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Chicken Collagen Broth
Double Instant Pot cook yielding one poached chicken for salad bowls and one rich, creamy paitan broth from chicken spines.
Prep: 15 minCook: 2h 30minTotal: 2h 45min4 servings
Ingredients
Poached Whole Chicken
- 1 kg whole chicken(frozen)
- 1 cup water(for steam)
- 1 thumb ginger(sliced, for cavity)(optional)
- 3 cloves garlic(for cavity)(optional)
Chicken Paitan Broth
- 500 g chicken spines(frozen, ≈2 spines)
- 1 batch reserved bones from poached chicken(from Part 1)(optional)
- 1 medium onion(quartered)
- 5 cloves garlic(smashed)
- 1 thumb ginger(sliced)
- 1 Tbsp vinegar(white or rice)
- 1.3 L water(to just under max line)
Method
Poached Whole Chicken (≈50 min)
- Place the water in the Instant Pot.
- Set the trivet inside. Place the frozen chicken directly on top — no thawing needed.
- Close the lid. Pressure cook on High for 20 minutes. (15 minutes leaves the chicken raw inside.)
- Natural release for 15 minutes.
- Open and rest the chicken for 10 minutes before carving.
- Split the chicken in half:
- Half 1 (breast side): broil at 230°C for 5–8 minutes to crisp the skin, then use in salad bowls.
- Half 2 (leg/thigh side): reserve meat for soup.
- Save the carcass and any wing tips or bones for the broth below.
Chicken Paitan Broth (≈2h)
- Parboil bones
- Place the frozen chicken spines in a pot with room-temperature water.
- Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 10 minutes.
- Discard the water. Rinse bones to remove scum.
Step 2: Pressure cook for paitan broth
- Add the rinsed bones to the Instant Pot along with the onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, and water.
- Pressure cook on High for 90 minutes.
- Natural release for 15–20 minutes (or full release — total time ≈2h).
- Open and stir. To maximise creaminess:
- Reserve the large bones.
- Discard the aromatics (onion, ginger, garlic).
- Blend only the soft meat, skin, and fat.
- Then strain.
- (Optional) Add back the reserved bones and run a second 60–90 minute cycle on High for maximum flavour and white opacity.
- Strain and cool. Broth will gel when chilled.
Notes
Serving: Use broiled chicken breast in salad bowls with your regular toppings. Use shredded leg/thigh meat in soup with wombok, tofu puffs, noodles, or rice.
Seasoning the broth: Season only when serving — salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper to taste. The broth is intentionally unseasoned so it stays versatile.
Storage: Broth keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for 3 months. It will gel when chilled — this is a sign of good collagen extraction.