雙層蒸鍋的內鍋由一個蓋子覆蓋著，令入面的食物不會與任何外部物質，甚至是水蒸汽直接接觸。因此，食材原本的營養和味道會被「鎖」在內鍋裡，不會被水蒸汽帶走。

妳需要的材料有：

• 全隻黑雞一隻
• 少許鹽，用來調味

準備工作：

• 去除雞皮以減少湯的脂肪。
• 將雞切成小件。
• 用刀背拍打雞件至少爛，令精華容易被帶出

用具：

有兩種煮雞精的方法。

使用雙層蒸鍋。

這種雙層蒸鍋已經很難可以找得到。它有一個內鍋，由一個離基座有一英寸高的帶孔的蓋子覆蓋，可以很容易被提起。將雞件放在蓋子的上面。沸騰時，雞的精華會由孔子流入內鍋。雙沸騰四小時後，讓鍋冷卻。揭開鍋蓋，將已經乾涸的雞件拿走。揭開帶孔的蓋子，您就會見到有著清澈金色的雞精。

自己動手造一個雙層蒸鍋

妳需要的材料有：

• 飯碗一個
• 中式燉盅一個

• 蒸隔

• 金屬湯鍋一個（請確保可以放入燉盅）

步驟：

• 將飯碗反轉放入燉盅。
• 將蒸隔放入湯鍋內，然後將燉盅放在蒸隔上。
• 像以下圖示一樣，將所有雞件放入燉盅
• （圖片）
• 蓋上所有蓋子，煮三個小時。
• 熄火，讓它冷卻至少15分鐘。
• 打開蓋子，取出已乾涸的雞件。當妳熄火後，雞的精華（現在在燉盅底部）會順著飯碗流下。燉盅內的高壓會將精華推入低壓、真空的飯碗內。所以妳看不見雞件的水份。
• 慢慢地拿開飯碗，妳就會見到精華淺出來。
• 以鹽調味，趁熱飲！

小貼士：

妳可能會想用篩子篩走雞油和其他殘留物。請妳享受烹飪的樂趣，妳會發現自己在飲完雞精後「充電」了一樣！

Restoring Mums創辦人和治療師Karen Loke