Samgyetang – Ginseng chicken soup

chicken soup

This ginseng and ginger flavoured soup is the perfect rainy-day soup. Chock full of good-for-you roots, vegetables and chicken, this fragrant dish is served up with a bowl of hot rice.

We live in rainy British Columbia so we eat soup when it is cold and wet. I like to make this recipe when cold and flu season has hit our family to help us all get better. Koreans, however, serve up this soup in the heat of summer for energy and stamina.  Whenever you choose to eat it, it is delicious.

In Korea, this dish comes with a small Cornish hen stuffed with all the spices, vegetables and rice in an individual bowl.  Besides the fact that my children would balk at the sight of a little pet chick in their bowl, making it in a big pot is more practical for a family. So here is the recipe for a soup with all the flavours of Samgyetang, without the crying kids.

The recipe:

The time it takes: prep time: 10 minutes    cook time: 40 minutes

The things you need:

  • 8 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp ginger minced
  • 2 ginseng roots (whole)
  • 1 lb chicken pieces
  • 3/4 c carrot thinly sliced carrot
  • 1/2 c zucchini
  • 1/2 onion thinly sliced
  • 4 cups cooked rice
  • salt (to taste)
  • pepper (to taste)
  • red pepper flakes (to taste)

The how to:

  • heat the oil in the bottom of a soup pan
  • saute the garlic and ginger until browned and fragrant
  • add chicken and brown
  • add the onion, zucchini and carrots
  • saute a few minutes
  • add chicken stock and washed ginseng and bring to a boil
  • allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes
  • taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
  • serve with a bowl of hot rice

Chickens

When Jaina and the chickens were little.


4 thoughts on “Samgyetang – Ginseng chicken soup

  1. Jaina and the chickens iook soooooooo cute!! Also, (ahhhh.) The soup sounds so nice and hot on this yucky, rainy ,and wet day.Oh, thank you for NOT putting a chicken !!!(or else I would NOT eat it)

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