SAMGYETANG (GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP)
This is a traditional Korean soup consumed on the hottest days of summer. Fancier Korean restaurants will often add extra medicinal herbs and aromatics, but the home-cooked, mom-approved samgyetang that Koreans know best has six indispensable ingredients: chicken, garlic, scallions, glutinous rice, ginseng (fresh is preferred) and dried red dates (jujubes). The last three items may be hard to find, but every Korean grocery stocks them. Many shops even sell samgyetang-stuffing kits, which come with a small packet of rice, a couple of dried jujubes and a nub of dried ginseng, with some brands offering additional, often arcanely named aromatics (like milkvetch root or acanthopanax) to fortify the broth. The soup is normally prepared for one, with a single small chicken or Cornish hen served whole in boiling broth. We doubled the recipe to feed two, but it can be easily halved.
Provided by Dave Kim
Categories for two, soups and stews, main course
Time 1h15m
Yield 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Rinse the rice, then cover it with water and soak for at least 2 hours, or overnight. At the same time, soak the ginseng (if using dried; there's no need to soak fresh) and the red dates, separately.
- When rice, dried ginseng and jujubes have finished soaking, drain and rinse them. Remove the giblets from the hens and rub about 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt all over each, inside the cavity and underneath the skin.
- Put a couple of spoonfuls of soaked rice into each cavity, then add the ginseng root, jujubes and garlic, and finish stuffing with more rice. Some cooks truss the birds, but the rice will expand during cooking and keep most of the stuffing inside the cavity.
- Place the two hens and any remaining rice in a pot just big enough to hold them both. Add the white parts of the scallions. Fill the pot with 8 cups water or more, if needed, to cover most of the chicken.
- Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, until the meat falls easily off the bone.
- Transfer each chicken to a large soup bowl and add the broth. Sprinkle chopped green scallions on top, and salt to taste at the table.
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Barry Mote
[email protected]Loved the rich flavor
Davin Nzums
[email protected]The recipe was easy to follow and the soup turned out great! The only thing I would change is to add a bit more salt to the broth.
mrfluents Chuks
[email protected]Very tasty, easy to make
Tianna Buckley
[email protected]I'm not really a fan of ginseng, but I thought I'd give this recipe a try anyway. I was pleasantly surprised! The broth was still delicious even without the ginseng flavor being too strong.
Carol Plumley
[email protected]Great soup! I added some extra vegetables like carrots and celery to make it a bit more colorful.
Erica Goosby
[email protected]I tried making this soup for my Korean grandmother, who is a very good cook. She was so impressed with the flavor and authenticity of the dish. She said that it tastes just like the samgyetang that she used to make when she was younger.
Sebastian Bundy
[email protected]Loved it! Will make it again
Md Awoul
[email protected]This is one of the best samgyetang recipes I've tried. The ginseng really adds a unique flavor to the broth, and The chicken was cooked perfectly - moist and tender on the inside, and slightly crispy on the skin.
Sebastian Flynn
[email protected]Great recipe. I will definitely make it again!
Asifbutt786 Asifbutt786
[email protected]I've made this recipe several times now. It's my go-to comfort food! The broth is so rich and flavorful, and the chicken is so tender. I appreciate that the instructions are quite detailed, so nothing is left to guesswork.
Yannick Honore
[email protected]This soup was very yummy!
Tuber Shuvoio
[email protected]This was so easy to make! My family isn't often adventurous with trying new dishes, especially my picky kids. They all cleaned their bowls and even asked for seconds. It's definitely going into my rotation!