Restore your strength with Samgyetang (Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup)! Popular summer food in Korea
Today, I shared a Samgietang recipe. Samgietang (삼계탕, 蔘 鷄湯) refers to chicken ginseng soup and is a popular summer staple food.
Korean ancestors believed that you can increase your lost energy through this soup. So many Koreans visit Samgyetang restaurants in the summer, especially during the hottest three days of summer (also known as the three days of summer dogs). Also, the first comes next week – July 12 this year!
Although Samgietang is a popular summer food, I think it is the perfect soup even in winter (no other cool season) just because it is warm and gives you a pretty cool feel.
My family has really enjoyed this soup for the last few weeks and this really made me happy. I’ve never been a big fan of it, but I really like my homemade samgietang! It is very simple, healthy and tastes nutritious.
I hope you will try this recipe with your family soon. I hope you all like it and feel well!
PS Be sure to read my additional tips at the end of this recipe before you try it!
PPS If you like this recipe, you might want to try the ginseng tea and Korean Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.
Samgietang (Korean ginseng chicken soup), it works 3-4
Broth
1.2kg / 2.6kg whole chicken, if you can, try using cornish chicken as the recommended size of a samgietang chicken is about 400g / 0.9 pounds per feed. However, I could not find it, so I only used the smallest chicken I could find.
1.5 liters of water
Pushing
1/4 cup sweet rice (mochi rice or sticky rice), soaked in water for 2 hours (this can be done overnight and stored in the refrigerator)
Korean dry or fresh ginseng or American ginseng (I used 15 g of dried ginseng)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
5 dried pigeons
(Optional) 3 to 4 ginkgo nuts, peeled if not already
(Optional) 3-4 fresh or frozen chestnuts, peeled if not
Decorating & feeding
1 to 2 tbsp green onions, cut slightly
Fine sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
* 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 cup = 250 ml
How to make a samgietang (ginseng chicken soup)
1. Wash the chicken (including the well) thoroughly in cold water.
Sprinkle chicken with sweet rice, ginseng, garlic cloves, jujube, ginkgo nuts, and chestnut nuts. Cross the chicken legs and tie it with a cotton tie. Alternatively, you can make a slit on one side of the chicken thigh skin and insert another leg into it. (Sounds heavy but it does not!) This is a reduction of concentrated ingredients that fall
3. Pour water into a large pot and add the pressed chicken. Boil the pot over medium heat, covered for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until chicken is tender (about 30 minutes longer). Also make sure that the flavored rice is completely cooked. Remove any debris as you wish.
Transfer the chicken and soup to a serving bowl. Garnish with green onions and serve. Also use a small plate of salt and a mixture of black pepper (one plate per person). You can dip your chicken pieces in the sauce or add your own soup to your liking. (Finally, do not forget to work for Kimchi!)
Additional tips for making a samgietang at home
Finding ginseng fresh or dry can be quite a challenge, at least that was for me! I was “lucky” enough to get American dried ginseng. FYI, Korean giseng and American ginseng have different therapeutic benefits. So you might want to learn about the differences before you go shopping.
If you use dried ginseng root, soak overnight in water. I usually dip in 500ml / 2 cups of water and use this water in the broth. (So I would use 1 liter of pure water and 500 ml of ginseng water). But even after cooking, dried ginseng is not edible. It is very heavy and woody. So I would prefer fresh ginseng over dried ginseng if I have the option.
Although ginseng is hard to find, finding a “samgietang kit” at a Korean grocery store can be relatively easy. Some of the packages may contain ginseng but I have not yet received them. Instead, it will be supplemented with a variety of herbal ingredients (as shown below) such as the milk vech root. If you are using this kit, use it before step 3 and this is what you need to do. -> Boil water in a pot. When the water boils, add the herbal ingredients and cook over medium heat until the water turns light yellow / brown from the herbal ingredients. Take them out and throw them away. Add the chicken stuff and follow the remaining steps as above. Or follow the package instructions
You can remove whole chicken bones after cooking but before serving to make it easier for individuals. (This is how we feed it at home and this is usually my husband’s job
