Chicken flavored soups and sauces can be made by using various ingredients. One ingredient I like to use when making gravy, stock, and soups is a nice thick chicken base.
If you haven’t heard of chicken base yet, then I urge you to read on because this is simply one of the most effective ingredients you can use to bring a rich chicken flavor to your dishes.
Don’t know what is chicken base? No problem! In this article I’ll tell you all about chicken base, chicken stock, and chicken broth as well as the differences between these ingredients. I’ll even share with you a simple way to make your own chicken base at home.
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What Exactly Is Chicken Base?
Chicken base is basically a paste that you can use to create a base for soups, gravies, and stocks. Aside from being used for liquid flavorings, it can also be used as a rub for flavorful marinating of meats.
You can easily make some chicken base right at your home or you can buy a jar from your local supermarket.
The common ingredients that chicken bases contain include chicken meat, soy, milk, salt, chicken fat, and sugar.
Chicken Base VS. Chicken Stock VS. Chicken Bouillon
Chicken base, chicken stock, chicken bouillon, it’s all the same right? Wrong! Though these three ingredients may offer the same flavor note, they are in fact very different from one another in terms of richness.
Chicken bouillon are those small cubes that’s often used for adding flavor to soups, sauces, and stews. A bouillon is chicken stock that has been dehydrated. I guess what differentiates a bouillon from a base is that it’s significantly saltier.
Chicken stock on the other hand is a liquid that contains the rich flavors of a chicken. It is usually made with whole chicken parts including bones. Chicken stock can also contain several herbs, spices, and vegetables such as onions, salt, pepper, garlic, carrots, and celery. Perhaps the main thing that distinguishes chicken stock from a bouillon and a base is its liquid form.
As for chicken base, it is what you consider as the concentrated form of chicken stock. You will frequently find chicken base as a paste since it’s derived from a liquid ingredient. Though you can also find chicken base in powder or cube form, chicken base that’s in a paste form tends to offer a richer flavor and tends to contain less sodium.
Advantages of Using Chicken Base
As I have mentioned before, chicken base, stock, and bouillon can offer you the means to add a chicken flavor to all sorts of dishes. But I just simply can’t deny the fact that a chicken base adds more of that savory chicken flavor than a stock or bouillon can.
Another thing I liked about chicken base is how it offers a darker color and a thick consistency making it the ideal choice for making gravies, sauces, stews, chowders, noodle soups, and skillet meals.
Needless to say, a nice chicken base can take the place of any chicken bouillon or chicken stock when it comes to adding the savory flavors of chicken to all sorts of dishes.
How To Make Chicken Base?
Making your own chicken base can be as easy as pie. Try to follow these simple steps to create your own homemade chicken base.
Ingredients:
- A whole chicken
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Bay Leaves
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cheesecloth
Directions:
Create A Stock
First thing you will need to do is create some chicken stock. You can simply do so by boiling a pot of water as you prepare the ingredients I have listed above. As you wait for the water to come to a boil, you should begin chopping up the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery.
Add Chicken, Herbs, Spices, and Vegetables
Once the water has come to a boil, simply put in all of your ingredients including the vegetables, herbs, spices, and the whole chicken.
Reduce The Stock
Continue to simmer all the ingredients until a significant amount of water has been reduced. What you would want is for the whole thing to get reduced until only two thirds of the water remains.Take note that this will take a lot of time (hours). You must stir the ingredients inside your pot as you wait for the stock to reduce to keep them from sticking to the sides of your pot.
Store It In The Fridge
Once your stock has been reduced, it’s now time to store it in the fridge. But before you store your stock, you must chop and debone the chicken so that bits of chicken will be included in your base.
Cool your reduced stock in your fridge and take it out once you see the fat separate from the entire mixture.
Turn It Into A Paste
After cooling your reduced stock, all you need to do now is remove the layer of fat on top of the mixture, and press the rest of the mixture through a cheese cloth to create a fine chicken base paste.
Store It
This homemade chicken base can be stored in the fridge for up to three months. Just make sure you put it in a clean and airtight container for added longevity and to seal in all the flavors.
Recap
Chicken is a unique meat that adds extra flavor and savor to a meal. This makes it common for meals such as a main entree, soup, and pies. Due to its versatility, people have adapted chicken into a chicken base to use its flavor for other meals.
"What is chicken base" stands as a common question for people. This article will address your questions about chicken base, explain its purpose in cooking, and provide you with the ingredients.
What is Chicken Base?
Chicken base is chicken turned into a paste with other ingredients added to it for flavor. It's commonly used to add flavor to soups, gravies, and stews, but it can also be used as a rub to marinate meat.
Chicken base gives the flavor further versatility to add it to other foods. You can make your own chicken base, or you can buy some at the store. This depends on your preference and if you have time to make chicken base.
What is Chicken Soup Base?
Some people might ask what is chicken soup base, because they come across it at the store. Chicken soup base is another form of chicken base, but it's more liquefied. You can purchase chicken base in a powder or cube form, though the paste form provides the most flavor.
In short, whether you use the paste or the more liquid version of chicken base depends on what you're cooking and your preference. However, please keep in mind that the paste form has more flavor, so add it if you want a stronger taste, or use the liquid form if you want a subtler chicken taste.
What is Chicken Base Made Of?
Chicken base is made from the following: a whole chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and cheesecloth.
Each of these ingredients add to the taste. Garlic, salt, pepper, and bay leaves add a more herb and spice type of taste to the base. The amount you use in the base depends on your preference and what you want for your chicken base.
Conclusion
Chicken base works great at adding a delicious chicken flavor to your dish and to make it stand out. Flavor stands as an important aspect of a dish, and chicken base is sure to draw out that taste that you want to enjoy.
If you have any questions in mind about chicken base, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!
