.::. Herbal Black Chicken Soup .::.

Today is one of those days when I feel like work has sucked all my energy from me and there's nothing left in me. Perhaps it's PMS, or maybe it's been a stressful period trying to juggle everything, but I simply feel so spent.

Luckily, there was herbal black chicken soup at home waiting for me on a rainy evening. I cooked it since morning in the slow cooker.

And...it's yummy! I bought the herbs individually instead of buying those ready-packed ones. It tastes a lot nicer. There's quite a few versions of 'herbal black chicken soup', but I used the most common one. Black chicken soup is supposedly very nourishing and good for the body.

These are what I used with one small black chicken:

Chinese dates or red jujube - 红枣 (3-5 depending on size)

Chinese wolfberries or goji berries - 枸杞子 (a few teaspoons)

Polygonatum odoratum - 玉竹 (about half a palm-full)

Astragalus propinquus - 北芪 (3-4 pieces)

Angelica sinensis - 当归 (2-4 pieces)

Codonopsitis Pilosulae - 党参 (2-3 long sticks)

Dioscoreae Oppositae - 淮山 (about 3 stripes)

I simply threw a whole black chicken and all the herbs in the slow cooker and put the pot in the fridge. Just fill the pot with water in the morning before leaving house and on the slow cooker at low. By evening, the chicken would have been very soft and the soup yummy. I add in the red dates/wolfberries and a pinch of salt to taste when I'm back in the evening. You can add those chinese mushrooms, ginger slices or fresh wild chinese yam (淮山). Other variations includes things like white fungus, dried longan, peanuts/black beans, cordyceps, ginseng and even scallops.

This soup makes a simple and nourishing meal and is extremely simple to cook! I usually throw in some noodles - it goes well with rice too. And if you're too lazy to buy every herb individually, the packet ones will do too, though it doesn't taste as good. =)