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Simple Korean Chicken and Rice Soup (Samgyetang)

Course Soup
Cuisine Korean
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 8 Boneless chicken thighs
  • 20 cups water
  • 1.5 cups sweet rice, uncooked (not regular rice)
  • 4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 inch piece dried or fresh Korean Ginseng *note that I usually substitute fresh ginger, ~1" in diameter, minced or cut into smallish chunks if I don't have ginseng
  • 1 whole green onions, chopped (optional)
  • 4-6 jujube dates (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place chicken thighs in a large stock pot and season generously with salt and pepper. Add garlic, ginger and water and bring to vigorous boil on high heat and let boil for about 5 minutes. Simmer over medium-low heat for about an hour.
  2. Carefully take each piece of chicken out and coursely shred (ie leave some medium sized-pieces of chicken) with 2 forks. Return shredded chicken to simmering stock.
  3. Add uncooked sweet rice and continue simmering for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is softened/cooked and soup has thickened. My mom says to be sure to stir it up frequently as sweet rice can be a bit finicky and burn at the bottom of your pot.
  4. Serve in bowls, top with some spring onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Notes

This soup will taste bland right out of the pot unless you seasoned the heck out of those chicken thighs! ; ) The key is to season each serving to the individual's taste with salt and pepper, so be sure to have the salt and pepper shakers handy!