Post - Partum Soup

Have you heard of black Silkie chicken? It gets its name, black Silkie chicken, from having black skin, black bones, blue earlobes and five toes on each foot (normal chickens have only four) and a fluffy silky plumage. Black Silkie chicken has higher nutritional values than normal chicken and the meat is tender.

According to Chinese medicine, the black silkie chicken is sweet and salty, neutral to warm temperature. It enters the Liver and Kidney meridians. The black Silkie chicken can help to warm the body and strengthen the immune system. The chicken is believed to be especially helpful for women. Eating a Silkie will help to increase female fertility, nourish a pregnant woman’s developing child, and help to restore vitality in women who find they can’t quite get in the mood after childbirth.

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Black Silky chicken soup:

Ingredients:

Black silkie chicken (Wu Ji 乌鸡) - one piece of thigh Chinese Yam (Shan Yao 山药 fresh or dried) - 9oz Ginger 姜 - 4-5 slices Chinese Jujube dates (Hong Zao 红枣) - 5 pieces Dried longan fruits (Long Yan Gan 龙眼肉) - 5 pieces Dried Goji berries (Gou Qi Zi 枸杞子) - 0.1oz Shao Xing rice wine 绍兴酒 - 1tbsp Salt to taste Water - 17oz

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1. Soak all dried ingredients for 20 minutes and wash well 2. Cut the Shan Yao into cubes 3. Clean the chicken and parboil it for about 3 minutes in boiling water 4. Put all ingredients except salt into a ceramic pot and bring to a boil 5. Simmer for 90 minutes 6. Add salt to taste

Alternative: only cook Shan Yao for 30 minutes. So Add Shan Yao in later.

Enjoy!