Soups

There are five basic traditional soup stocks in Chinese cuisine:

• Superior broth/stock: A dark tan broth made from Jinhua ham and chicken. This rich and umami broth is used in the creation of many expensive soups.
  

• Chicken: The basic broth used in creating most Chinese soups. The basic broth is sometimes fortified with liquorice root, wolfberry, and other Chinese herbs.

• Pork broth: Lean pork is used most often as the soup base for long-simmered Chinese soups, called 老火湯 in Cantonese. This soup base is often simmered over low heat for several hours with other roots, dried herbs, vegetables, and edible fungi. The Cantonese are especially known for their long-simmered Chinese soups, as they often pair ingredients under Chinese Medicine concepts to enhance health-benefiting functions of the soup.

• White broth: Made from lightly blanched pork bones that have been vigorously boiled for several hours, creating a white milky broth. This broth has a rich mouthfeel, and is often used in ramen soups.

• Fish broth: Made from fish that have been fried and boiled for several hours, creating a white milky broth. This broth has a rich feel, and sweet umami taste.