Now you can make the nourishing chicken essence or essence of chicken easily at home using an Instant Pressure cooker, which really speeds up the cooking process. You only need one ingredient to make this nourishing chicken essence.
What is chicken essence (or essence of chicken)?
Chicken essence is a very concentrated liquid made by slowly cooking the chicken bones and meats for hours and collecting the “essence” in the process. Usually, no extra water is added. The essence is consumed for its health benefit.
Benefits of chicken essence
The Essence of Chicken is a popular tonic in Southeast Asia. They are readily sold in bottles in Southeast Asia. Its regular consumption is believed to help in mental alertness, recovery from fatigue, and overall good health. Some people like to give Chicken of Essence as gifts to those who are not feeling well, post-op, postnatal, etc for its “tonic” reason.
You only need one ingredient
And that one ingredient is chicken 🙂 simple as that. Since the chicken is the star in this recipe (the only star!), buy organic if it fits your budget. You can use a whole chicken or chicken pieces. I use a mixture of chicken drumsticks and thighs. We want to use both the bones and the meat to make the essence
How to make chicken essence using Instant Pot pressure cooker
1. If you get a whole chicken, separate it into sections: wings, breast, thighs, etc. Remove the skin. This is important so your chicken essence won’t be awfully greasy
2. After removing the skin, debone the chicken pieces. Separate the meat from the bones
3. Optional: crush the bones
Should you crush the bones to make a chicken essence? Well, this step is optional. Some people complain that when you crush the bones, the essence appears cloudier. I’ve tried both and yes indeed it makes it a bit cloudier, but taste-wise, I couldn’t tell the difference. nutrition-wise, I won’t be able to tell for sure if it makes a huge difference. My mom always crushes the bones to extract more nutrients from the bones. If you choose to do so, cover the bones with a cling wrap
4. Then cover with another layer of thick towel. Use the back of a cleaver, or pestle (I used that), or a meat mallet to pound on the thinnest part of the bones gently to just crack it. We don’t need to pound the bones into small pieces.
5. We just need to crack them up a bit. Be careful of sharp broken bone pieces
6. Whether you use an Instant Pot pressure cooker or steaming on the stove, the setup is pretty similar. Choose a heat-proof container, such as glass or ceramic, that fits in your inner pot or steamer. Get another heat-proof bowl that will fit into the container you chose earlier. This bowl is used to collect the essence. Invert the bowl upside down. If you want to add Chinese herbs or other ingredients, put them in the middle of the container. Invert the bowl upside down to cover them.
I made a “sling” by folding aluminum foil into long thick strips, strong enough to lift a bowl up. This comes in handy to lift the container out from the inner pot of Instant Pot when it’s done cooking. If you have the sling accessories, then you don’t have to do this
7. Arrange the bones on one side and the meat on the other side
8. Cover with aluminum foil to prevent water condensation from dropping into the bowl. We want a concentrated essence
9. Put a trivet in. Pour in 2 cups of water. Put the container on top of the trivet
10. Close the lid and turn the pressure release valve to sealing. Push “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set the timer to 90 minutes and then do a natural release
11. Remove the container from the inner pot. Carefully uncover the foil. Use a tong to remove the bones. Be careful of sharp broken bones. Remove the meat to another plate
12. Now, you won’t see much liquid in the bowl because all of that essence is “trapped” inside the upside-down bowl. Isn’t it cool? A simple physics in work here. Very carefully try to remove the bowl. It is strongly suctioned to the base of the container at this point. When you remove it, the essence collected there will flow out. Strain the essence and this is your essence of chicken right here
13. Consume them on the same day or store them in the fridge for 3-4 days or keep it in the freezer for one month
Things you can add to chicken essence
1. Chinese herbs
My mom add Dong Quay and DOM Benedictine Liqueur when she prepared this after I had my two kids during the confinement period.
