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Korean Chicken Ginseng Soup in a grey bowl with a blue dish of kimchi in the background.

Nourishing Korean Chicken (Ginseng) Soup

  • Author: Rachel Phipps
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 1-2 1x
  • Category: Lunch
  • Method: One Pot
  • Cuisine: Korean
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This light, nourishing, rice-stuffed Korean Chicken (Ginseng) Soup (Samgyetang) serves two as a light lunch, or  a one-pot solo supper, but is easily scaled up to serve a crowd.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 60g (2 oz) white rice (see note), soaked overnight
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • thumb size piece fresh ginger
  • 1 x Samgyetang kit 
  • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 x poussin 
  • cold water or fresh chicken stock (see note)
  • 2 large spring onions, for serving
  • toasted sesame oil, for serving
  • kimchee, for serving 

Instructions

  1. Peel the garlic cloves and thinly slice the ginger into coins – don’t worry about peeling it!
  2. Combine the soaked rice, 3 of the garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp of the sea salt and the dried dates from the samgyetang kit if you’re using whole aromatics rather than a sachet. 
  3. Stuff the rice filling into the cavity inside the poussin. To secure the filling, cross the legs of the chicken across the cavity entrance and tie them tightly together with a piece of kitchen string. If you don’t have any, un-dyed, plain white cotton from the sewing box or a hotel mending kit will do!
  4. Place the stuffed bird, remaining garlic cloves, ginger coins and either the remaining dried aromatics or the samgyetang sachet in a heavy bottomed casserole or lidded saucepan. Cover so the poussin is just covered with cold water and add the remaining 1 tsp of salt.
  5. Clap on the lid and set the pan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 1 hour. Don’t be tempted to flip over the bird over to make sure the rice gets cooked through – this will dry out your breast!
  6. Remove the poussin from the pan and season the broth to taste with a little more salt. 
  7. To serve, spoon a couple of ladles of the broth over the poussin either whole to serve one, or halved down the middle to serve two in a deep but shallow bowl. Trim and slice the spring onions before sprinkling them over the top along with a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Serve the kimchee on the side.