How to Make Authentic Korean Chicken Soup at Home

Here’s a Korean chicken soup recipe that doesn’t involve a trip to the Korean market! This soup, dak gomtang (닭곰탕), is a favorite in my family, especially when one of us is sick. If samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) is unavailable, this soup is an excellent substitute.

Gomtang is a soup prepared by boiling cattle bones and flesh for several hours. The final meal is a delicious milky soup with tender beef.

Dak gomtang is a chicken-based dish that cooks in less time. It is simple to prepare and is typically served with cooked rice in the soup, shredded chicken meat on top, and a generous amount of chopped scallions.

Anyway, you can serve the rice separately so that the consumer can eat it any way he or she wants.

The chicken

In Korea, this meal is frequently prepared using a whole chicken. It is the most cost-effective way to feed the whole family, and the resulting stock is rich and tasty thanks to the bones, cartilage, and skins. To cook a whole chicken more quickly, cut it before boiling. Simply cook the chicken with fragrant vegetables and shred it as a garnish. The secret is to use enough garlic!

The soup can also be made with bone-in chicken thighs or legs.

To make a quick cut, combine high-quality commercial chicken stock with boneless breast or thigh chunks. The chicken cooks faster, yet the liquid retains taste thanks to the high-quality chicken stock.

To include veggies, use napa cabbage (baechu, 배추) or Korean radish (mu, 무).

Cooking the use of an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker.

You can put together this dish to your Instant Pot. My 6-quart Instant Pot can contain three to 4 kilos of fowl. Use eight cups of water as it will not evaporate like it’d at the range.
It will take around 35 minutes for the pressure to build. Then, wait 15 minutes before releasing.

Pour enough water into the slow cooker to cover most of the chicken. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low. Also, see my Slow Cooker Chicken Soup with Napa Cabbage, which has chicken bits.

Ingredients of Korean Chicken Soup (Samgyetang)

For the soup:
1 small whole chicken (about 1-2 pounds)
1/4 cup glutinous rice (sweet rice) soaked in water for an hour.
3–4 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
2-3 dried jujubes (Korean dates)
one small piece of ginseng root (or ginseng tea bag for a milder flavor)
4-5 peeled chestnuts (optional).
4–5 gingko nuts (optional)
4-5 fresh or dried lotus seeds, optional.
6–8 glasses of water
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Green onions (as garnish)
Optional: Korean perilla leaves (for serving with the soup)

Korean Traditions Around Samgyetang

Koreans typically eat Samgyetang on the hottest days of summer, known as Boknal days. According to the lunar calendar, those are the three most up-to-date days of the 12 months, normally in July or August. Consuming hot soup during warm weather might also appear unusual, however, the practice, referred to as ideal chisel (이열치열), or “fighting warmness with warmness,” is thought to assist the frame to recover from the taxing outcomes of summer season warmness.

In the Korean lifestyle, this dish is considered a source of bodily sustenance and a meal that refills ki (strength). Families usually acquire to share this comforting meal, that’s the concept to reinforce vigor and electricity.

FAQs