Laden with flavors and nutrients, chicken broth is instrumental in Egyptian cuisine, as it represents essential foundation for hearty stews, delicious soups, and elevated rice dishes.
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Chicken Broth is Foundational
If you nail the right Egyptian broth, then you’re a couple of steps away from a paradise of Egyptian food.
Yes, you heard me right! Mastering a flavorful chicken broth is instrumental in any cuisine, particularly in the Egyptian one.
You probably don’t have the best memories of chicken broth and all you remember is a bland, soupy, and gamey liquid that turned you off years ago! I get that, but it is about time to leave this bad food experience behind, and elevate your broth game.
In this post I will discuss in detail all the factors that can contribute to an epic chicken broth, laden with flavors, aromas, and nutrients.
What is chicken broth?
We make chicken broth using boned or preferably bone-in chicken (for more flavor). To increase the flavor and the nutritional value of the broth, we combine the chicken pieces with vegetables and a diverse bouquet of aromatics that includes spices and herbs.
The chicken is cooked slow and low for at least two hours in a large stock pot, or in a slow cooker/crockpot. This slow cooking method allows the chicken to cook perfectly and become fork tender without drying out, and the vegetables and spices to release their notes and nutrients in the broth.
When the chicken becomes fork tender, we can remove the chicken meat and leave the bones and the broth to simmer for another 4-6 hours to make a stock. But what is the difference between a broth and a stock?!
Chicken broth versus chicken stock
You may wonder what is the difference between a broth and a stock as the two words are used interchangeably. Here are the main differences between a broth and a stock:
- Density: The main difference between the broth and stock is the density. The broth is usually liquidy, clear, and has a lighter consistency. Yet, the stock is denser and more concentrated, given the collagen released from the bones.
- Cooking Time: Chicken stock takes 6-8 hours to cook while chicken broth could be ready in 2 hours and a half.
- Nutrition Value: Both chicken broth and stock have high nutritional value, yet the broth has the collagen as one extra nutrient.
You can possibly achieve the best of the two worlds, by making chicken broth and chicken stock from one chicken, and here is how I do it:
When the chicken meat is fork tender, I remove the chicken meat from the bones along with a few ladles of broth to use to make a soup or a stew. Whether it is a soup or a stew leave the bones behind simmering for 4-6 more hours.
How to make fragrant Egyptian chicken broth
To ensure a fragrant and clear broth that elevates any dish it is cooked with, please follow the instructions below to a T:
- Add 2 tablespoons of ghee to a hot large stock pot over medium heat. Ghee gives an authentic taste to this broth. Alternatively, you can use butter or a combination of butter and ghee.
2. Toast the spices in the hot ghee. Add 4-5 bruised cardamom pods, a stick of cinnamon, 2 mastic resin, 3 bay leaves, 5 whole peppercorn, 5 allspice berries to the hot ghee and stir for 1 minute until they become fragrant.
3. Add the quartered onion and garlic (peel on) to the spices and the ghee and sear in the hot ghee.
4. Sear the chicken pieces in the hot ghee. Pile up the onions, and garlic on one side of the pan or remove them totally to find enough space to sear the chicken. Don’t overcrowd the pan with the chicken pieces, so they properly sear. Flip the chicken pieces on all sides until the skin is crisp and golden.
5. Add hot Water (off the kettle) to the pan . Avoid adding cold water at any cost. The hot water strips the gamey flavor and speeds up the cooking process.
6. Add the frozen leftovers of organic peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, etc. They enhance the flavors and impart their vitamins inside the soup.
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Cover the pan and let it simmer for 2 hours over low heat
7. Cover the broth pot and let the broth simmer, undisturbed, over low heat for two hours.
8. In two hours, uncover the pan, adjust the seasoning and check the doneness of the chicken. It should be fork tender. If not, let it cook for another 30 minutes. When it is done, turn off the heat and let the broth cool off for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the chicken pieces, and carefully run the broth through a fine mesh sieve placed over a big deep bowl to collect the clear broth.
10. Use the broth right away, or store in the fridge in a sealed container or freeze in labeled and dated ziplocks.
Health benefits of chicken broth
Chicken broth keeps us warm during bleak winter days as it provides us with heat, hydration, and nutrients. The broth is rich with vitamins and minerals that are necessary to fight the flu and the cold.
According to Sherie Sorial, accredited practicing dietitian, & health coach, “chicken broth has got several nutrients that support our immune system, bone health, muscle tissue and can elevate our mood. Chicken broth is a great source of collagen and in its lean form when combined with vegetables, it contains nutrients such as vitamin B12, Tryptophan, Choline, Zinc, Iron, Copper and antioxidants. A truly hearty meal with great healing properties.”
Make-Ahead & Freezer Friendly
Either broth or stock, both freeze very well. Once a month, I make a big batch of broth let it cool and then freeze it in small ziplocks, that I defrost later to cook variant Egyptian dishes.
Zero food waste
Keep the skin tops and bottoms of your organic vegetables especially carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and lettuce. Freeze all those leftovers in a big ziplock and dump them into your broth. These leftovers are flavor and nutrients boosters to your broth.
I use chicken broth to make:
You might also like these vegan Levantine recipes:
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Egyptian Chicken Broth
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 whole chicken cut in pieces, sprinkled with salt and pepper
- 1 big onion, halved
- 10 whole garlic cloves
- 1 piece ginger, 1 X inch, whole and peeled
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 cardamom pods, bruised
- 2 mastic resins
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 10 whole black peppercorn
- 1 teaspoon 7 spices
- a sprig of rosemary or time, optional
- Stalks of fresh parsley
- 2-4 cups of leftovers of uncooked peppers, tomatoes, celery, parsley, cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Massage the chicken pieces with coarse salt and pepper, over and under the skin, for at least one hour before making the broth or preferably overnight.
- Add 2 tablespoons of ghee to a hot large stock pot over medium heat. Ghee gives an authentic taste to this broth. Alternatively, you can use butter or a combination of butter and ghee. Once hot, add the spices and stir for one minute until they become fragrant.
- Add the quartered onion and garlic (peel on) to the spices and the ghee then sear in the hot ghee.
- Sear the chicken pieces in the hot ghee. Pile up the onions, and garlic on one side of the pan or remove them totally to find enough space to sear the chicken. Don’t overcrowd the pan with the chicken pieces, so they properly sear. Flip the chicken pieces on all sides until the skin is crisp and golden.
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Add hot Water (off the kettle) to the pan. Avoid adding cold water at any cost! The hot water strips the gamey flavor and speeds up the cooking process. Cover the broth pot and let the broth simmer, undisturbed, over low heat for two hours.
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In two hours, uncover the pan, adjust the seasoning and check the doneness of the chicken. It should be fork tender. If not, let it cook for another 30 minutes. When it is done, turn off the heat and let the broth cool off for 30 minutes.
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Remove the chicken pieces, and carefully run the broth through a fine mesh sieve placed over a big deep bowl to collect the clear broth.
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Use the broth right away, or store it in the fridge in a sealed container or freeze in labeled and dated ziplocks.
Nermine’s Notes:
- Mastic to chicken broth is like vanilla to eggs, it sets off the gamey flavor and strong smell of chicken. Mastic a resin obtained from the mastic tree that grows in Greece and Cyprus.
- I strongly recommend that everything you add to this broth should be organic.