Some people added red dates, black dates, ginseng, and other Chinese herbs
2. Aromatic
Some may add ginger and garlic too
3. Seasonings
You can season with salt and pepper if you like
What to do with the meat after making chicken essence
Though the meat may not have as much taste anymore, however, I don’t usually throw them away as I feel like it’s so wasteful to do so. I shred the meat and make chicken salad. You can also use it to make chicken floss. A simple seasoning like soy sauce and some sesame oil also helps to add back some flavor
Did you make this chicken essence with Instant Pot pressure cooker ?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
How To Make Nourishing Chicken Essence (Instant Pot Version)
Ingredients
- 2 kg Chicken It can be whole or chicken pieces with bones
Instructions
Things to prepare before you start cooking:
- If you get a whole chicken, separate it into sections: wings, breast, thighs, etc. Remove the skin. This is important so your chicken essence won’t be awfully greasy
- After removing the skin, debone the chicken pieces. Separate the meat from the bones
- Optional: crush the bones. Should you crush the bones to make a chicken essence? Well, this step is optional. Some people complain that when you crush the bones, the essence appears cloudier. I’ve tried both and yes indeed it makes it a bit cloudier, but taste-wise, I couldn’t tell the difference. nutrition-wise, I won’t be able to tell for sure if it makes a huge difference. My mom always crushes the bones to extract more nutrients from the bones. If you choose to do so, cover the bones with a cling wrap
- Then cover with another layer of thick towel. Use the back of a cleaver, or pestle (I used that), or a meat mallet to pound on the thinnest part of the bones gently to just crack it. We don’t need to pound the bones into small pieces. We just need to crack them up a bit. Be careful of sharp broken bone pieces
- Choose a heat-proof container, such as glass or ceramic, that fits in your inner pot of pressure cooker or use a Chinese double boiler. Get another heat-proof bowl that will fit into the container you chose earlier. This bowl is used to collect the essence. If you want to add Chinese herbs or other ingredients, put them in the middle of the container. Invert the bowl upside down to cover them. I made a “sling” by folding aluminum foil into long thick strips, strong enough to lift a bowl up. This comes in handy to lift the container out from the inner pot of Instant Pot when it’s done cooking. If you have the sling accessories, then you don’t have to do this
- Arrange the bones on one side and the meat on the other side. Cover with aluminum foil to prevent water condensation from dropping into the bowl. We want a concentrated essence
To cook on the pressure cooker:
- Put a trivet in the inner pot. Pour in 2 cups of water. Put the container on top of the trivet. Close the lid and turn the pressure release valve to sealing. Push “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set the timer to 90 minutes and then do a natural release
To cook on the stove:
- You need a large pot with a lid and a smaller ceramic or glass container that will fit into that large pot. If you have a Chinese double boiler, that's even better. Put a trivet inside the large pot. Put the double boiler inside the large pot. If you use a container without a lid, cover with aluminum foil. Put this container/double boiler on top of the trivet. Pour water in until it comes about halfway through the double boiler or container. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Let it simmer for 3 hours
- Do not open the aluminum foil or the lid of the double-boiler during cooking time. It's okay to open the lid of the large pot to refill water if needed
When done with cooking (for both methods):
- Remove the container from the inner pot or pot. Carefully uncover the foil or the lid of a double boiler. Use a tong to remove the bones. Be careful of sharp broken bones. Remove the meat to another plate
- Now, you won’t see much liquid in the bowl because all of that essence is “trapped” inside the upside-down bowl. Isn’t it cool? A simple physics in work here. Very carefully try to remove the bowl. It is strongly suctioned to the base of the container at this point. When you remove it, the essence collected there will flow out. Strain the essence and this is your essence of chicken right here
- Consume them on the same day or store them in the fridge for 3-4 days or keep it in the freezer for one month
11 comments
Thank you for Sharing Marvellina – it will help moms around the world during their 30 days of confinement! Please do share more confinement recipe!
Im just 24 years old n im single ..can i tk d.o.m regularly
Hi Selvi, I mainly used dom in cooking when I was doing confinement diet after having baby, so the alcohol is pretty much cooked off. I don’t know your health and medical background. But I’ve heard that dom is pretty potent and “heaty”, not something that many people can drink on a regular basis (unless alcohol is cooked off). Apologize that I can’t advise on how often you can take it on a regular basis
Hi Jamie,
Can essence of chicken laced with DOM or other wine be safely consumed by other individuals (not nursing mothers)? Thanks
Fel
Hi Fel,
Generally speaking..yes, but that’s just my opinion. Anyone who has a medical issue should consult their doctors.
Hi,
Can i know what do you mean “slowly drip”. i thought it’s in the double boiler with the 1 cup of water?
how to you collect the drip essense?
Hi Jamie,
Yes, The double boiler comes in two parts, the outer and the insert. You will put water in the outer pot and then place the insert in the double boiler. Then place the chopped bones on a heat-proof steaming tray inside the insert to let the essence slowly drip. You will collect the drip essence from the insert. Hope that’s making sense ?
Hi,
I am wondering on should we double boiled the bones first then only chopped it, or should we chopped the bones first then only double boiled it? If we chopped the raw bones, how small should we chopped the bones? Thank you… 🙂
Hi Stephanie,
My mom usually chop the raw bones first and then double boil it. She chopped them into pretty small pieces I must say (sorry if I didn’t specify in the instruction). Almost “minced” consistency.
Hi i like your confinement food recipe.just wondering about this essence has alcohol in it,is it ok to consume during breastfeeding?
Hi Lily,
I know many people have concerns about consuming alcohol, especially when you breastfeed. Keep in mind that for confinement food, the alcohol is cooked with the food and has long evaporated during the cooking. I also breastfed my daughter for full 13 months since she was born 🙂 Good luck with motherhood.