Korean Chicken Soup (Dakgomtang)

Name: Korean Chicken Soup (Dakgomtang)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 105 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 360 g short-grain white rice; 1.8 kg whole chicken; 15 ea garlic cloves; 1 ea medium onion; 20 g fresh ginger; 2 ea large green onions; 21 g salt; 15 ml toasted sesame oil; 30 ml soy sauce; 15 ml vinegar; 1 ea green chili pepper; 40 g onion; 25 g gochugaru; 30 ml fish sauce

Recipe from Maangchi · original post · full recipe on maangchi.com

A light, clean, slightly milky Korean chicken soup made with one whole chicken, served over rice with shredded breast meat, plus the dark meat on the side with a soy sauce relish and a spicy seasoning paste.

Serves 4 Prep 45 min Ready in 2 hr 30 minKid-friendly

Dairy freeChickenSoupAsian

Ingredients

short-grain white rice — cooked360 g
whole chicken1.8 kg
garlic cloves — 12 left whole and 3 thinly sliced15 ea
medium onion — halved1 ea
fresh ginger — peeled and minced20 g
large green onions2 ea
salt — 3 ½ tsp21 g
toasted sesame oil15 ml
soy sauce30 ml
vinegar15 ml
green chili pepper — chopped1 ea
onion — cut into small chunks

Cooking for a different diet?

Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.

Gluten-free
- 30 ml Tamari instead of soy sauce
Make the relish with tamari exactly as with soy sauce; nothing else changes.

Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.

Watch it on Instagram

What it costs, and where to buy it

Missing items

These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.

ColesBest choice
$36.91
for your meals
$54.73 at the till, incl. $17.82 of food you keep
$0.29 less on the food you use, over the 10 items both stores stock
No price at Coles:
- medium onion
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru
Aldi
$36.55
for your meals
$79.10 at the till, incl. $42.55 of food you keep
No price at Aldi:
- short-grain white rice
- medium onion
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru
Woolworths
$48.11
for your meals
$61.88 at the till, incl. $13.77 of food you keep
No price at Woolworths:
- short-grain white rice
- medium onion
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru

$9.23a serve

from $9.23 a serve at Coles · 11 of 14 ingredients priced

About $36.91 of ingredients used for 4 serves.

$54.73 at Coles · all 11 items

ColesBest choice

$36.91

missing 3 items

you'll pay $54.73 · 33% of it spare

Aldi

$36.55

missing 4 items

you'll pay $79.10 · 54% of it spare

Woolworths

$48.11

missing 4 items

you'll pay $61.88 · 22% of it spare

Buy at Coles$54.73

short-grain white rice

$0.18/100g

need 360 gColes White Long Grain Rice 2 kg$3.60

Coles$0.18/100g$3.60·Woolworths$0.18/100g$1.80·AldiN/A

whole chicken

$4.30/kg

need 1.8 kgColes RSPCA Approved Extra Large Whole Chicken approx. 2.4 kg$10.32closest match

Coles$4.30/kg$10.32·Aldi$3.99/kg$6.74·Woolworths$4.30/kg$9.46

garlic cloves

$1.33/ea

need 15 items5 × Coles Australian Garlic Prepack 3 pack$4.00closest match

Coles$1.33/ea$4.00·Aldi$1.00/ea$2.99·Woolworths$1.40/ea$4.20

fresh ginger

$53.00/kg

need 20 gGourmet Garden Ginger 80 g$4.20closest match

Coles$53.00/kg$4.20·Woolworths$33.00/kg$2.64·Aldi~$249.92/kg$29.99

large green onions

$3.00/ea

need 2 items2 × Coles 1 bunch 1 item$3.00

Coles$3.00/ea$3.00·Aldi$2.69/ea$2.69·Woolworths$3.00/ea$3.00

salt

$0.04/10g

need 21 gColes Simply Iodised Table Salt 500 g$2.00closest match

Coles$0.04/10g$2.00·Woolworths$0.02/10g$2.00·Aldi$0.04/10g$2.99

soy sauce

$1.00/100ml

need 30 mlAmoy Dark Soy Sauce 250 ml$2.50closest match

Coles$1.00/100ml$2.50·Aldi$0.36/100ml$1.79·Woolworths$0.38/100ml$1.90

vinegar

$0.090/100ml

need 15 mlColes Simply White Vinegar 2 L$1.80closest match

Coles$0.090/100ml$1.80·Aldi$0.088/100ml$1.75·Woolworths$0.180/100ml$1.80

green chili pepper

$28.00/kg

need 1 itemColes Green Chillies approx. 22g 1 item$0.62real special

Coles$28.00/kg$0.62·Aldi$44.00/kg$3.49·Woolworths$47.80/kg$11.95

onion

$4.20/kg

need 40 gColes Loose Brown Onions approx. 200 g$0.84

Coles$4.20/kg$0.84·Aldi$2.99/kg$2.99·Woolworths~$3.32/kg$0.63

fish sauce

$0.95/100ml

need 30 mlSquid Fish Sauce 300 ml$2.85closest match

Coles$0.95/100ml$2.85·Aldi$0.76/100ml$2.29·Woolworths$1.50/100ml$4.50

Not priced

medium onion · 1 item
toasted sesame oil · 15 ml
gochugaru · 25 g

Method

Cook the chicken: wash the chicken under cold running water and put it into a large, heavy pot (about 8 litres). Add 3.8 litres water, the 12 whole garlic cloves, the halved onion, 1 tablespoon of the ginger and 1 large green onion. Cover and cook for 30 minutes over medium-high heat until vigorously boiling.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 40 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken and cooked vegetables to a large tray with a slotted spoon.
Add 1 tablespoon salt to the broth and stir. Cover the pot to keep the broth hot. Discard the cooked onion, green onion and ginger, but save the cooked garlic.
Separate the meat from the bones: shred the breast meat into long strips along the grain and place it on the tray. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, the sesame oil and the reserved cooked garlic and gently toss to combine. Tear the darker meat from the thighs, drumsticks and wings into bite-sized pieces and arrange it on a serving plate. Discard the skin or serve it alongside, as you prefer.
Put the bones back into the pot, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes (up to 1 hour for a richer broth), until the broth turns a little milky. Add water if needed to keep about 2.4 to 2.9 litres of broth.
Meanwhile, make the soy sauce relish: combine the soy sauce, vinegar, green chili pepper, onion chunks and sliced garlic in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
Make the spicy seasoning paste: combine the gochugaru, 60 ml hot chicken broth from the pot, the fish sauce and the remaining 1 teaspoon ginger in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cotton cloth or cheesecloth into a large bowl to remove excess fat and impurities. Wash the pot and pour the strained broth back in.
Reheat the broth. Thinly slice the remaining large green onion. Divide the rice among 4 large bowls, top with the seasoned breast meat, ladle the hot broth over and top with the sliced green onion.
Serve with the plate of dark meat, the soy sauce relish, the spicy seasoning paste and ground black pepper on the side so everyone can season their soup to taste. Accompany with kimchi.