Description
The legendary nourishing soup representing Yunnan province in Southwest China. Only chicken and medicinal herbs are placed inside a special ceramic pot called a 'Qi Guo' (Steam Pot), which has a chimney-like nozzle in the center (ABSOLUTELY NO WATER IS ADDED). The pot is steamed from below for hours. The steam enters through the chimney, condenses into water droplets, and magically transforms into a premium, 100% pure chicken essence soup.
Restaurants serving Qi Guo Ji (Yunnan Steam Pot Chicken)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Free-range chicken(bone-in chunks)
- Scallion
- Ginger
- Goji berries
- Sanqi/medicinal herbs
- Salt
- White pepper
- Specialized Qi Guo pot
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- (Qi Guo Prep) Prepare a 'Qi Guo' (Steam Pot)—a special ceramic pot made of Jianshui red clay from Yunnan, featuring a chimney-like hole in the center.
- (Ingredients) Chop a fresh, premium free-range chicken (Silkie is best) and blanch to perfectly remove blood and scum.
- Pack the blanched chicken directly into the Qi Guo.
- Top with scallion, ginger, salt, white pepper, and Yunnan's special medicinal herbs like 'Sanqi' (Panax notoginseng), 'Tianma' (Gastrodia elata), and goji berries.
- [The Ultimate Point]: Do [NOT ADD A SINGLE DROP OF WATER OR BROTH] into the Qi Guo. Close the lid tightly.
- (The Miracle of Steaming) Place this Qi Guo on top of another massive pot (or special clay pot) filled with violently boiling water. Seal the gap tightly with a wet cloth to prevent steam from escaping.
- Steam on high heat from below for 3-
- hours. The hot steam from the bottom pot travels up through the Qi Guo's center chimney into the top chamber.
- The steam hits the chicken, condenses on the cool lid, turns into water droplets, and slowly pools at the bottom, dissolving only the absolute pure umami and fat of the chicken into a 'golden soup'. The finished broth is the ultimate clear chicken consommé.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Pure amino acid umami of chicken and faint medicinal herb aroma、漢方生薬のほのかな香り
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Irreplaceable - the umami concentration is fundamentally different from boiled chicken soup)
Pairing
Guo Qiao Mi Xian (Yunnan Rice Noodles) / Pu'er Tea
Trivia
[Trivia] Boasting over 200 years of history, it is the absolute zenith of Chinese 'steaming' techniques. Because the soup is generated purely by accumulated steam droplets, it requires a minimum of 3-4 hours. Legend says it was presented to Emperor Qianlong who praised it wildly. The undisputed 'King of Medicinal Soups' you MUST eat when visiting Yunnan.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Open the lid to reveal the glowing golden soup. First, sip just the broth with a spoon. Because it was never boiled in water, the flavor is undiluted. You will experience the intense emotion that 'the essence of an entire chicken is condensed into this single drop of liquid'. The meat falls apart at the mere touch of chopsticks.
Allergen
Chicken