I have not encountered a Korean dish that’s as restrained as samgyetang. Samgyetang is a cornish game hen soup that features ginseng, usually enjoyed on the dog days of summer, when the heat is highest. It’s a whole thing. There’s nary a hot pepper found in this dish. Instead, the game hens are salted/peppered and are stuffed with sweet rice, said ginseng root, garlic, jujubes, chestnuts, and left to boil a long time, until the soup comes together.
In my waygook interpretation, the dish needs vegetables. I consulted with a few Koreans, and it’s not off limits to add oyster mushrooms, carrots and celery to the broth, as it cooks down, or even leeks instead of celery, which gives the broth a more buttery feel.
I also made the suggested sweet-and-sour dipping sauce, and I found that it gives the game hens the extra bit of flavor that they need. The sesame salt is also a classic, forgive me for actually running out of sesame seeds!
Ingredients
Method
- Wash the cornish game hens under cold water, inside and out, and be sure to remove the giblets. Pat dry, and rub salt and pepper on the outside.
- Stuff each cornish game hen with 1 ginseng root, 1/4c rice, 5 jujubes, 4 chestnuts, 1 tbsp garlic. Tie the legs if needed.
- In a large, heavy-bottom pot, put the game hens side-by-side, and fill with chicken broth until they're covered.
- Add carrots/celery/mushrooms to the broth.
- Bring the samgyetang to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 1 hour or more, until the ginseng root is soft and the veggies are tender.
- Serve the soup in large bowls piping hot, with a side of rice, and topped with green onions. One cornish game hen can feed 2 people.
- In the meantime, assemble the ingredients of the two dipping sauces.
- Serve the dipping sauces with the samgyetang.
