Authentic Chinese Chicken Soups: Bok Choy Chicken Soup, Chicken & Spinach Soup, & Chinese Cabbage Soup

     I first started making Chinese chicken soup in September 2009 when we got our first International students from Taiwan and Hong Kong. They told me it is common to have soup at every meal, and so to make them feel more at home, I started to make one of these soups each week, and the pot would last for 2 or 3 days.



 Many of our students have told me it makes them feel like they're back home.  I have tweaked this recipe with the help of my students , but the basic recipe I got from About Chinese Food. This soup is absolutely delicious! 

 

Making Chinese Chicken Stock

 

Basics about preparing the chicken for stock: This is the base for all the soups below.  I like to buy a whole range free chicken or organic chicken.
(1)   I usually cut the breasts off the backbone with kitchen shears, cut the legs and thigh pieces off and the wings for other meals. 
(2)  Then I cut off all the fat. 
(3)   I usually use the chicken breasts for a stir fry or curry recipe and freeze the other pieces or put them in the frig if I can use them in 2 days. 
Note: f you want this to be a main dish soup, just leave the whole chicken in the pot!
  I've made one basic change to preparing the stock.  I've heard this from two Chinese friends that  it’s important to just put the chicken backbone into a pot with enough cold water to cover, and then bring that water to a boil for a few minutes and then drain it off.  Then transfer the bones to a stock pot or large soup pot and add about 10-12 cups of water for preparing the stock.
 

1.  Prepare the chicken:  
(1)  Cut off the legs/thighs/wings as noted above.  Cut the breast meat off the bone.
(2)  Put the back and breast bone into a pot with cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil, skim off all the foam. Let cook for 3-5 minutes.  Drain.
(3)  Put in 10-12 cups of fresh water.

2.  To this pot add the following: 

(1)  Add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger.
(2)  2-4 green onions cut in 1/2" pieces
(3) 2 T rice wine or sherry.
(4)  Bring the stock to a boil over medium heat, occasionally skimming off the foam that rises to the top.
(5)  Add 1 T salt (or to taste) and 1/2-1 tsp. black pepper if desired.
(6)  Cover and reduce the heat and simmer for at least 2 hours.  I think what makes the soup is simmering it for 4+ hours.
(7)  During the last 30 minutes you can also add a pack of thin rice noodles.

Use as called for in the recipes below.  

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Bok Choy Chicken Soup

To the pot of chicken stock add:   4-5 T tamari/soy sauce,  1 ½-2  T sesame oil,  3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 t red pepper flakes (these are spicy—so you may want to try ½ t first).  

During the last half hour add 5-6 bok choy leaves leaves finely chopped.  Adjust any seasonings. 

  Chicken & Spinach Soup

To the pot of 12 cups of chicken stock add:   3 T Chinese rice wine (mirin)/dry sherry, 2 1/2 t sugar, and 1 T sesame oil (Note that this recipe is for 12 cups of stock!)

Add vegetables:
(1)  Rinse off 1 pound of fresh spinach leaves and add to the soup.  
 (2)  Stir in  3-5 T gluten free tamari/soy sauce, 1 slice of ginger, and ½ t more of sugar.
(3) Taste and adjust any of the seasonings.

Chinese Cabbage Soup

To the pot of chicken stock add:  5 T gluten free tamari/soy sauce,  ½-1 t black pepper, 1-2 T sesame oil, and 4to 5 cups of sliced Chinese cabbage.   Cook only 3 to 4 minutes or until cabbage is crisp and tender. (Do not overcook.) Lettuce can be used for cabbage, reduce time to 1 minute.  Adjust any seasonings. 

Blog Update July 18, 2014:   I always taste it and tweak it from there to see if it needs a little bit more tamari, sesame oil, or salt.

Other Chinese recipes on this blog:

Note about Internet recipes:  For the past 5 years we've hosted international students. Whenever I've made something, they have tasted it, and given me recommendations to make it taste more authentic.  Most of these Internet recipes have been tweaked by their suggestions.

