Pulled chicken and shiitake mushroom broth

Method

How it goes together

1. 01

   Step 1

   Pour 1.2 litres of water into a large pan and crumble in the stock cubes. Bring to the boil, then add the lemongrass and lime leaves. Add the chicken legs, lower the heat and simmer gently for 45-60 minutes until very tender. Lift out the chicken legs and let cool. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl.

   A gentle simmer keeps the chicken legs moist and lets the collagen soften so the meat pulls away in strands, while the aromatics scent the liquid that becomes the broth. A hard boil muddies the stock and toughens the meat.

2. 02

   Step 2

   In a separate pan with a light-coloured interior, warm the honey over medium heat, stirring, until it bubbles. Stop stirring and cook, watching closely, until it turns a rich, golden brown caramel. Pour in the soy sauce straight away to stop the cooking. Add the strained stock and bring to the boil.

   Taking the honey to a dark caramel builds the bitter-sweet backbone of the broth; without it the soup tastes flatly sweet. The soy sauce added at once drops the temperature and halts the caramel before it burns.

3. 03

   Step 3

   Turn the heat down, add the mushrooms and celery and poach gently for about 5 minutes until just cooked. Add the onion and garlic and keep the broth at a bare simmer while you fry the chicken.

   Held just below a simmer, the mushrooms and celery cook through while keeping their bite and the broth stays clear. The onion and garlic go in late so they stay fresh and sharp rather than stewed.

4. 04

   Step 4

   Using a couple of forks, pull the skin off the chicken legs and tear it roughly. Flake the meat from the legs with the forks. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the chicken skin and half the pulled chicken until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper.

   Frying the skin and half the meat gives the bowl a crisp, salty contrast against the soft poached chicken; draining on paper keeps it crisp instead of greasy.

5. 05

   Step 5

   Add the remaining pulled chicken to the broth, with the spring onions, chillies and sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the crispy chicken and serve in warmed bowls.

   The vinegar and raw chilli and spring onion lift the sweet caramel and salty soy, so the broth tastes bright rather than heavy. Adding the crisp chicken last keeps it crunchy.