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1
Blanch the old hen and pork bones separately in boiling water. Drain and rinse both under cold water to remove impurities. This step is not optional: any residue left on the bones will cloud the stock and muddy its aroma. The blanched bones should show no grey foam and smell clean before the long simmer begins.
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2
Place the blanched hen and bones in a large pot with the ginger slices. Cover with cold water and bring to the gentlest possible simmer — individual bubbles rising slowly, never a rolling boil. Hold at this register for 6–8 hours, skimming the surface periodically. The stock is ready when it is golden, completely clear, and carries deep, layered umami. Any cloudiness means the heat was too high at some point during extraction and cannot be reversed.
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3
Season the finished stock with Yunnan salt. Strain through a fine sieve, discarding solids. Keep the stock at a vigorous near-boil — no lower than 95°C — from this point until service. The stock must not cool.
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4
Fill each large ceramic serving bowl with boiling water. Leave for several minutes, then discard the water immediately before service. The preheated bowl must be too hot to hold comfortably — this retained heat is the vessel's structural role in the dish.
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5
This is where the dish lives or dies. Ladle the near-boiling stock into each preheated bowl. Immediately spoon the rendered chicken fat or lard across the entire surface in one deliberate pass, forming a continuous, unbroken seal. No bare spot may remain. The fat cap must cover the broth from rim to rim — any gap allows heat to escape below cooking temperature before the proteins are finished. The cap should shimmer and move slowly when the bowl is tilted gently; steam should curl steadily above the surface but must not billow. Billowing signals a tear in the seal and escaping heat.
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6
Carry the bowls to the table immediately. Place the raw proteins — thin-sliced chicken breast, thin-sliced pork loin, and whole raw quail eggs — before the diner without delay. The diner adds them first, sliding each slice individually beneath the fat cap. The broth should be silent in the bowl: not simmering, not popping. Heat is held, not active.
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7
The diner next places the chrysanthemum greens, then the rice noodles. The noodles are added last and must not enter the bowl until the protein is judged done — they absorb broth rapidly and become porridge within ninety seconds of saturation. When bitten, the noodle should offer clear resistance and pull back; it must not dissolve.
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8
Condiments — Yunnan chilli paste, pickled ginger, and thin soy — are served alongside in separate vessels. The diner draws from them according to preference. The broth itself is not a flavoured dish; condiments provide contrast, not identity.