BEEF RECIPES:
Delicious Gluten Free Beef Broccoli Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
The Best Gluten Free Mongolian Beef Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Ginger Beef Stir Fry (Modification of Internet recipe)

CHICKEN RECIPES:
Gluten Free Chinese Almond Chicken Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Amazing Gluten Free Chinese Cashew Chicken Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Garlic Chicken Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Authentic Chinese BBQ Chicken  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Rose's Chinese Yellow Curry with Chicken & Vegetables  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Gluten Free Chinese - Fantastic Soy Sauce Chicken  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Rose's Authentic Stir-Fried Chicken & Vegetables (Made Gluten Free!)
Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Chicken (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)

TOFU RECIPES:
Tofu & Vegetable Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Orange "Beef" Tofu Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)

FISH RECIPES:
Steamed Scallion Ginger Fish with Stir-Fried Bok Choy  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Fantastic Mahi & Vegetable Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Tasty Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Fish  (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)

NOODLES & RICE:
Gluten Free Chinese Fried Rice    (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)
Fantastic Mahi & Vegetable Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
The Cheung's Gluten Free Chow Mien  (My Bible study friend Rose taught me this)

SOUP RECIPES:
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Combination of Internet & Yingying a student from China)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup   (From my Syre School Cookbook)

SALAD RECIPES
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad  (From a Bible study friend)
Chinese Mandarin Salad & Thai Peanut Dressing   (Dressing is from my friend Judi)

Tasty Thai Red Chicken Curry

    Do Thai curries all taste different?  One day one of the students that eats dinner with us on Friday nights asked me that.  I told her yes each curry has its own distinctive flavor and even some of the vegetables in each curry are different.

 Red curry is actually one of my favorites because it is so versatile--it can go with any kind of vegetable and even works well with salmon or cod.  You can also switch the combination of vegetables that you use.

Tasty Thai Red Chicken Curry - for 8

1.  Chicken prep:  Rinse off 2 chicken breasts and cut into bite size pieces.

2.  Veggie prep:

(1)  Cut up 1 red pepper into strips.
(2)  Slice 1 zucchini into half moons.
(3)  Cut up 1 onion into thin slices.
(4)  Mince  6 cloves of garlic and put into a separate bowl.
I didn't have a whole red pepper the day I made this so I mixed it with some green, and it didn't affect the flavor.

 3.  Combine spices:  Mix together 4 T fish sauce, 3 tsp. sugar, and 1 ½ tsp. salt into a small bowl. 

4.  Make curry:
(1)  In a wok or large skillet put 1 T of coconut oil over med-low heat and add 3-4 T red curry paste, onion, and the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.  

(2)  Add  ½ can of coconut milk and cook the chicken pieces until done.
(3)  Then add rest of the coconut milk and 3 cups of chicken stock (I have done this with just adding another can of coconut  milk and it came out great).
(4)  Then add the fish sauce mixture and bring the curry to a boil and then reduce to medium heat and let simmer about  5 minutes.
(5) Add the red pepper, and zucchini and let them simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Serve in a shallow dish with jasmine rice or short grained white or brown rice.

Check out some of the other curries on this blog!

Tasty Thai Red Curry   (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Fantastic Thai Green Curry (Modified a recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Rose's Authentic Chinese Yellow Curry  (From a Taiwanese friend who brought this to a potluck)

Thai Salmon & Vegetables in Green Curry  ( Modified recipe from Internet search)

Massaman Chicken Curry with Yams & Pineapple (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Spectacular Chicken Panang Curry (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste &  recipe)

Amazing Vegetable Panang Curry (Modified recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Gluten Free Thai Chicken & Pumpkin Curry  (From Internet search)
Thai Salmon & Butternut Squash in a Red Curry (From an Internet search)

Vietnamese Saigon Style Tofu Curry  (Idea from Internet search; curry sauce recipe from Rose)

Other Thai Recipes on This Blog 

Making Gluten Free Pad Thai With a Thai Student (A combination of recipes & a Thai student's know how!)

Gluten Free Thai Basil Beef    (From Internet search)

How to Make Your Own Thai Fresh Rolls   (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Rachel Ray's Thai Chicken with Basil & Pineapple   (From Internet search)

Gai Pad Prik (Chicken with Peppers) in a Peanut Sauce  (From Internet search)
Delicious Gluten Free Thai Wraps  (From Internet search)
A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung  (A student's mom's recipe)
How to Make Amazing Thai Food -  Why Not Try Gluten Free Pad See Ew? (Modif. from Internet search)

What is the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?



I took this picture in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona

 When I was in college, I heard Witness Lee share that there are 4 gospels because each showed a different aspect of the Lord's life--

Matthew shows us that He is the heavenly King, 

Mark shows us that He is the Servant of God, 

Luke that He is both God and Man to be our Savior, 

and John that Jesus is the very God incarnated.  

    In the first few messages of the Life Study of Mark Witness Lee gives a background of the book, and he shows through verses in Isaiah 42:1 that Mark’s gospel does show us that the Lord came as the Servant of Jehovah:   Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My chosen One in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring forth justice to the nations.  

