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Paleo Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup – a homemade Asian chicken and sparerib soup to nourish your soul and keep you healthy throughout the winter.
This Paleo Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup is inspired by a Hong Kongese style soup called 金華火腿雞湯 (Jīnhuá huǒtuǐ jītāng) – a special type of cured ham stewed with chicken in a clear broth.
Since this special type of cured ham might be difficult to find in the U.S., I used spareribs instead. The chicken and the pork ribs are simmered in a light and savory broth until they’re fall-of-the bone tender.
When done right, it’s simply out of this world.
Watch the 1-minute tutorial below to learn how to make this Paleo Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup in Instant Pot and Slow Cooker !
3 Dishes + One Soup
Drinking soup or broth is essential to everyday meals in most Asian cultures.
In China and Taiwan, a typical dinner usually comes with 3 varieties of dishes (2 stir-fry dishes + 1 vegetable) along with one large bowl of soup for the entire family to savor.
The soup can be served before the main dish, or as a compliment to the dishes. It aids digestion and helps moisten your mouth. And that explains why glasses of water are not commonly served in most restaurants and households in Asia.
A Simplified Way To Make Paleo Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup
Traditionally, Asian soup or broth stew will incorporate dry herbs such as red dates, dry shiitake mushrooms, goji berries, or even ginseng. Root vegetables could vary from daikon radish, to lotus root, to winter melon.
I learned from my mom that lotus root works really well with pork ribs so I couldn’t help but add some to the soup broth this time. But as demonstrated in the video tutorial above, it’s an optional ingredient and you can totally skip it !
I added diced carrots and celery and used fresh shiitake mushrooms (instead of dry ones) because I think these ingredients are more common to most Western households and I wanted to experiment to see if it would alter the original flavor.
To my surprise, I was really impressed and fell in love with how simple it was to make an awesome pot of Chicken Sparerib Soup that anyone can easily enjoy.
Clean and Clear Gorgeous Broth
Similar to my Pork rib soup with daikon and Lotus root soup with pork ribs, you’ll see that I parboiled the chicken and spare ribs in boiling water and rinsed them clean before adding them to the stew pot. This little extra step will help remove the blood and other impurities that come with the raw meat/bone. It might add 10-15 minutes extra to the cooking time but for a clean and clear beautiful broth, it’s worth it!
Be sure to follow the recipe instructions below for more info.
How much liquid to add to the stew pot?
The answer varies, depending on the cooking equipment you use.
For an instant pot, the liquid level should be about 1-inch higher than the ingredients.
For a slow cooker, the liquid level should be about 1 1/2 -inch higher.
And if you use a clay pot or a regular large soup pot to cook over a stovetop, you may need to add more water during the cooking process to compensate for the water evaporation.
And, as a side note, completely by coincidence, I found that using a combination of low sodium chicken broth and tap water – as opposed to tap water only – will result in an even more flavorful broth.
Paleo Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 6 drumsticks chicken either skin on or without skin
- 1 lb. baby spareribs
- 1 3/4 cups carrots diced
- 1 3/4 cups celery diced
- 4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 cups lotus root, peeled and diced optional
- 1 thumb-size fresh ginger
- Sea salt to taste before serving
- Water or low-sodium store bought chicken broth see notes section for more info
Instructions
- To make the best broth, fill-in a large pot of water that’s just enough to cover the raw chicken and pork ribs. Bring the water to boil then add raw chicken and pork ribs. Cook under high heat until the water returns to a boil and there is no blood coming out (about 5-7 mins after the water returns to a boil). Turn off the heat.
- Dump the murky water. Rinse the chicken and pork ribs under room temperature water. *See more info under the notes section
- Add the cleaned chicken and ribs to instant pot/slow cooker with the rest of ingredients. Add enough water or store bought chicken broth to cover the top of the ingredients. *See more info under the notes section.
- For Instant pot, turn the valve to Sealing position. Press Soup – Adjust to 50 mins.For Slow cooker, press Slow Cook – (pressure normal) – Adjust to 8 to 10 hours.
- Once the cook time is finished and if you use instant pot, please let it come to natural pressure release. The soup might burst through the valve if use quick release.
- Season with sea salt to taste before serving.
Notes
- For an instant pot, the liquid level should be about 1-inch higher than the ingredients.
- For a slow cooker, the liquid level should be about 1 1/2 -inch higher.
- And if you use a clay pot or a regular large soup pot to cook over a stovetop, you may need to add more water during the cooking process to compensate for the water evaporation.
- By coincidence, I found that using a combination of low sodium chicken broth and tap water – as opposed to tap water only – will result in an even more flavorful broth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is so pretty and sounds just scrumptious!
It’s been so chilly outside lately and this looks like the perfect comfort food!
This sounds absolutely delicious and so comforting! My husband would LOVE this soup!
This soup looks so delicious and filling! Yum!
I love your videos! This soup looks amazing.
ChihYu! This looks amazing!!! Thanks for another killer recipe girl 🙂
Thanks so much !
This looks wonderful! I love Chinese soups and although I haven’t tried this particular one, I know it’s going to taste amazing, just based on the ingredients. Will have to give it a go.
This soup looks and sounds incredible!!
This looks like such a nourishing soup with flavors that seem exotic to me but I bet are amazing!
That broth is simply gorgeous! I have never used lotus root before – or seen it. Where should I look at our grocer? It is really pretty! Thank you for the easy to follow tutorial!