Rich and Tender Dak Gomtang (Chicken Soup)
A nourishing summer chicken soup made by re-simmering stripped chicken bones for a rich broth and topping it with plenty of tender meat.
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 →
Boil a whole chicken until tender, strip the meat, and simmer the bones once more to create a clear, deep broth. With seasoned tender chicken meat, it is easy for the whole family to enjoy, and pairing it with a spicy sauce gives it a refreshing finish.
- Servings
- 3–4 servings
- Cook time
- 45 minprep not included
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken1 whole, 1.1 kg
- Onion2 (small)
- Peeled garlic10 cloves
- Large green onion (daepa)1 stalk
- Ginger1 knob
- Whole black peppercorns1 tbsp
- Water15 cups
Garnish
- Dried jujubes
- Fresh ginseng (susam)
- Large green onion (daepa)
Chicken seasoning
- Salt1 tsp
- Ground black peppera little
Seasoning sauce
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)2 tbsp
- Soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang)1 tbsp
- Gin (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- It is completely fine to leave out one or two of the aromatics used for boiling the chicken, or you can add bay leaves, milkvetch root (hwanggi), or 1 pack of herbal broth ingredients.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Here is 1 whole chicken, 1.1kg.
These are the aromatic ingredients for boiling the chicken: peeled garlic, onion, large green onion, ginger, and whole black peppercorns.
It is fine to skip one or two of these, and you can also add bay leaves, milkvetch root (hwanggi), or 1 pack of herbal broth ingredients.
Prepare the large green onion, dried jujubes, and fresh ginseng to use as garnish at the end, and chop them finely.
Make the seasoning sauce
This sauce makes the dak gomtang refreshing and cuts any richness.
Combine 2 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soup soy sauce, 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp minced garlic, and 1 tbsp mirin, mixing well so the flavors blend.
If the sauce feels too thick, you can adjust the consistency later by adding a little chicken broth.
Clean the chicken
Cut off the tail, which causes gaminess, along with all the yellow fat next to it.
There is also a lot of fat under the skin around the neck, so trim all of it off cleanly.
Once trimmed, wash thoroughly under running water, using your fingers to scrape away any dark red blood clots caught between the ribs.
Boil the chicken
In a large pot, add the chicken, onion, peeled garlic, large green onion, ginger, whole black peppercorns, and 15 cups of water, then bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
I added a generous amount of water because the stripped bones will also be simmered later.
Skim off the dirty foam and fat frequently, and simmer gently for over 30 minutes.
Once the meat is tender and cooked through, scoop out and discard all the solids, keeping only the broth.
Strip the chicken meat
Separate the meat from the bones, and season the stripped meat with 1 tsp salt and a little ground black pepper.
Add the chicken bones back into the chicken broth and boil for over 15 minutes to extract a rich, deep soup.
Finish the dak gomtang
In an earthenware pot or a shallow hot pot, add the chicken broth, fresh ginseng, and dried jujubes, then simmer briefly until the ginseng and jujubes turn soft.
Add a generous amount of chicken meat...
Finish by adding plenty of large green onion and cooking it just briefly, and it is done.
You can serve it in a large earthenware pot to share,
You can also serve 1 earthenware pot per 1 person.
It is also delicious served cleanly seasoned with just salt without dissolving the seasoning sauce.
Kids eat it very well this way, too.
Stir in the sauce, take a spoonful, and put it in your mouth—your head will stay buried in the bowl for a while. Haha.
Wow, it is so rich, aromatic, and refreshing, and the scent of the fresh ginseng added at the end... in any case, the flavor of the dak gomtang is incredible.
All the effort of stripping the bones and boiling them down seems to melt right into this single bowl.
Beat the heat and stay healthy this summer with dak gomtang, which is easily good enough to rival baeksuk, the ultimate hot-weather tonic food.
Ppunwife's tips
- If the sauce feels too thick, you can adjust the consistency later by adding a little chicken broth.
- Cut off the tail, which causes gaminess, along with all the yellow fat next to it.
- There is also a lot of fat under the skin around the neck, so trim all of it off cleanly.
- Once trimmed, wash thoroughly under running water, using your fingers to scrape away any dark red blood clots caught between the ribs.
- Skim off the dirty foam and fat frequently, and simmer gently for over 30 minutes.
- It is also delicious served plainly without the spicy sauce, seasoned only with salt. Kids eat it very well this way, too.
FAQ
How should I clean the chicken to reduce any gaminess?
Trim off the tail and the yellow fat around the neck, and thoroughly wash away any dark red blood clots between the ribs.
What should I do if I am missing some of the aromatics for boiling the chicken?
It is perfectly fine to leave out one or two of the basic aromatics, or you can add bay leaves or an herbal broth pack with milkvetch root (hwanggi).
How do I adjust the seasoning sauce if it is too thick?
If the sauce feels too thick, simply stir in a little of the prepared chicken broth to reach the right consistency.
