Ficus Root & Coconut Chicken Soup
Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Hob
Fragrant dried ficus root meets the gentle sweetness of coconut water and coconut flesh in a chicken broth, with a few goji berries for colour. Choose a gently simmered hob version or an electric pressure cooker method on the same page.
Times are estimates and include soaking and preparation; some tasks can overlap. Check hydration and doneness as described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Bundled dried ficus root; weigh out 25 g from the 90 g pack and remove after cooking 25 g
- Fully thawed bone-in chicken thighs, about 4, bought separately 700 g
- Fresh or plain frozen coconut flesh, bought separately; handle frozen flesh as labelled 150 g
- Unsweetened coconut water, bought separately, not coconut milk 500 ml
- Dried goji berries, from the 80 g pack 10 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh drinking water for the hob, plus hot water for top-ups; use 1 litre for the electric pressure cooker 1.2 L
- Salt, or less to taste at the end 2 g
- Cold water for blanching chicken; discard afterwards As needed
Method
Clean the root and prepare coconut
The dried root is sold in tied bundles. Weigh out 25 g: loosen a larger bundle to take only what is needed and reseal the dry remainder. A bundle is not a fixed measure. Remove the original binding, then rub and rinse the root in a sieve under clean running water, clearing grit from the crevices and rinsing again if needed. It does not require a long rehydration. Put the required root loosely in a food-safe cooking stock bag for easy removal. Rinse coconut flesh and cut into strips about 1 cm wide. Gently rinse and drain the goji berries.
Blanch the chicken
Do not wash raw chicken. Cover the thighs with cold water in a pan, bring to the boil and blanch for 3–5 minutes, skimming foam. Lift out and discard the water. Clean the pan, hands, utensils and surfaces that touched raw meat. The chicken is not yet fully cooked: continue immediately.
Gently simmer the chicken and root
Put chicken, ginger, the root bag and 1.2 litres fresh water in a clean soup pan of about 4 litres. Bring to the boil, partially cover and simmer gently for about 60 minutes. Keep the chicken mostly submerged, topping up with hot water if needed. Avoid a hard boil that reduces the broth excessively.
Finish with coconut and goji
Remove the root bag and check no root pieces remain in the broth. Add 150 g coconut flesh and 500 ml coconut water. Return to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes, then add goji and simmer for 5 minutes. Allow longer if the frozen coconut label requires it. Probe the thickest chicken, avoiding the bone: it must reach 75°C for 30 seconds. Continue and recheck if necessary.
Season and serve
Taste before adding a little salt. Remove large ginger slices and skim excess fat if desired. Divide chicken, coconut, goji and broth between four portions, taking care with bones. The woody root is for infusing the soup, not for serving as an edible garnish.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: Easy.
- Use 25 g bundled root, not the whole 90 g pack. Bundles vary in weight, so always weigh the amount rather than counting one bundle. Choose unsweetened coconut water and plain coconut flesh, rather than a sweet coconut drink or 500 ml thick coconut milk.
- Follow the coconut label for thawing and cooking. Refrigerate-thaw at 5°C or below if needed. Ficus root is a woody soup ingredient, not edible peach flesh.
Allergens
No dairy milk, soy sauce or wheat is added in the listed ingredients; check the coconut products, stock bag and dried-ingredient labels. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Keep raw chicken refrigerated at 5°C or below; follow the raw-meat pack instructions. Separate raw and cooked utensils and clean hands and surfaces after handling raw meat. Divide leftovers into shallow containers, cool promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only once until steaming hot throughout.
Electric pressure cooker
Fragrant dried ficus root meets the gentle sweetness of coconut water and coconut flesh in a chicken broth, with a few goji berries for colour. Choose a gently simmered hob version or an electric pressure cooker method on the same page.
Estimated time includes preparation, heat-up, pressure cooking, full natural release and the open-lid coconut finish. Follow your cooker instructions and check chicken doneness.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Bundled dried ficus root; weigh out 25 g from the 90 g pack and remove after cooking 25 g
- Fully thawed bone-in chicken thighs, about 4, bought separately 700 g
- Fresh or plain frozen coconut flesh, bought separately; handle frozen flesh as labelled 150 g
- Unsweetened coconut water, bought separately, not coconut milk 500 ml
- Dried goji berries, from the 80 g pack 10 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh drinking water for the electric pressure cooker; extra water for blanching 1 L
- Salt, or less to taste at the end 2 g
- Cold water for blanching chicken; discard afterwards As needed
Method
Prepare ingredients and check the cooker
Clean and bag the root, prepare coconut and goji, and blanch the chicken as in the hob method, discarding blanching water. Use an electric pressure cooker of at least 6 litres with a selectable high-pressure setting. Check its seal, steam path and minimum liquid requirement. Keep ingredients and water below the lower of its soup limit and two-thirds line.
Load chicken, root and 1 litre water
Add blanched chicken, ginger, the root bag and 1 litre fresh water. Keep coconut water, coconut flesh and goji out for now. Place the bag loosely beside the chicken, submerged and well clear of the steam path. Do not pack the pot tightly.
Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes
Lock the lid as your model directs and set high pressure for 20 minutes. The countdown starts at working pressure, after roughly 15–25 minutes heating up. Heat-up and natural release are additional time, not part of the 20-minute setting. Do not open during cooking.
What is natural pressure release?
When cooking ends, cancel heating and Keep Warm as your model directs. Leave the lid locked while the cooker cools and pressure falls by itself. Do not turn the valve for a quick soup release, move the cooker or cool an electric cooker under running water. Allow about 20–40 minutes or longer. Open only after the pressure indicator has fully dropped and the lid unlocks normally as the manufacturer directs; elapsed minutes alone are not proof. Keep face and hands clear of steam.
Remove root, then add coconut with the lid open
Once safely open, remove the root bag and any stray root. With the lid off, add coconut flesh and 500 ml coconut water. Bring to the boil using the appropriate open-lid sauté/simmer setting, then simmer for 10 minutes, add goji and simmer for 5 minutes. Watch against overflowing and do not repressurise. Probe the thickest chicken: 75°C for 30 seconds, cooking longer and rechecking if needed. Season lightly and serve.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: Easy.
- Use 25 g bundled root, not the whole 90 g pack. Bundles vary in weight, so always weigh the amount rather than counting one bundle. Choose unsweetened coconut water and plain coconut flesh, rather than a sweet coconut drink or 500 ml thick coconut milk.
- Follow the coconut label for thawing and cooking. Refrigerate-thaw at 5°C or below if needed. Ficus root is a woody soup ingredient, not edible peach flesh.
- Designed for an electric cooker with selectable high pressure; do not transfer the timing directly to a stovetop pressure cooker.
Allergens
No dairy milk, soy sauce or wheat is added in the listed ingredients; check the coconut products, stock bag and dried-ingredient labels. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Keep raw chicken refrigerated at 5°C or below; follow the raw-meat pack instructions. Separate raw and cooked utensils and clean hands and surfaces after handling raw meat. Divide leftovers into shallow containers, cool promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only once until steaming hot throughout.
Shop the Xianyitang ingredients for this recipe
