Uses for Chicken Base
Chicken base is a broth made from cooked chicken and vegetables. The exact ingredients may vary from cook to cook according to ethnic background, but the liquid from cooked chicken is always the key ingredient. Chicken base can be used in a variety of recipes, but it is most often the starting place for a soup. Does this Spark an idea?
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Chicken Noodle Soup
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Place 2 cups of flour in a mixing bowl. Add 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. water and 1 tbsp. vegetable oil. Mix into a smooth ball. Roll out the mixture onto waxed paper or a floured board. Cut into strips. Bring your chicken base to a slow simmer, and add the noodle strips. If you make too many noodles to use up right away, you can dry them by hanging them over a wire rack and freeze for later.
Fish and Chicken soup
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Add clams, boned fish, shrimp or other seafood to the chicken stock to turn it into a seafood soup. Other meat broths, onions, garlic and carrots can also be added.
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Dumplings
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Place 2 cups of flour and 1 tbsp. baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add 1 cup cooled chicken base, a pinch of salt and a dash of curry powder. Stir together till it forms a soft dough. Add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or meat grease; stir in quickly, but do not over-work the dough. Bring 2 or more cups of chicken base to a slow simmer. Spoon teaspoon-sized balls of dough into the simmering liquid. The dumplings will puff up and bob to the top of the simmering liquid. Test one by removing it from the pan and cutting it in half to see if it is cooked all the way through. Remove the dumplings that are cooked, adding more dough as room becomes available in the pot. Serve topped with gravy made from the cooking broth.
Gravy
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Mix 1/4 cup cold chicken base with a tablespoon of flour. Bring 2 cups of chicken base to a simmer. Add flour and broth mixture slowly, stirring gently but constantly to keep the mixture from sticking. It will thicken into a clear gravy.
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References
- Photo Credit Dynamic Graphics Group/Dynamic Graphics Group/Getty Images
