Chinese Chicken Soup
by Homemade Chinese Chicken Soup tastes just like what you get in high-end Chinese restaurants. It really is that easy – simply add a whole chicken with an herbal packet into an Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop, press the button, and forget it. In an hour, you’ll have a pot of super nourishing easy Asian chicken soup that’s super out-of-this-world delicious and will keep you healthy throughout the winter!
If you want more variety, my West Lake beef soup is made with minced beef in a soothing and heart-warming broth, or check out my Pork rib soup with daikon.
Homemade Chicken Soup
Growing up in a Chinese family, homemade Chinese chicken soup is a must-have every winter. I remember mom would come back from the market with a whole fresh chicken and packets of Chinese dried herbs to make chicken soup. Back then we don’t have pressure cooker or slow cooker so she would spend hours in the kitchen making the soup.
The herbs she and my grandmothers used in the soup vary from time to time so even to me it’s hard to tell the right flavor combo and quantity to add to the soup. However, what makes Chinese chicken soup so special and in my opinion the best chicken soup in the world the secret ingredients lie on Chinese dried herbal packets. I had to find a way to make it work and keep it simple if we want to make it myself in the U.S.
More than a year ago I discovered Root and Spring, a LA based online Chinese herbal company, that provides the highest quality of Chinese herbs for cooking. I reached out to them and decided to give their herbal packets a try. I immediately fall in love with their products and ordered a dozen right away.
The herbs from Root and Spring are so fragrant and each ingredient is in high quality. The moment you open the packet you can smell the difference. I also appreciate that each packet comes with the pre-measured flavor and quantity so it saves me time to figure out what to do.
Just open the packet, add it to the soup pot with a whole chicken and water. An hour or so later I’ll have a pot of authentic Chinese chicken soup that tastes just like my mom’s Chinese chicken soup. Each packet also comes with instructions for slow cooker, instant pot, and stovetop and benefits of each ingredient. See, easy!
Asian Herbal Packet …just add water!
Making Chinese herbal chicken soup doesn’t need to be complicated. There are many Chinese herbal soup flavors with various health benefits. Ginseng, goji berries, and red dates are all common ingredients in Asian chicken soup. These dried herbs make the homemade chicken soup so healthy and delicious.
If this is your first time trying Chinese dried herbs, think of it as the flavor base. They are super easy to use, basically fail proof. Just add a whole chicken, one herbal packet of choice, and water. Set it and forget it with your Instant Pot or slow cooker, once it’s done season with salt to taste and that’s it!
If you are okay with a little alcohol made with rice grains, add 1-2 tablespoons of Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine or Taiwanese rice cooking wine (Michiu) in the end and simmer the broth for an additional minute before seasoning with salt to taste. The soup flavor will taste even more authentic.
I once made this homemade chicken soup when I was really sick last winter. I was feeling so weak and had no energy to cook and this soup with the herbal packet really saved me. Place a whole chicken in the pot, add one herbal packet, and water. Season with salt after it’s done cooking. That’s it!
The soup is light, fragrant, umami-rich, and super nourishing, it’s the best chicken soup that will keep the cold at bay!
How To Make Chinese Chicken Soup The Simple Way!
- Add a whole chicken with giblets removed to the pot.
- Open one dried herbal packet from Root and Spring.
- Add the water to your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop.
- Follow the recipe card instruction from the herbal packet to set the cook time.
- Season with salt to taste before serving.
Pair The Soup With –
- Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
- Easy Garlic Shrimp
- Chinese pepper steak
- Oyster Beef Stir-Fry
- Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry
- Chinese Broccoli with Garlic Sauce
- Bok Choy Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing
- More Asian Stir-Fry Recipes here
More Soul-Satisfying Soups/Broth –
- Instant Pot Bone Broth
- Chinese Chicken Bone Broth
- Hot and Sour Soup (My mom’s signature recipe, packed with veggies)
- Chinese Egg Drop Soup
- Wonton Soup (made with gluten-free rice wrappers)
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Chicken Kale Soup
- Vietnamese Brisket Pho (Instant Pot)
- More nourishing Paleo soup and broth recipes here
Chinese Chicken Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3-4.5 lbs whole chicken, giblets removed (see notes)
- 1.5 cups diced carrots, optional
- 1.5 cups diced celery, optional
- 1 lb. baby spareribs, dice up or whole, optional
- 1 packet Root and Spring American Ginseng and Sea Coconut Herbal Packet, see notes for discount code
- 6-8 cups water
- Salt to taste, after the soup is finished cooking
- Cilantro and chopped scallions, optional
Instructions
- In a 6-quart Instant Pot, add chicken, carrots, celery, spareribs, if using, and one Chinese herbal packet.
