The Flavours of Yunnan

This winter has been one of the coldest in recent years in Beijing, certainly the harshest since I came to live here almost four years ago. We've had freezing temperatures, snow, rain and the highest, most terrible, unhealthy pollution levels. Many days in the last months, we just wanted to stay wrapped up at home, avoiding going out as much as possible.

One day, I received a package from our friends in Songtsam Lodges (here). The small box had a beautiful bag full of delicious dried Matsutake mushrooms from the mountains in Shangri-la. Memories of our wonderful holidays last summer came back  immediately and as I brought the bag close to my face and smelled it: the earthy, strong fragrance sent me back to the pine forests on the mountains of Yunnan. The whole family had been mushroom hunting with our guide, Dorma, and later we ate a feast of barbecued mushrooms under the stars.

So, back home in Beijing, on a cold winter's night, I made this soup. like most Chinese soups, it is thin and clear, not creamy or heavy but more like a broth or consommé. This is the recipe, with a little bit of help from my friends Liming and Ling.

Chicken and Mushroom Soup (a Chinese classic)

Ingredients

a handful of dried Matsutake mushrooms

3 chicken legs (more flavoursome than chicken breast)

half an onion (roughly chopped)

a piece of ginger, sliced (about 3 slices should be enough, you don't want to cover the mushroom flavours)

water

1 or 2 tbs fresh coriander leaves

small bunch of spring onions

1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

seasoning to taste

Method

First wash the dried mushrooms in cold water and leave to soak for a few hours or overnight.

In a big saucepan, put the mushrooms, chicken, onion, ginger and salt to taste. Liming tells me that in Yunnan they would use free-range chickens, but they are not so readily available in Beijing. I should mention that the first time I cooked it, I roughly chopped the mushrooms, but their shape is so pretty, that the following times I left them whole.

Cover with cold water and bring to a quick boil. Bring the heat down to low, skim off the scum with a strainer and let the soup simmer for about 1 hour or until the water is reduced by half. If you want, you can remove the chicken from the liquid and after leaving to cool for a little bit, remove from the bone and skin and return the shredded pieces to the soup.

To finish off, remove from the heat, add Shaoxing wine rice (optional), coriander, green onions, pepper, adjust seasoning, and serve.

dried mushrooms straight from Yunnan

mushrooms, chicken, onion, ginger and water to begin with

skim off the scum with a strainer 

beautiful shape

If you are interested in our adventures in Yunnan - The Kingdom South of the Clouds, you can visit my other blog postings here:
Buddhist Basketball
Little wild flower of Yunnan
Last Hidden World
Tibetan Buddhism prayer flags
Yunnan mooncakes