Chicken stock

As i usually say it, i divide my life into two parts. Before i knew how to make my own chicken stock, and after. My world changed the minute i learnt how to make stock. That day was like a revelation: a) this is sooo easy and fun to make and b) it just makes your cooking so much better.

Instead of explaining how to make stock, i'm sure you all have a recipe in one of your cooking book, i thought i would post a video from epicurious.

Note that i usually dice my onions in big pieces (on the video, they use whole onions). I'm also a big fan of bouquet garni, and don't necessarily have a whole chicken, but use carcasses of chicken (you can easily find them in san francisco at any chinese supermarket for 50c a piece!).

Making your own stock will give a whole new dimension to your cooking. With time, you get better and better. Of course, you can always go to your butcher and buy some fresh one - those are good too! But honestly, when you eat a chicken and throw away all the bones, imagine how you would feel if you knew you could actually do something with them. Every time i eat a chicken, i usually freeze the bones (even the ones that somebody else ate! yes, we're going to boil them for hours!). Once i have the equivalent of 2 chickens, i do some stock one evening. It doesn't take that long and make such a big difference!

Enjoy!