This Hainan Chicken Coconut Soup, or yēzǐ jītāng (椰子鸡汤), is not your typical coconut soup, which is often made with coconut milk (see Sarah’s Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, or Tom Kha Gai). Instead, we use coconut water and fresh coconut, giving the soup a hint of sweetness, a delicate coconut aroma, and most importantly, robust chicken flavor.
I also make this soup with chicken drumsticks, the most economical cut of chicken out there, making it a budget-friendly recipe as well!
Where This Soup is From
When you see a recipe that uses fresh coconut, you know it’s from a tropical region. Hainan is an island province in China with a tropical climate. As China’s southernmost point, it runs parallel to Southeast Asia.
Hainanese Chicken Rice, another famous dish, is now popular across Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, where Hainanese immigrants are said to have invented it.
This soup is rich and nourishing, with a buttery mouthfeel and great flavor.
Health Benefits of Coconut
According to Traditional Chinese medicine, coconut is said to help:
- Invigorate Qi and strengthen the spleen
- Promote bodily fluid production, relieving dry/bitter mouth or dry skin, reducing regulating thirst, and cooling internal heat
- Reducing swelling or
- Provides antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits
- Aids stomach function, relieves indigestion and bloating
- Nourishing the heart, kidney, and liver
Coconut is also said to be rich in fiber, essential minerals including iron, manganese, and copper, and fuels the body with rapid energy from MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides). Coconut water, which we use in the soup, is also full of electrolytes. Coconut is high in fat, however, so be sure to enjoy it in moderation!
Selecting Fresh Coconuts
Coconuts vary by age. The young/green ones are best for coconut water, a popular beverage in tropical regions. Mature coconuts (the brown and hairy ones) have a lot of meat/flesh, which people use to make coconut milk, flaked coconut, and coconut chips.
Young coconuts have more juice and much less flesh, so it’s best to buy two to ensure you have enough for this soup. Old coconut has less juice and a lot more flesh, so it’s ok to just buy one and use plain bottled coconut water.
Some say a mixture of mature and young coconut is key to the soup’s flavor, so I used both a young coconut and a mature one.
I got 1 cup of juice and 110g of flesh from the young coconut. From the mature coconut, I got ¼ cup juice and 250g of flesh. I used all the juice, and all the flesh from the fresh coconut and half of the old coconut flesh in the soup.
Did you Know?
Many people love to drink fresh coconut juice, but you can also eat the fresh coconut flesh just like any other fruit! It’s light, buttery, and crisp.
How to Open a Coconut:
- With a young coconut, the outer hard shell has already been removed. Just poke a hole at the top of the coconut (the soft spot) to release the juice. Then cut it in half and scoop out the flesh.
- With an old coconut, it is slightly more difficult. Using the back of a heavy cleaver, give it a few whacks until it cracks open.
You can freeze leftover coconut flesh and use them in your other coconut dishes. Or you can make your own flaked coconut by grating the fresh coconut and toasting it in the oven, stirring occasionally so it toasts evenly.
Tip!
There is also a Hainan style of hot pot that uses this soup as a base. Feel free to make this soup for a hot pot dinner! See Sarah’s post on how to serve Chinese Hot Pot at Home!
Recipe Instructions
Crack open coconuts and pour the coconut juice into your soup pot. Next, open the coconuts completely and scoop out the coconut flesh. Peel off any brown skin on the coconut, and slice into strips. Add the coconut flesh to your soup pot.
Processing a Young Coconut:
Processing a mature coconut:
Next, add the water, ginger, scallion, and dates/jujubes. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, add the chicken legs, cover, and bring back to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes. The soup should be bubbling, but not at a rolling boil. The idea is to cook the chicken and intensify the soup’s flavor without cooking off the liquid.
Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce by combining the lime juice, Thai chilies (to taste), garlic, and light soy sauce. Once the soup is ready, add the cilantro and 1 tablespoon of the soup. You can also add some thin slices of lime to the sauce, as a visual indication of what’s in it!
Once the soup is done cooking, add the goji berries. Season it well with salt (to taste), and garnish with chopped scallions if desired.
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Recipe
Hainan Chicken Coconut Soup (海南椰子鸡汤)
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 – 2 fresh coconuts (if you can get both, get 1 mature and 1 young coconut for a good amount of both juice and flesh)
- 7 cups water
- 3 slices ginger about 10g
- 2 whole scallions
- 4 Chinese dried red dates/jujubes 红枣, pitted and halved lengthwise
- 2½ pounds chicken drumsticks about 10 pcs
- 1 tablespoon dried goji berries
- Salt to taste
For the dipping sauce:
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1-3 Thai chilies finely chopped (to taste)
- 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoon light soy sauce
- a large pinch cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chicken soup
Instructions
- Crack open coconuts and pour the coconut juice into your soup pot. Next, open the coconuts completely and scoop out the coconut flesh. Peel off any brown skin on the coconut, and slice into strips. Add the coconut flesh to your soup pot.
- Next, add the water, ginger, scallion, and dates/jujubes. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the chicken legs, cover, and bring back to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes. The soup should be bubbling, but not at a rolling boil. The idea is to cook the chicken and intensify the soup’s flavor without cooking off the liquid.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce by combining the lime juice, Thai chilies (to taste), garlic, and light soy sauce. When the chicken is done, add the cilantro and 1 tablespoon of the soup.
- Once the soup is done cooking, add the goji berries. Season it well with salt (to taste), and garnish with chopped scallions if desired.
