Name: Yin-Yang Spinach and Chicken Soup (陰陽菠菜鷄蓉湯)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as a first course.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ½ pound boneless and skinless chicken breast; 4 egg whites, well beaten but not stiff; 2 cups hot chicken stock; ½ teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons dry sherry; 1 tablespoon water; 1 ten-ounce package chopped frozen spinach, defrosted, or fresh spinach; 1 tablespoon oil; 1 teaspoon salt; 1½ tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold stock and 1 tablespoon sesame oil; ½ teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons cold stock and 1 tablespoon oil

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6
as a first course.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Key to Chinese Cooking

By Irene Kuo

Published 1977

About

A Fukien concoction, this is actually two soups in one, and it stands on the border between soup and soupy main dish. The two soups are made separately, then poured together into one bowl to form the curved symbol of Yin and Yang. It is elegant and delicious.

Ingredients

Chicken mixture

½ pound boneless and skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon water

Method

Preparations

Trim off any fat or gristle from the chicken breast. Rinse and lay it on a chopping board, membrane side down. Hold one end firmly as you “scrape-mince” the meat with the tip end of a cleaver or sharp kitchen spoon (see