In Asian cooking, we use chicken stock to make soups, noodle soups, hot pots, sauces, and many other dishes. It’s important to note the flavor profile of Asian chicken stock is very different from western one and they shouldn’t be used as a substitute.
Asian Chicken Stock vs. Western Chicken Stock
How is the chicken stock used in Asian cooking different from western chicken stock? While western chicken stock includes celery, carrot, parsley, and other herbs, Asian chicken stock is rather simple. We only use chicken bones, ginger, green onion, and garlic (optional). Western chicken broth has stronger flavor components with all the additional vegetables, and it tastes really delicious for soups and stews. However, the flavor profile doesn’t work for wonton soup, ramen, hot pot, and so on.
Store Bought or Homemade Chicken Stock
We don’t always have homemade chicken stock ready for use in the refrigerator or freezer, and sometimes there is no time to make chicken stock from scratch. On those occasions, I use a can of Asian chicken stock. You can find these at many Asian grocery stores. The store-bought chicken stock can be too salty, so make sure to dilute with water in a ratio of 2 parts broth to 1 part water (4 cups broth: 2 cups water) as a good starting point. You can always adjust the flavor to your liking by tasting the broth.
Homemade Chicken Stock
There are probably several (if not many) ways to make chicken broth, as each family has their own version. This is how I make my chicken stock. Fun Fact: It’s actually not common to make chicken stock from scratch in Japan because it’s not easy to find chicken bones or whole chicken at local Japanese grocery stores. Therefore the Japanese use the Chuka Dashi Powder (中華だし) to make Asian (especially Chinese) cooking. If you want to learn more about Chuka Dashi, please read this post.
