MO KU GAI T'ONG

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds Fresh young chicken (with liver and gizzard) (A whole spring chicken is ideal; keep the liver and gizzard aside when cleaning)
• 0.25 pound Lean pork (A lean cut such as pork loin works well)
• 0.25 pound Dried mushrooms (Dried shiitake mushrooms are a good modern choice)
• 12 seeds Lotus seeds (The original recipe notes water chestnuts as an alternative if lotus seeds are unavailable)
• 3 stalks Celery stalks (Standard celery stalks)
• 1 whole Onion (A medium yellow or white onion)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 tablespoon Syou (soy sauce) (Syou is an early romanisation of shoyu; use a Chinese or Japanese soy sauce)
• 3 pints Cold water (Approximately 1.7 litres; keep extra on hand to top up during boiling)

Instructions

1. 1Place the whole chicken on a clean cutting board. Remove any feathers or pin feathers. Cut off all of the flesh from the bones, setting the meat aside. Reserve the liver and gizzard — do not discard them. You should now have a pile of chicken meat, a pile of bones, and the liver and gizzard kept separately.
2. 2Place the chicken bones, liver, and gizzard into a large pot. Pour in the three pints of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady boil (medium-high). Boil for two hours, checking every 20–30 minutes and adding more water if the level drops significantly — you want to keep roughly the same volume of liquid throughout. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface during the first 15 minutes.
3. 3While the stock is boiling, place the dried mushrooms into a bowl. Cover them with lukewarm (not hot) water and leave to soak for at least 20–30 minutes until they are fully rehydrated and soft. Once soaked, remove each mushroom and pinch or pull off all of the tough stalks — discard the stalks. Gently squeeze out any excess water from the caps. Set the mushroom caps aside. You can do this step at the same time as the other prep steps below.
4. 4Take the reserved chicken meat from step 1 and cut it into small, bite-sized pieces — roughly 2–3 cm (about 1 inch) chunks. Set aside.
5. 5Place the lean pork on the cutting board and cut it into very fine, small pieces — almost a rough mince. The pieces should be noticeably smaller than the chicken pieces. Set aside.
6. 6Peel the lotus seeds if they have an outer skin. Cut each seed in half or into smaller pieces. Set aside.
7. 7Trim the tops and base from the three celery stalks. Chop the celery very finely — small, thin pieces. Peel the onion and chop it very finely as well. Set both aside together.
8. 8After the stock has boiled for two hours, remove the pot from the heat. Set a fine-mesh strainer or a colander lined with a clean cloth over a large bowl. Carefully pour all the liquid through the strainer to remove the bones — discard the bones. Fish out the liver and gizzard from the strainer and place them on the cutting board. Cut both the liver and gizzard into fine, small pieces. Return the strained liquid (your stock) to the large pot, and add the finely cut liver and gizzard back into it.
9. 9To the pot of strained stock containing the liver and gizzard, add: the cut chicken meat, the finely cut pork, the soaked and de-stalked mushrooms, the peeled and cut lotus seeds, the finely chopped celery, the finely chopped onion, the one teaspoonful of salt, and the one tablespoonful of syou (soy sauce). Stir everything together gently to combine.
10. 10Place the pot back on the heat and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, maintain a steady boil over medium-high heat for one full hour. Stir occasionally to prevent anything sticking to the bottom. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. After one hour, your soup is ready. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.