Dakgaejang (Spicy Chicken Soup) with Bracken Fern

Ingredients

• Cut off the tail part of the whole chicken, remove the fat under the skin, split it in half, and run your fingers along the rib bones to clear away any clotted blood.
• You can also add taro stems, mushrooms, or boiled napa cabbage greens (ugeoji).

Steps

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   1. After cutting off the tail and removing the fat under the skin from one large whole chicken (1.2 kg), it weighs around 1 kg.

   To clean the inside thoroughly, split it in half and run your fingers along the rib bones to clear away any clotted blood.

   Cleaning it thoroughly like this is the first way to eliminate off-odors.

   2. The second way to remove gamey odors is to boil it with aromatics.

   I prepared whole black peppercorns, onion, and ginger as broth ingredients.

   You do not need to chop them too finely since they will simmer gently with the chicken for a long time.

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   3. Add the chicken, onion, whole black peppercorns, and ginger to 15 cups of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer gently.

   4. If you simmer it for about 30 minutes, the chicken will be cooked all the way through and the broth will be nicely infused.

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   5. While the meat cooks, prepare the secondary ingredients. Thinly slice the Korean radish into bite-sized squares for a refreshing broth,

   and prepare about two handfuls of soaked and boiled bracken fern.

   6. For the large green onion, I mostly used from the roots up to the green parts that do not release thick sap, split them in half,

   and cut them into bite-sized lengths.

   If you want to use all of the green leaves as well, just blanch them once in boiling water before adding them to the soup.

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   7. Put the mung bean sprouts into boiling water, blanch them very briefly, and...

   8. Drain them in a strainer.

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    9. When the chicken is fully cooked, discard the aromatics boiled with it, strain and reserve the broth,

    remove the chicken bones, and shred the meat into bite-sized strips.

    10. Add the shredded chicken, Korean radish, bracken fern, mung bean sprouts, and large green onion, along with the seasoning ingredients:

    6 tbsp gochugaru, 5 tbsp soup soy sauce, 3 tbsp minced garlic, and 3 tbsp mirin, then mix everything together evenly.

    Do not add the salt and ground black pepper at this point, as you will taste and adjust the seasoning at the end.

    I was sad to leave out taro stems because I did not have any, but adding taro stems is great, too.

    Mushrooms or boiled napa cabbage greens (ugeoji) are also good options.

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    11. Add cooking oil and gochugaru to a pot and stir-fry carefully without burning to make chili oil.

    12. Add the seasoned ingredients from step 10 and stir them well, then...

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    13. Pour in all of the chicken broth and turn the heat to high.

    Dissolving a little doenjang into the broth is also a good method to supplement seasoning and eliminate meat odors,

    but I omitted it this time because the gamey smells seemed thoroughly removed during boiling.

    If you add doenjang, use about 1 tbsp and reduce the soup soy sauce by that same amount.

    14. Once the soup begins to boil, lower the heat to low and simmer gently.

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    15. After simmering for about 20 minutes, all the ingredients will be tender and well-cooked,

    and their flavors will be deeply infused into the chicken broth.

    Taste the soup at this point and add the salt. Also add a little ground black pepper.

    16. Simmer just a little longer until the salt dissolves into the soup, and it is done.

    Depending on personal preference, some people stir in beaten egg at the end, but our family skips the egg wash.

Ppunwife's tips

• Cleaning the chicken thoroughly by splitting it in half and running your fingers along the rib bones to clear away clotted blood is the first way to eliminate off-odors.
• If you want to use all of the green parts of the large green onion, blanch them once in boiling water before adding them to the soup.
• When adding doenjang, use about 1 tbsp and reduce the amount of soup soy sauce by the same amount of doenjang used.

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