Step 1

If you get a whole chicken, separate it into sections: wings, breast, thighs, etc. Remove the skin. This is important so your chicken essence won’t be awfully greasy

Step 2

After removing the skin, debone the chicken pieces. Separate the meat from the bones

Step 3

Optional: crush the bones. Should you crush the bones to make a chicken essence? Well, this step is optional. Some people complain that when you crush the bones, the essence appears cloudier. I’ve tried both and yes indeed it makes it a bit cloudier, but taste-wise, I couldn’t tell the difference. nutrition-wise, I won’t be able to tell for sure if it makes a huge difference. My mom always crushes the bones to extract more nutrients from the bones. If you choose to do so, cover the bones with a cling wrap

Step 4

Then cover with another layer of thick towel. Use the back of a cleaver, or pestle (I used that), or a meat mallet to pound on the thinnest part of the bones gently to just crack it. We don’t need to pound the bones into small pieces. We just need to crack them up a bit. Be careful of sharp broken bone pieces

Step 5

Choose a heat-proof container, such as glass or ceramic, that fits in your inner pot of pressure cooker or use a Chinese double boiler. Get another heat-proof bowl that will fit into the container you chose earlier. This bowl is used to collect the essence. If you want to add Chinese herbs or other ingredients, put them in the middle of the container. Invert the bowl upside down to cover them. I made a “sling” by folding aluminum foil into long thick strips, strong enough to lift a bowl up. This comes in handy to lift the container out from the inner pot of Instant Pot when it’s done cooking. If you have the sling accessories, then you don’t have to do this

Step 6

Arrange the bones on one side and the meat on the other side. Cover with aluminum foil to prevent water condensation from dropping into the bowl. We want a concentrated essence

Step 7

Put a trivet in the inner pot. Pour in 2 cups of water. Put the container on top of the trivet. Close the lid and turn the pressure release valve to sealing. Push “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set the timer to 90 minutes and then do a natural release

Step 8

You need a large pot with a lid and a smaller ceramic or glass container that will fit into that large pot. If you have a Chinese double boiler, that's even better. Put a trivet inside the large pot. Put the double boiler inside the large pot. If you use a container without a lid, cover with aluminum foil. Put this container/double boiler on top of the trivet. Pour water in until it comes about halfway through the double boiler or container. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Let it simmer for 3 hours

Step 9

Do not open the aluminum foil or the lid of the double-boiler during cooking time. It's okay to open the lid of the large pot to refill water if needed

Step 10

Remove the container from the inner pot or pot. Carefully uncover the foil or the lid of a double boiler. Use a tong to remove the bones. Be careful of sharp broken bones. Remove the meat to another plate

Step 11

Now, you won’t see much liquid in the bowl because all of that essence is “trapped” inside the upside-down bowl. Isn’t it cool? A simple physics in work here. Very carefully try to remove the bowl. It is strongly suctioned to the base of the container at this point. When you remove it, the essence collected there will flow out. Strain the essence and this is your essence of chicken right here

Step 12

Consume them on the same day or store them in the fridge for 3-4 days or keep it in the freezer for one month