Chicken Chanko a La Konishiki

• 1 (4 lb) whole chickens (boned) or 4 -5 lbs chicken parts, as desired
• 1 Chinese cabbage, chopped into bite size pieces
• 12 daikon radish, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 eggplant, sliced
• 3 leeks
• 4 onions, quartered
• 5 carrots (4 sliced, 1 cut into bite-size pieces)
• 12 shiitake mushrooms, quartered
• 16 ounces fresh tofu, chopped into bite size pieces
• 12 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup sake
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 (16 ounce) packages udon noodles

1. Debone the chicken and save the bones to make the stock.
2. If you don't want to make chicken stock, use a commercial low sodium chicken broth (32-34 oz).
3. Cut the chicken meat into 2-inch chunks.
4. Fill a large stock pot (10-12 quarts) with water (see amount below) and soy sauce (use"regular" soy sauce-- what the Chinese would call"thin" sauce-- don't use the"thick" or"double" sauce).
5. If you're making the stock from the chicken bones, add the chicken bones to 6-8 quarts of water and simmer for three hours, skimming the top constantly.
6. If you're using chicken broth, add the broth to the soy sauce and bring to a simmer.
7. Trim the leeks (cut off the green part and the roots), then either slice lengthwise about 3/4 of the way down and rinse (to get rid of any sandy soid inside the leek or soak top down in cold water to let the sand out).
8. In a separate pot, with rapidly boiling water, blanch the daikon, eggplant and four sliced carrotsshould take about 1-2 minutes, then drain.
9. Add chicken meat and giblets to the stock base, skimming the top thouroughly.
10. Add all the vegetables (cabbage, daikon, eggplant, leeks, onions, the remaining carrot, mushrooms) and tofu to the stock pot.
11. Simmer until cooked (about 30-40 min).
12. Season with salt and sake, to taste.
13. Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes to let seasonings mix.
14. Re-taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
15. Serve hot with steamed rice-- then add the udon noodles, continue to let the broth simmer and serve hot.
16. Use the stock as a base-- continue to add chicken, vegetables, noodles indefinitely.

whole chickens, chinese cabbage, daikon radish, eggplant, leeks, onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, fresh tofu, soy sauce, sake, salt, udon noodles

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/chicken-chanko-a-la-konishiki-108145 (may not work)