Samgyetang for the body and soul

By Park Sae-jin Posted : November 13, 2015, 11:12 Updated : November 13, 2015, 14:08

Samgyetang for soul and mind[AJU NEWS CORP DB]

Samgyetang, Korean ginseng chicken soup, is one of the favorite dishes of Koreans. Hot, steaming delicious soup that features small chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng and jujube. It’s great for pumping energy into soul and body, especially when the weather starts to get cold. It is also popular during hot summer days for revitalization.

Some Korean dishes can be a challenge for foreigners, but samgyetang with thick chicken broth full of flavor will become favorites of all time for those who try it. The chicken needed to for cooking samgyetang is small. Using 45~50 days old chicken, it’s enough for a person to finish the whole dish even for a child.

Sometimes it’s hard to get handfuls of ginseng and jujube, which are very common in Korea, overseas. You can always get them in Korean supermarket nearby or, you can just use a bigger chicken with only garlic and rice. These ingredients are for “Baeksook”, which is samgyetang with bigger chickens without ginseng and jujube.

Ingredients (served for 2 people)
- Two chickens, approximately a kilogram each
- A half a cup of rinsed short grain rice (soak them in cold water for over an hour)
- Two ginseng roots (fresh or dried), washed
- A handful of garlic, peeled, washed and tips removed.
- Four dried jujubes, washed
- Whole spring onion, chopped down to lengths of five to seven centimeters.

Cooking methods
- Stuff the chicken with rice, ginseng, two jujubes and garlic (5~10 cloves)
- Place the stuffed chickens in a pot, add ten cups of water and spring onion.
- Cook over high heat until the water boil, turn it down to medium-high heat, leaving it for 30 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to medium, cook for another 40 minutes until the chicken and rice turns soft.
- Remove from the heat.

Serving
- Prepare two bowls, serve a chicken into each. Add broth.
- Add salt & black pepper for personal preferences.

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