Spicy Dak Maeuntang (Spicy Chicken Soup) in 10 Minutes
A clear, spicy soup dish made by simmering chicken and vegetables in kelp broth seasoned with soup soy sauce.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
Unlike regular dak-bokkeum-tang with its thicker, reduced sauce, this soup dish uses soup soy sauce and kelp broth to make a clean, generous broth. Blanching the chicken first removes impurities and blood to eliminate off-flavors, while crown daisy and perilla leaves bring out the refreshing flavor of a maeuntang. Spicy and warming, it makes a great accompaniment for drinks or a dinner side dish on chilly days.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Cook time
- 10 minprep not included
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Medium chicken700 g
- Potato1
- Onion1
- Carrot1/3
- Rice cakes1 handful
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
- Red chili pepper1
- Large green onion (daepa)1/2 stalks
- Ssukgat (crown daisy)1 handful
- Perilla leaves10 leaves
- Kelp broth3.5 cups (3 1/2 cups)
Seasoning
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)3 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)2 tbsp
- Soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang)2 tbsp
- Minced garlic2 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)2 tbsp
- Green plum syrup (maesil-cheong) (or corn syrup (mulyeot), oligosaccharide syrup (oligodang))2 tbsp
- Ground black pepper1/2 tsp
- Ginger juice1 tsp
- Salta little (for final seasoning)
- Trim the fat, cut into bite-sized pieces, and soak in cold water to draw out the blood. Draining the blood well helps remove unwanted chicken odors, and soaking it in milk for about 30 minutes is also helpful.
- You can prepare sweet potato glass noodles instead of rice cakes.
- For the kelp broth, steep a 10 cm square piece of dried kelp in 4 cups of cold water for 1 hour.
Steps
1. A medium-sized chicken weighs around 6~700g. Trim the fat, cut into bite-sized pieces, and
soak in cold water to draw out the blood.
Draining the blood well helps remove unwanted chicken odors, and soaking it in milk for about 30 minutes is also helpful.
2. Add 4 tbsp of soju to enough rolling boiling water to submerge the chicken and blanch it.
This is meant to remove grease and impurities, so only do it for about 2 minutes.
3. Rinse in clean water and drain in a strainer.
4. Prepare the additional ingredients alongside the chicken. It tastes great if you load it up with plenty of your favorite ingredients.
Cut the potato, carrot, and onion into large pieces, and diagonally slice the large green onion and chili peppers. You can prepare sweet potato glass noodles instead of rice cakes.
I also prepared a little bit of perilla leaves and crown daisy to give it that maeuntang flavor.
5. Add the chicken and all the seasoning ingredients, then let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors soak in.
6. Put the chicken into a pot, pour in the kelp broth, and once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes.
For the kelp broth, steep a 10 cm square piece of dried kelp in 4 cups of cold water for 1 hour.
7. Add the potato and carrot and simmer until the potato is cooked through...
8. Taste the broth, adjust with salt if it is too bland, then add the onion, rice cakes, large green onion, chili peppers, perilla leaves, and crown daisy, and simmer just a little longer until all the ingredients are cooked through and blended together.
Depending on your preference, you can also add perilla seed powder at the end and bring it to a boil.
Ppunwife's tips
- Depending on your preference, you can also add perilla seed powder at the end and bring it to a boil.
- This is simmered with more broth and kept clearer than the dak-bokkeum-tang (dak-doritang) with reduced sauce that we usually eat. Also, swapping regular soy sauce for soup soy sauce in the seasoning makes it slightly different.
FAQ
Are there any prep tips for removing the chicken's characteristic gamey odor?
Trim away the fat and soak the chicken in cold water to draw out the blood; soaking it in milk for about 30 minutes also helps. Blanching it briefly for 2 minutes in boiling water with soju to wash away fat and impurities keeps it clean.
How does this cooking method differ from regular dak-bokkeum-tang?
Seasoning with soup soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce keeps the broth clear and plentiful, while adding perilla leaves and crown daisy gives it a clean, refreshing flavor like a fish maeuntang.
Is it okay to add other noodles or mix-ins instead of rice cakes?
Depending on your preference, you can prepare sweet potato glass noodles instead of rice cakes.
What can I substitute if I don't have green plum syrup?
The ingredient notes indicate that it can be substituted with corn syrup or oligosaccharide syrup.