- Fill the pot with enough water to just cover the entire chicken, 8 to 10 cups. The pressure cooker should not be more than two-thirds full.
- Seal the lid and valve. Set for high pressure for 50 minutes. Allow the soup to come to natural pressure release. Please Do Not use quick release.
- For slow cooker, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or up to 24 hours.
- For stovetop, bring the ingredients to a boil in a soup pot, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours. You may need to add a bit more water to compensate for evaporation.
- Season with salt to taste. Add garnish before serving if desired.
Notes
- To store, allow the soup to come to room temperature and is no longer hot. Leave the herbs in the broth. They flavor will deepen after you reheat the soup the next day.
- In general, you can debone chicken and remove the herbs after it’s done cooking, the flavor will be much lighter. However, I recommend that you leave the herbs in the pot and reheat with ½ to 1 cup water the next day to fully experience the flavor. Season with more salt to taste.
- Personally, I leave the herbs in the pot until I finish the entire broth. The broth will turn golden dark amber color and herbal flavor will become even stronger.
- If you are okay with a little alcohol, add 1-2 tablespoons of Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine or Taiwanese rice cooking wine (Michiu) after the soup is done cooking and simmer the broth for one additional minute before adding the salt to taste. The flavor will taste even more authentic.
- I usually leave the whole chicken (without deboning) until after I reheat the soup the next day. I found that I’m able to extract even more flavor from the bones and the herbs after first reheat. However, this is my personal preference. You can absolutely de-bone it after it’s done cooking.
- To store the chicken breast, I recommend shredding and storing it separately from the soup. This way, it won’t turn dry and tough when you reheat the broth.
- For chicken thighs, I leave them in the soup pot and reheat it with the broth together.
- There are hundreds and thousands of Chinese herb variety. Some are edible – for example goji berries, Chinese almonds – and others are for flavor and to balance the yin and yan in Chinese cooking. The best way to tell is to take a small bite after all the ingredients are cooked. You’ll know the difference right away.
- Root and spring has many more Chinese soup herbal packets. They have different Chinese medicinal purposes. For example: good for chi, good for lung, good for preventing colds and flues…etc. In general, you can follow the same recipe cooking time and methods for all of their packets.
Nutrition
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I would give 10 stars if I could! Absolutely delicious! The spare ribs added a lot of fat so I had to cool after making initially to harden and remove the fat cap but the flavor is just divine!
Thank you!!
I just bought my first two packets of herbs from this company. Can’t wait to try them. Do you ever add other aromatics, like garlic and ginger?
So happy to hear that’s fabulous! I don’t recommend adding more aromatics…it might alter the flavor of the herbal packet. If you like, add carrots, celery, daikon, or re-hydrated shiitake. Please be careful not to overfill the pot or it might spill during pressure cooking. Thank you!
This soup is so beautiful and healing, plus I love that it is slow cooker and Instant Pot friendly. I’ve tasted gogi berries before and loved them, but never in a soup . . . therefore I can’t wait to try your recipe later this week!
Perfect timings. Making this tonight
Made this soup and loved it! Love root and spring too! Was a flavor bomb without much work. ❤️I heartumami!!
So happy to hear. Thank you, Kelly!
I definitely need to try their packets! I’ve never had Chinese chicken soup but your post has me wanting to try it. My chicken soup is so boring!
It’s a great way to enjoy Chinese chicken soup easily at home! We love it! :))
That is an excellent price for the ginseng packet. I love making soup like this but the ingredients are often hard to source or not affordable. Thanks for sharing that product!
Love how nourishing this is! Lovely flavours!
