Samgyetang

Korean soup of a whole young chicken filled with garlic, rice, jujube, and ginseng

Samgyetang is Korean ginseng chicken soup. It’s a food commonly eaten during the summer, especially on the three days called ‘bok day’s.

Samgyetang
TypeGuk
Place of originKorea
Main ingredientsChicken, Korean ginseng

Samgyetang is made of a whole young chicken stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, jujube, garlic, and ginger. The chicken is “closed” shut and cooked in a soup. The richness of the broth depends on the style of the cook, as is the added ingredients that may be added. Some Samgyetang broths are cooked for hours. This broth is added to the chicken cooking separately to create a very rich soup. Other broths are lighter and clear.

Samgyetang is usually served with salt and pepper, which is put in a small separate dish to dip the meat. Some people like to add the seasoning directly into the soup. It is usually served with kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and some restaurants will offer regular kimchi as well.