Lotus And Chicken Essence Broth

• 1 pound chicken thighs (legs, wings, or whole chicken all work fine. Roasted chicken bones would also be great to add, but some dark meat chicken is important for this broth)
• 2 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 dried red dates
• 3-5 dried lotus slices or chunks
• (optional) goji berries are also a good addition to this
• (optional) 1/2 inch knob of Virginia ham is also good and adds a smoky undertone.
• Note: The mushrooms, dates, and lotus can be purchased at Asian food stores or on-line.
• 10-12 cups water
• salt

1. Briefly brown chicken in a large pot.
2. Add water to cover chicken and deglaze pot. Add rest of ingredients and 1Tbsp of salt. Bring to boil. Taste and adjust with more salt if necessary.
3. Simmer for a long time, at least 4 hours, with the lid on. You can do this over low heat on the stove or overnight in a crockpot. Add water to keep chicken and other ingredients covered. Add salt as necessary to taste. The stock is done when the meat has completely fallen off the bone and taken on a red hue. The lotus should be uniformly dark red.
4. Remove fat. You can do this by skimming the top with a spoon or using a fat separator and pouring off the liquid at the bottom. (Alternatively, refrigerate stock and scrape off cooled fat.) Re-boil before serving.
5. The broth can be served as is or strained first to remove bits and bones. The chicken left will be stringy and not flavorful, so I do not serve it. However, you can serve the carrots and lotus with the soup. Add salt as necessary to taste.
6. The lotus can also be removed from the broth and cut into smaller chunks. Serve simply drizzled with soy sauce.

chicken, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, red dates, lotus slices, mushrooms, water, salt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/3462-lotus-and-chicken-essence-broth (may not work)