Chinese Chicken Soup In Pumpkin (Healthy Asian Cooking) Traditional Chinese Cooking

I'll show you how to cook a whole chicken inside a pumpkin. Put the chicken in with some Chinese herbs. Add some water. The inside of the pumpkin infuses the chicken and the Chinese herbs with lots of flavour. It tastes and smells great. Lots of healthy benefits for mind and body. The chicken is moist and tender. The suble flavour of the pumpkin goes perfect with the flavours of the Chinese herbs. Recipe is below:

1 medium whole pumpkin
1 whole chicken (under 3 lbs.)

Chinese Herbs:

2 tablespoons goji berries
6 small pieces American Ginseng
2 small pieces codonopsis root
2 long pieces Astragalus root
6 Chinese red dates
2 pieces ginger
1 tablespoon chicken soup base
Optional (salt and pepper to taste)

Score the pumpkin with a knife to outline where the
lid is cut. Cut the pumpkin with the knife until the whole
pumpkin is cut through. Use knife to pry open the lid. Scrape out the seeds and the fibrous string from the inside of the pumpkin. Be sure to scrape the pumpkin lid as well.

Rinse the chicken inside and out under cold water. Put some water in a pot and bring to a boil. Put chicken in and boil for 20 to 30 minutes. If the pot is short, turn chicken over a few times for even cooking. With a deep pot, the chicken will be covered so turning over is not needed. The boiling time for the chicken depends on the size of the chicken.

Put the pumpkin inside a deep oven roasting pan.
Once the chicken is finished boiling, put it inside the pumpkin. Add the Chinese herbs and the ginger into the pumpkin. Add the chicken soup base. Add salt and pepper to taste if you like. Put the lid back on the pumpkin.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the pumpkin the oven and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Liquid will build up inside the roasting pan, so it is better to use a deep side roasting pan.

Le the chicken cool for 15 or more minutes. Cut the chicken up any way you like. I like to cut the chicken into large pieces, such as a thigh, a drumstick. Scoop some of the soup into the bowl with the chicken. Scoop the sidewall to get some of the pumpkin. Add chicken to the soup or serve on the side. Enjoy!

The herbal ingredients for this recipe work well together for health benefits. You can use any or all of the ingredients. Check your local Chinese herbal store or Chinese supermarket to get these herbal ingredients. Some stores sell the prepackaged ingredients so all you do is add them to the soup.