Fish maw and chicken tonic soup (花胶炖鸡汤)
hua jiao dun ji tang (花胶炖鸡汤)
A restorative soup: collagen-rich fish maw double-boiled with chicken, dried scallops and red dates into a deep, nourishing tonic for the later weeks.
Every confinement kitchen keeps a grand soup for a special day, and fish maw and chicken is often it. Collagen-rich fish maw, double-boiled slowly with chicken and a few dried scallops, makes a deep, restorative tonic for the rebuilding weeks of the month.
Why this soup
Fish maw is one of the special-occasion tonic ingredients, prized in the tradition as a replenishing, skin-and-healing food for a new mother. Paired with the savoury depth of dried scallops and the blood-nourishing sweetness of red dates, it becomes the kind of soup a family makes to mark and support a recovery, richer cousin to the everyday black chicken herbal soup.
Double-boiling for a clear broth
The traditional method is double-boiling, cooking the soup in a covered bowl set inside a pot of simmering water so it never boils directly. It takes patience but gives the clearest, most concentrated broth, and it is why prized tonic soups are made this way. A slow, gentle simmer works too. Because it is rich, keep it for the later weeks, as our guide to how the 30 days are structured explains, and see the other soups and recipes for everyday bowls.
The recipe
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 3 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 20 min
- Serves
- 2 to 3 as part of a meal
Why this ingredient
Fish maw (花胶)
The dried swim bladder of fish, rich in collagen and long prized as a replenishing, rebuilding food for a new mother. It is one of the special-occasion tonic ingredients, valued for skin and healing, and it belongs to the richer, later weeks rather than the delicate first days.
Why this ingredient
Dried scallops (瑶柱)
A few dried scallops give the soup a deep, savoury depth and a gentle tonic quality of their own, turning a simple chicken broth into something restorative without needing much salt.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces dried fish maw, soaked overnight and blanched with ginger The collagen-rich centrepiece; softens into a silky, gelatinous texture.
- 400 g chicken pieces on the bone, blanched The base of the broth. A small silkie is especially prized.
- 3 dried scallops (conpoy), soaked For deep, savoury umami without heavy seasoning.
- 6 red dates (jujubes), pitted Blood-nourishing sweetness.
- 1 tablespoon goji berries Added near the end so they stay plump.
- 4 slices old ginger For warmth and to settle any fishy note.
- 1.2 litres water, and salt to taste
Method
- 1 Soak the fish maw overnight until soft, then blanch it in boiling water with a few slices of ginger; drain and cut into pieces. Soak the dried scallops until soft.
- 2 Blanch the chicken briefly in boiling water, then drain and rinse.
- 3 Put the chicken, fish maw, scallops, red dates and ginger in a heatproof bowl or pot with the water.
- 4 Double-boil: set the covered bowl inside a larger pot of simmering water and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, topping up the outer water as needed. Or simmer very gently in a covered pot for about 2 hours.
- 5 Add the goji berries and salt in the last few minutes, and serve hot.
Notes and substitutions
- A slow cooker or thermal pot makes the long, gentle cook easy and hands-off.
- A little dang gui or a few slices of dang shen turns it into a stronger herbal tonic.
- Fish maw is costly, so save this for a weekend or a special restorative meal.
Before you cook this
- Rich and dense, so it suits the later weeks rather than the first days.
- Fish maw is a seafood; take care with any small bones from the chicken when drinking the broth.
Sources
- The Zuo Yuezi Guide
- Zuo Yuezi: An American Mother's Guide to Chinese Postpartum Recovery (Guang Ming Whitley)
Common questions
What is double-boiling?
Cooking the soup in a covered bowl or jar that sits inside a larger pot of simmering water, so the soup never boils directly. It takes longer but gives a clearer, more concentrated and gentler broth, which is the traditional way to make a prized tonic soup. A slow, gentle simmer in a normal pot also works.
How do I prepare the fish maw?
Soak it overnight until soft, then blanch it briefly in boiling water with a few slices of ginger and some spring onion to remove any fishiness. After that it is ready to go into the soup, where it softens further and drinks in the flavour.
When should I drink this soup?
The later, rebuilding weeks. It is a rich, dense tonic rather than a first-week food, best enjoyed once appetite and digestion have settled, as a restorative treat rather than an everyday bowl.