Almond Mushroom Chicken Soup (姬松茸鸡汤)

Here’s another quick and easy Instant Pot soup recipe. In one of my previous recipes, Instant Pot Chinese Chicken Soup & Stock, I mentioned that I would share more stewing hen soup recipe combinations that use different side ingredients. Today, I’m sharing another one that uses dried almond mushrooms.

Almond mushroom (Agaricus subrufescens) has many names like almond agaricus, Agaricus blazei Murrill, himenatsutake (Japan), cogumelo do sol (Brazil), sun mushrooms, and jisongrong (China). It has gained much popularity in the past two decades and is now widely cultivated around the world. Besides the mushroom’s sweet and subtle almond flavor (resulting in its name: almond mushrooms), the mushroom is said to have many beneficial medicinal properties.

For me, I like almond mushrooms not for any of the claimed medicinal benefits, but for its taste. The stewing hen/chicken soup gets infused with the almond mushrooms’ subtlety-sweet almond flavor and fragrance. You can use either an Instant Pot (I use the Instant Pot DUO60 v3) or a traditional soup pot. These days I find the Instant Pot to be quite convenient for make stewing hen soups. The drawback of using an Instant Pot is that I can only make about 3 quarts (which is the half capacity for my Instant Pot). So we tend to have little leftover soup for a second meal.

Gluten Free, Low Carb

Preparation Time:  35 minutes

Total Time:  1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: ~3 quarts (half of the Instant Pot capacity)

Ingredients:

• 1 stewing hen (~1.5 -2.5 lb)
• 1/4 cup loosely packed dried almond mushrooms
• 1 1-inch long ginger

Preparation:

Instant Pot:

1. Follow the steps 1 to 3 from my Instant Pot Chinese Chicken Soup & Stock article. It should bring you to just before attaching the Instant Pot lid.

2. While waiting for the water to boil, thoroughly wash the dried almond mushrooms to remove any surface dirt. You don’t need to soak the mushrooms unless you want them to be extremely soft. Without soaking, the almond mushrooms should end up have a chewy, meaty texture.

3. Add the dried almond mushrooms and ginger slices to the Instant Pot and attach the lid. Push the “Soup/Broth” bottom and set the timer to 40 minutes. When the Instant Pot is done cooking, it should switch to the “Keep Warm” mode automatically. You can use a utensil to manually switch the valve to the “Venting” position to let out the steam. (WARNING: Never use your hand to turn the valve as the steam will be hot. ALWAYS follow all safety instructions that come with your particular Instant Pot.) If you are not pressed for time, wait until the Instant Pot naturally releases pressure. No matter the method, be sure to wait until the little floater next to the valve drops down, indicating the pressure has been released, before opening the lid.

4. Add salt to taste. Divide the stewing hen into several pieces. Pour the soup into separate bowls along with some almond mushrooms and chicken pieces. Enjoy it right away.

Non-Instant Pot

1. Follow the steps 1 to 2 in my Stewing Hen Soup article. Cook for 2 hours.

2. Thoroughly wash the dried almond mushrooms to remove any surface dirt. You don’t need to soak the mushrooms unless you want them to be extremely soft. Without soaking, the almond mushrooms should end up have a chewy, meaty texture. Add the dried almond mushrooms after the stewing hen has been cooked for at least 2 hours. Simmer together for at least another hour.

3. After three hours, if the almond mushrooms are still a bit hard, simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste at the end. Divide the stewing hen into several pieces. Pour the soup into separate bowls along with some almond mushrooms and chicken pieces. Enjoy it right away.

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. You can get stewing hen (old chicken) from pretty much any Asian grocery store or online grocery store like Weee! for around 5 dollars. Both fresh and frozen ones work well. Some local butchers sell them as well. Make sure it’s a stewing hen or old chicken (老母鸡) and not a young chicken or meat chicken. If your stewing hen is more than 2.5 lb (or 1.1 kg), chop it into pieces and only use the appropriate amount.

2. I got these dried almond mushrooms (姬松茸 Jisongrong) from an Asian chain grocery store called Great Wall Supermarket. You can also buy dried almond mushrooms online.

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