This looks like such a nourishing soup!
Sounds nourishing and delicious! I never thought to add ribs to my chicken soup. I bet it gives a nice flavor. 🙂
This is such a great big bowl of comfort. And I love that you use both chicken and spareribs. I never would’ve thought of that but I love it!
High quality herbs make such a huge difference!
I love ginseng in chicken soup! There’s actually a similar Korean soup like this and I love it. Can’t wait to try your version.
Yummy! This very much reminds me of some of the Chinese soups my mom makes – so nourishing!
Wow! the soup ingredients sound amazing!
I love chicken soup made from scratch. The premixed packet of good herbs makes it so easy!
I love Root & Spring! You turned us on to it last winter and it didn’t come at a better time. I had pneumonia and it felt like I was drinking medicine that tasted delicious! Two questions… Which wine do you prefer when you make it? And how do you prevent your veggies from getting so soft in the instant pot? Thanks for all the delicious things you add to our life!
Diane Narkawicz
Thank you, Diane! So appreciate it! I’m from Taiwan so I prefer to use Taiwanese michiu. About the veggies. dice them to slightly larger chunks so this way they will maintain the texture better. Personally I like them slightly softer in texture, especially in soup/stews. :))
Do you use the entire packet of soup mix per whole chicken? That’s an expensive pot of soup.
Hi Sharon, yes to make a whole pot of Chinese traditional chicken soup I use one packet of Root and Spring. The quantity is pre-measured for one whole chicken so it’s perfect. The first cook (also the next day reheat) the broth is most concentrated so we dilute the broth with more water (i.e. you’ll get even more soup and can store the extra in the freezer for later use).
We keep the soup mix in the pot and add more water during reheat. Usually a pot of chicken soup will last my family 4-5 days and the broth is amazingly delicious.
Use my discount code “iheartumami” to get 10% off from Root and Spring. The price per packet is very reasonable consider how convenient they have made it possible without feeling intimidated walking into a traditional herbal store and don’t know what to buy, how to select, or which dry ingredient goes with what.
Chinese herbs have medicinal effects so you want a professional to help you balance the flavor and the yin and yan well so your bodies will get the most benefits from the herbal packet. A good quality of Chinese herbs aren’t easy to find and you want the best ingredient to make chicken bone broth.
Hope this helps:)
Hi Chihyu! Thanks for the lovely recipe and tip on Root & Spring. I too grew up with Chinese soup but have never made it before as buying the herbs was intimidating so I’m excited to try. Do you eat the meat after it’s cooked? Traditionally when my mom made chicken soup, the meat tended to be tough but wondering if this recipe with instant pot will render a more tender chicken. Would love to not waste the meat and can repurpose into another dish!
Hi Elsa! Thank you for your message. Yes we eat the whole chicken after it’s cooked. The thigh meats are naturally more moist and soft than breasts but we eat the entire chicken with no waste. What I usually do is to shred the chicken breast after it’s cooked. Depends on your personal preference and if you worry that the breast will turn dry after reheat…you can take the breast out and shred it and store it separately from the soup. When you reheat the soup add the shredded chicken breast to the hot soup (like a topping) so this way they are more similar to poached chicken and only cooked once. It should be more tender. Hope this helps!
Can you please add instructions about what to do with the whole chicken after soup is finished cooking?
Thanks, Tracy. Just updated the recipe with chicken instructions. Appreciate it!
Hi. I just got the Chinese herbs. The packet they sent is a little different from the one you named. I got Revitalization Herbal Broth Mix. It looks like it has some of the same things with a few extras. Also, I am confused about whether the herbs can be eaten or removed from the broth before eating. Thank you! I’m looking forward to making the recipe.
Hi Liz, the revitalization herbal packet is very good, too! I actually have a recipe on my blog using that packet – https://iheartumami.com/instant-pot-bone-broth/
In the recipe note section I mentioned that the best way to tell if you can eat an ingredient from the packet is to take a small bite and see if it’s edible after the soup is done cooking.
Some are for flavor to season the soup and some are edible.
There should be a card that comes with your packet from the shipper which explains each ingredient and what goes into the packet more specifically.
Thank you, hope this helps!