from what I read on a Shabu Shabu (Japan hot pot) menu, “traditional” which means water.
Thus I add the ginger / garlic / cilantro / fermented red pepper paste!

Then why do you need broth?

Soup with mushroom, BBC, Mandu, tofu; broth is water, fermented red pepper paste, ginger, garlic

is there such a thing as too much mushroom??? Organic baby Bella mushrooms from Costco. It’s a 24-oz pack and better priced compared to elsewhere but of course they take bulk space. I need to eat them plus they’re tasty. I loved my pizza with mushroom last night. I love mushroom in omelette.

this is a great question. I think of chicken soup being good for preventative health. It’s hard to really know. This is all new to me. I never cooked any form of Asian soup before 2020.

oh, I use these ginger and garlic products. My spouse got them at Trader Joe’s. Does anyone else carry a thing like this? Would Costco have it?

Well you already have broth and don't use it so I am still confused. lol. I think there are many other dietary changes that you could make that would be better than eating chicken broth. If you are fine with using water then don't change. If not, then make the stuff with the broth that you have.

As someone who eats a whole lot of garlic, I have to ask why you buy these plastic tubs. Is the garlic (and ginger) sealed air-tight? Or stored in water or oil? In either case, I would think the garlic would lose some flavor and potency. Plus, these must be pretty expensive.

Since you're nearly a famous chef in your own home these days , why not just buy heads of garlic that you crush with the side of a knife as you need it? You crush it with the peel on, and then it comes right off - takes 2 seconds per clove - then continue to chop as much as you want.

Also, thanks for mentioning shabu shabu. The only time I've had it was in Kyoto quite a few years ago. I believe they used water as you said. I recall two things - first we had no idea what we were doing and didn't want to stand out as dumb tourists, and second that even if we didn't know the shabu shabu rules, we enjoyed it.

These FROZEN ginger / garlic things are convenient!!! I fear that I would not do well with daily crushing of garlic and ginger.
great Shabu Shabu anecdote - so fun about first experiencing it in japan. I’ve never been to japan except the airport in 1998 when Sfo-China required an inbetween stop somewhere :-)

That's exactly what we do when we roast a chicken, or when we debone thighs or drumsticks for stir-fry pieces. When we buy whole chickens to cut up into parts, the backs and wingtips always go into the stockpot. Can't tell you how long to cook it down, as it depends on how much water you started with. We boil the parts around 2-3 hours in enough water to cover them, remove them, strain the broth, cook it down (concentrate) till it tastes good, then skim the fat. All of the above, same for turkey.

obrigato!!!! Greatly appreciated :-)

Oh, forgot to mention.... Then we freeze it in ~1 pint tubs for future use.

plastic or glass?

I suggest simmering rather than boiling. And be sure to add aromatics or it will be bland. If you don't want to roast a chicken just buy backs and wings and necks...they are the best for making broth. I still don't know why you are so set on making broth rather than using what you have but let us know how it turns out.

I'd love to start buying the pre-minced garlic but a) it never tastes quite the same and b) I always hear Anthony Bourdain in my head saying that if you don't peel and chop your own garlic, then you don't deserve fresh garlic.

Regular grocery stores all carry it. I'm sure Costco has it in two-pound tubs or something.

Plastic. Usually pint cottage cheese (or similar) containers.

You need to concentrate the chicken broth. Trust me, it's not bland at all and needs nothing added except salt. Any other flavors can be added when you use the broth for any variety of recipes.
I do find beef broth to need additives no matter the concentration.

I still want to try and roast a chicken like in Amelie.

I use these for soup. I’m not sure if I even notice. All I know for sure is that I love the convenience. I’ll give it the fresh stuff a try and I also fear that it won’t dissolve in the boiling water. How can I get fresh ginger and garlic to dissolve?

LOL, agree, there are tasty ones but not as good as fresh garlic.