Of course, this verse reminded me right away of the scene at the Lord’s baptism (Mark 1:9-11) when God spoke these very words from the heavens. He also mentions that because Mark portrays the Lord as a servant, you don’t find a genealogy in this book. Because of that Mark shows  more of the Lord’s actions than His speaking like in Matthew's gospel. 

Other Posts on the Life Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

The Best Gluten Free Ginger Beef Stir-Fry

           When we first started to have college students board with us in 2009, I started to do some Internet searches for some Asian recipes. A lot of Chinese recipes call for deep frying the meat, so I was searching for those that were just stir-fried. 

 This is the only ginger beef recipe I could find that was made without deep frying, and it is absolutely delicious!  I like a bit more sauce for putting on the rice, so I tripled the sauce.  Here’s the link to the All Recipes site so you can see the original recipe. 

  

Gluten Free Ginger Beef 
 Stir-Fry - Serves 6-8

1.  Prepare beef:  Rinse 1 pd of flank steak or top sirloin.  Cut into thin stir-fry size strips.

 2.  Prepare veggies:

(1) Chop up  1/4 cup of fresh minced ginger (Yes this much ginger; it is not overpowering!).
(2)  Mince 3 cloves of garlic.
(3)  Slice 4 green onions.
(4)  Slice 1 red bell pepper into strips.
(5)  Slice 1-2 carrots on the diagonal.

 3.  Make stir-fry sauce:  Combine 9 T tamari, 6 T rice wine, 4 T rice/white vinegar, 1 T of cornstarch, ¼ tsp chili flakes in a glass bowl and set aside.

4.  Stir-fry meat:
(1)   Put 1 T of  coconut oil mixed with 1 1/2 tsp of sesame oil into a wok or skillet and sauté the ginger and garlic about 30 seconds.
(2)   Then add the strips of meat and barely brown both sides of meat.

 5.  Stir-fry veggies:  Then add the green onions, red bell pepper, and carrots.   Stir-fry meat and veggies together for 2 minutes.

6.  Add spices & stir-fry sauce:  Make a well and add  1/2 cup of sugar (You can go for 1/3 cup to reduce that amount) and allow it to  caramelize for a few seconds. Add the stir-fry sauce and mix together. Let it come to a boil and stir while it thickens.  Adjust any seasonings.

Serve over steamed rice.

Blog update on 4-19-12:  I made this recipe again tonight, and we had three people for dinner who had never had it before, and their comments are below. 

Other Chinese recipes on this blog:

Note about Internet recipes:  For the past 6 years we've hosted international students. Whenever I've made something, they have tasted it, and given me recommendations to make it taste more authentic.  Most of these Internet recipes have been tweaked by their suggestions.

BEEF RECIPES:
Delicious Gluten Free Beef Broccoli Stir-Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
The Best Gluten Free Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Ginger Beef Stir-Fry (Modification of Internet recipe)

CHICKEN RECIPES:
Gluten Free Chinese Almond Chicken Stir-Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Amazing Gluten Free Chinese Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Chicken Broccoli Stir-Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Authentic Chinese BBQ Chicken  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Rose's Chinese Yellow Curry with Chicken & Vegetables  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Gluten Free Chinese - Fantastic Soy Sauce Chicken  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Rose's Authentic Stir-Fried Chicken & Vegetables (Made Gluten Free!)
Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Chicken (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)

TOFU RECIPES:
Tofu & Vegetable Stir-Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Orange "Beef" Tofu Stir- Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)

FISH RECIPES:
Steamed Scallion Ginger Fish with Stir-Fried Bok Choy  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Fantastic Mahi & Vegetable Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Tasty Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Fish  (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)

NOODLES & RICE:
Gluten Free Chinese Fried Rice    (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)
The Cheung's Gluten Free Chow Mien  (My Bible study friend Rose taught me this)

SOUP RECIPES:
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Combination of Internet & Yingying a student from China)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup   (From my Syre School Cookbook)

SALAD RECIPES
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad  (From a Bible study friend)
Chinese Mandarin Salad & Thai Peanut Dressing   (Dressing is from my friend Judi)

GF Tremendous (and they really are!!) Pumpkin Muffins

     This is not another one of those pumpkin recipes.  These are like their name says tremendous pumpkin muffins.  When you make this recipe, you'll know why they're called that! 

   These muffins are simple to make, moist, and taste great!  And what more do you need in a muffin recipe?  I have made these muffins for over 25 years, and was glad to discover that switching the flours didn't destroy the taste or texture. 

  This yummy muffin recipe comes from the Heritage School Cookbook I picked up many years ago from work.  Like all the pumpkin recipes I make, I have increased the spices.

