Can I use a regular chicken?

Yes. Use a small chicken (about 1.2 kg) for two to three people and simmer it about 15 minutes longer.

Can I use dried ginseng?

Yes — use one or two dried roots, or a ginseng tea packet sold for samgyetang in Korean grocery stores.

What do I eat it with?

Kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) or napa cabbage kimchi, and a small dish of salt and pepper for dipping the meat.

Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) Recipe

Samgyetang is a small whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, garlic and jujube and simmered with fresh ginseng until the meat falls from the bone. The broth is mild and milky, and you season it yourself at the table with salt and pepper.

📝 How to make samgyetang

Rinse the chickens inside and out, trim the tail and any excess fat, and pat dry.

Stuff each chicken about three-quarters full with soaked rice, 2–3 garlic cloves, a jujube and a chestnut.

Cross the legs and tie them with kitchen string, or cut a small slit in the thigh skin and tuck the other leg through it, so the stuffing stays in.

Put the chickens in a pot with the ginseng, the remaining garlic and jujubes and the ginger, and add water to cover.

Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then cover and simmer for 50–60 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and the rice is cooked.

Serve each chicken in a bowl with plenty of broth and green onion. Season at the table with salt and pepper.

💡 Tips for the best samgyetang

Do not salt the pot — everyone seasons their own bowl at the table.
A pressure cooker cuts the cooking time to about 25 minutes at high pressure.
Without ginseng the same dish is called dak-baeksuk, and it is just as comforting.

Fighting heat with heat

Koreans eat samgyetang on the three hottest days of summer (chobok, jungbok and malbok, together called boknal), following the idea of iyeol-chiyeol — "fighting heat with heat". Restaurants famous for samgyetang have long lines on those days.

A note on ginseng

Ginseng has active compounds and can interact with some medications, such as blood thinners. If that applies to you, leave it out or check with a doctor first.