Recipe: Clear Black Chicken Soup with Ginseng and Licorice

Every Thursday on the Good Food Blog we share a recipe from our archives.

Jean-Marie Josselin was the chef of 808 Restaurant. He first shared this recipe for Clear Black Chicken with Ginsent and Licorice on May 8, 2004.

Clear Black Chicken Soup with Ginseng and Licorice

This was an easy one for me and still my favorite during winter. Of course licorice was a favorite of mine since I was a kid. The general store where I grew up always carried licorice sticks–you needed to chew on the bark to get the flavor–I guess this was an inexpensive way for my mother to keep me occupied and free of candies for awhile. While I have to admit that black chicken was a novelty for me the first time I tasted it, the meat is actually very good and tasty.

• 1 quart chicken stock

• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes

• 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger

• 3-inch piece ginseng, sliced

• 3-inch piece licorice root, sliced

• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger

• 1 baby bok choy, split in 4

• 4 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 4 baby corns

• 1/2 cup julienne leeks

• 1/2 cup julienne carrots

• Salt to taste

• 1 cup chicken breast, sliced and cooked

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chili flakes, garlic, minced ginger, ginseng and licorice root and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pass through a colander. Add bok choy, mushrooms and corn. Simmer another 5 minutes and pass through colander again. Place the julienne leeks and carrots in four soup bowls; add the broth, vegetables, and the chicken. Serve hot.