Gluten Free Tremendous Pumpkin Muffins 
This  recipe makes 2 dozen muffins

1.  In small bowl:  Put 2 cups of raisins in 1 cup of water and let soak them for about 5+ minutes.

2.  In a large bowl mix together:
(1)  2 cups of canned pumpkin
(2)  Stir in 4 eggs
(3)  Add  2/3 cups oil (A friend told me you can use some applesauce to replace the oil or you can use some of each-- 1/3 applesauce and 1/3 cup oil)
(4) Stir in 2  cups of brown sugar
(5)  Add spices:  2 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and 1 tsp. salt.
(6)  Stir in the raisins and water.

3.  In a medium size bowl mix together: 3 cups of rice flour and ½ cup of sorghum flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, and 1 tsp. baking soda.

Note: I've used other gluten free flour combinations, but be careful with using too much coconut flour because it needs more liquid ingredients in the recipe.

4. Combine ingredients:  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined.

 5.  Cook muffins:  Grease muffin tins and fill almost to the top.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Check with a toothpick.  Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Amazing Gluten Free Chinese Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

    Cashew chicken was one of my favorite at Chinese restaurants. It was one of those Chinese dishes I had to figure out how to make gluten free.This recipe is a combination of an Internet search and one of the recipes from my cookbook.

 I made this recipe a few weeks ago for a Friday night dinner, and there were four Chinese college students present. They said that although it's an American version of a Chinese classic, it was still good. 

Amazing Gluten Free Cashew Chicken Stir Fry 
Serves 6-8 

 1. Prepare chicken:  Rinse and cut 2 chicken breasts into bite size pieces.  Mix with 1 T of cornstarch/tapioca starch and put in a small bowl.  Put in the  fridge until ready to use.

2.  Make stir-fry sauce - In a medium sized bowl put: 
(1)  2 cups of chicken broth

(2) 1/4 cup gluten free hoisin sauce,  4 T gluten free tamari, 2 t salt, 1 t black pepper, and 2T of cornstarch.  Set aside for later.

 3.  Prepare veggies -  Chop up into small pieces:
(1)  1 1/4  cups of diced celery
(2)   ¾ cup of green onions - cut the bottoms and put in separate dish and cut the green stems in 1" pieces
(3)  1 large green or red pepper diced
(4)   Dice 8 oz can of water chestnuts.
(5)  2 t of minced garlic

4.  Stir Fry chicken:  Put 2 T of coconut oil into a wok or large stainless skillet and get it warm, then add chicken and stir fry until done.  Set chicken aside in a covered dish. 

5. Stir fry veggies:  Add an additional tablespoon of oil  and put the green onion bottoms, minced garlic and 1/2 t of red pepper flakes into the skillet and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Then add the  vegetables and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
   

6. Add the stir-fry sauce:  Then add the sauce stirring constantly, and add back the chicken and cook over medium-high heat until thickened about another 2 minutes.  Stir in  1 cup of roasted cashews and the green onion stems.  Taste and adjust any seasonings.  

Serve over rice.

Other Chinese recipes on this blog:
Note about Internet recipes:  For the past 5 years we've hosted international students. Whenever I've made something, they have tasted it, and given me recommendations to make it taste more authentic.  Most of these Internet recipes have been tweaked by their suggestions.

BEEF RECIPES:
Delicious Gluten Free Beef Broccoli Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
The Best Gluten Free Mongolian Beef Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Ginger Beef Stir Fry (Modification of Internet recipe)

CHICKEN RECIPES:
Gluten Free Chinese Almond Chicken Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Amazing Gluten Free Chinese Cashew Chicken Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Garlic Chicken Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Gluten Free Chinese - Authentic Chinese BBQ Chicken  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Rose's Chinese Yellow Curry with Chicken & Vegetables  (From my Bible Study friend Rose)
Gluten Free Chinese - Fantastic Soy Sauce Chicken  (Modification of Internet recipe)

TOFU RECIPES:
Tofu & Vegetable Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Orange "Beef" Tofu Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)

FISH RECIPES:
Steamed Scallion Ginger Fish with Stir-Fried Bok Choy  (Modification of Internet recipe)
Fantastic Mahi & Vegetable Stir Fry   (Modification of Internet recipe)

NOODLES & RICE:
Gluten Free Chinese Fried Rice    (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)
Fantastic Mahi & Vegetable Stir Fry  (Modification of Internet recipe)
The Cheung's Gluten Free Chow Mien  (My Bible study friend Rose taught me this)

SOUP RECIPES:
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Combination of Internet & Yingying a student from China)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup   (From my Syre School Cookbook)

SALAD RECIPES
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad  (From a Bible study friend)
Chinese Mandarin Salad & Thai Peanut Dressing   (Dressing is from my friend Judi)