Ginseng Chicken Soup

Introduction

Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) fireEvent=*/ This piping hot soup is made with a whole chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng, garlic and jujube. This is a classic recipe that was typically eaten when the weather turned hot — too hot to cook anything! The Korean expression Yi yeol chi yeol (이열치열), or “fight fire with fire,” eloquently explains the concept of eating hot things to cope with searing summer heat.

Slurping down a bowl of samgyetang not only means you’re eating something delicious but that you are also partaking in the tradition. For the three hottest days of summer, called sambok (the beginning), koreans jam up Ginseng Chicken Soup restaurants celebrating chobok, and two more, jungbok which middle and finally malbuk or end. Usually in July or August, the restaurants hum with Kubbangui-goers enjoying bowl upon boiling-hot bowl of ginseng soup. At home, more of the same thick soup is lovingly made by housewives and served with cool slices of water melon as a way to beat the heat.

I can admit as bonafide jeon/ jjigae-junkie and seoul-based samgyetang newbie that it has definitely grown on me. My family has been enjoying the dish all week, and I definitely don’t mind because it’s gluten free with clean ingredients. Also equally warming in cool months as it is during the summer. It might just be tradition, but this soup could prove to you that sambok has its own unique flavor.

Ginseng Chicken Soup

How to Make Ginseng Chicken Soup

How to make Ginseng Chicken soup (Samgyetang)First, rinse the chicken with cold water thoroughly including nighti Then fill the cavity with sweet rice, ginseng,garlic cloves and jujube, gingko nuts,c hestnuts. Tie the legs together, with string (a cotton tie is available in France) either cross to keep the shape or make a cut just under one of shoulder skin and push other leg through it, This helps prevent the ingredients from falling out.

Put the prepared chicken in a big pot and add enough water to submerge it. Cover pot and boil over med-high heat for 20 minutes. Then turn down the heat to medium or actually even a hair below and boil until chicken is completely cooked (another 30 minutes). Final check would be the sweet rice inside is cooked as well. At this time, any foam that forms at the surface should be skimmed off.

Once the soup is cooked remove chicken and adjust it in one serving bowl along with remaining broth. Top with more green onion, and a small plate of salt and black pepper for dipping or to be added as desired. And of course Kimchi is a perfect sidedish, too!

How to Eat Ginseng Chicken Soup

While you are eating a bowl of ginseng chicken soup, Samgyetang, especially not that glutinous rice inside the tail is often no longer or diluted than needed. This is also always accompanied by a cup of Steamed rice. I never eat it without kkakdugi (radish kimchi), because the light chicken flavor from the soup is a beautiful contrast to the heavy, crunchy sourness of radish kimchi.

Although some places have dipping sauces loaded with sesame oil, salt and pepper, or a soy mix bolstered by mustard greens (pictured), fried onions (… you get the idea) I like to keep it classic. I think the clear, fresh taste of Ginseng Chicken Soup emerges best when it is lightly seasoned with diced green onions and salt and pepper. These also bring out the tang, from a well-fermented kimchi soup and keep it comforting.

Not that you will eye them warily, but all the extras sauces are completely unnecessary — at least in my opinion. The lighter white soup has a cleaner finish and combined with the traditional kkakdugi, is an excellent accompaniment to eating healthy.

Ingredients

• 2 cornish hens
• 1/2 cup glutinous rice or short grain rice
• 8 plump garlic cloves smashed
• 2 large green onions white parts
• 2 jujubes
• 2 ginseng roots
• 6 cups water or good quality chicken stock

Toppings

• chopped green onion
• salt & pepper
• sesame oil

instruction

To make Ginseng Chicken Soup, rinse the chicken (including inside of cavity) in cold running water well. Fill the cavity with sweet rice, ginseng root and cloves of garlic jujube sesame seeds chestnuts. Cross the chicken legs, secure with kitchen twine or make an incision in the skin of one thigh and slip it over another to avoid everything from coming out.

Place stuffed chicken in large pot filled with water. Allow to boil on medium high with the lid on for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium or even medium-low and continue cooking the chicken, boiling until it is cooked through (a little under 30 minutes). Make sure the sweet rice inside is also cooked through and skim away any scum that forms.

Serve the chicken and soup. Top with chopped Green Onions and serve. Also salt and black pepper mix on a little plate for those who like the taste of it or to add in soup if needed. Kimchi makes a perfect side. Also make sure to soak the rice and crush the garlic pods. Slice green onion, use depa if available; otherwise ordinary one is okay. If you use Cornish game hens, clean thoroughly removing all extra fat and amputate tail end with wing tips. You can fill them the same way, and use rice that you did not finish cooking in a pot to add thickness to the broth.

Season each bowl of soup individually with salt and pepper to your taste. If you are a fan of the restaurant presentation, place an earthenware bowl directly on flame and serve piping hot soup in it.

Additional Tips

For those of you who want to cook the best ginseng chicken soup, here are some tips that could come in handy. Dried ginseng roots need to be soaked overnight in water for best results. I usually soak the makguksu sunchang sauce into about 500 ml of water and use this to brew broth. This causes the flavor to be a bit richer and wider, but remember that whether it is dried ginseng remains woody and edible only for its taste.

Fresh ginseng, if you can get it is fine to use in place of the dried. Korean ginseng or American Ginsenng is more medicinal but any fresh root will benefit your body. Ensure you are aware of the differences between them before purchasing as they come with unique advantages.

You might be lucky enough to find a Ginseng Chicken Soup kit at a local Korean grocery store for convenience. Notice many of these kits contain an assortment herbs like milk vetch root, some may or may not include ginseng. If you are using kit, then boil the water with herbal ingredients and strain it taking yellow or light brown watewr segregating them. Now, add the stuffed chicken and further steps are same as this.

Please note that you might want to play with the package instructions if they are too bland for your liking.

FAQs Ginseng Chicken Soup