White-Cut Chicken
Poached chicken served cool with a ginger-scallion dip.
← Home Yunnan chicken soup mushrooms
Yunnan Mushroom and Free-Range Chicken Soup
Free-range chicken simmered for two hours with cured ham, then finished with wild mushrooms for a final half hour. Adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report — 云南菌菇土鸡汤, report 176.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 云南菌菇土鸡汤_176.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 40 minutesCook: 2 hours 40 minutesTotal: 3 hours 20 minutesServings: 2–3Difficulty: Easy–MediumRegion: YunnanFlavour: Savoury, umami
Home adaptation note: The report is one portion (200 g chicken, 500 ml finished soup). Quantities below are that portion, served as 2–3 bowls at home. Wild Yunnan mushrooms are seasonal and expensive; a mix of fresh shiitake, porcini and oyster mushrooms is the home substitute (adaptation).
Why this works
The order of this soup is its whole method. Chicken is soaked for thirty minutes, blanched from cold water with ginger and a little wine, and rinsed in warm water — warm, not cold, so the protein does not seize and toughen. It then simmers in boiling water added to the pot, not cold, which the report credits with a whiter broth, on high heat for five minutes and then on a low, trembling simmer for two hours with ham, ginger and scallion. Mushrooms wait until the two hours are up, because added earlier they would dissolve into the broth, and added later they would not absorb the chicken flavour. They get exactly thirty minutes. Salt and the last of the wine go in only five minutes before the end, for the same reason salt is held back in other slow soups here: early salt tightens the meat. The report also insists the mushrooms be brushed clean, never washed, so they do not soak up water and turn soft.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free-range chicken, bone-in, cut into 3 cm chunks | 7 oz | 200 g | Free-range or stewing chicken; ordinary chicken cooks faster, so watch it (adaptation). |
| Mixed fresh wild mushrooms (matsutake, porcini, termite mushroom in thirds) | 2.8 oz | 80 g | Or shiitake, porcini and oyster mushrooms (adaptation); slice 0.3 cm thick. |
| Xuanwei ham, sliced 0.2 cm thin | 0.7 oz | 20 g | Any good cured ham, thinly sliced, is a substitute (adaptation). |
| Ginger slices | 0.35 oz | 10 g | 3–4 slices; 2 for blanching, the rest for the pot. |
| Scallion sections | 0.35 oz | 10 g | 2 sections; remove before serving. |
| Shaoxing wine, divided | 2 tsp | 10 ml | 5 ml for blanching, 5 ml at the end. |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | 3 g | Add 5 minutes before the end. |
| Water | 3 1/3 cups | 800 ml | Boiling when added to the pot; reduces to about 500 ml. |
Equipment
- Clay pot or heavy soup pot with a lid
- Soft brush for cleaning mushrooms (do not wash them)
- Fine strainer for skimming
Steps
- Prepare. Soak the chicken in cold water 30 minutes and drain. Brush the mushrooms clean without washing and slice 0.3 cm thick. Slice the ham thinly; slice the ginger and cut the scallion into sections.
- Blanch. Put the chicken in cold water with 2 ginger slices and 5 ml wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim, and after about 3 minutes of boiling lift out and rinse in warm water.
- Simmer. Put the chicken, ham, remaining ginger and scallion in the pot and add 800 ml boiling water. Boil hard 5 minutes, then simmer on low heat, barely bubbling, for 2 hours.
- Add mushrooms. Add the mushroom slices and simmer on low heat 30 minutes more.
- Season and serve. Five minutes before the end, add the remaining 5 ml wine and the salt. Remove the ginger and scallion. Serve immediately in warmed bowls. Cool any leftovers to below 60 °C within 30 minutes, per the report.
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Technique: Mushrooms last, salt last
Both late additions have the same logic: mushrooms added early lose their texture, and salt added early toughens the chicken. The last half hour is when the soup becomes itself, so do not rush it.
Variations
- One-mushroom version: Use only shiitake if wild mushrooms are unavailable; the soup is simpler but still good.
- No ham: Omit the ham for a cleaner chicken flavour; add a pinch more salt at the end (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why must I not wash the mushrooms?
Fresh mushrooms absorb water quickly and turn soft. Brushing keeps them firm and lets them absorb broth instead.
Why is my broth cloudy?
A hard boil after the first five minutes, or cold water added at the start. Keep the simmer gentle and add boiling water.
Can I use dried mushrooms?
The report uses fresh. Dried mushrooms, soaked first, would work but give a darker, earthier broth (adaptation).
Storage
Keeps 2 days refrigerated or 1 month frozen; reheat to a full boil. Cool within 30 minutes of cooking, per the report, especially if storing.
Yunnan Mushroom and Free-Range Chicken Soup — Recipe Card
Slow chicken soup with cured ham, finished with wild mushrooms.
Prep: 40 minutesCook: 2 hours 40 minutesTotal: 3 hours 20 minutesServings: 2–3
Ingredients: 200 g free-range chicken; 80 g mixed mushrooms; 20 g cured ham; 10 g ginger; 10 g scallion; 10 ml wine; 3 g salt; 800 ml water.
Steps: 1) Soak chicken 30 minutes, blanch from cold water, rinse warm. 2) Simmer with ham, ginger and scallion in boiling water for 2 hours on low heat. 3) Add mushrooms, simmer 30 minutes. 4) Season 5 minutes before the end, remove ginger and scallion.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 云南菌菇土鸡汤 (data/reports/176.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost.