Samgyetang Chicken Soup With Ginseng Food

SAMGYETANG (GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP)

Steps:

• Rinse the rice, then cover it with water and soak for at least 2 hours, or overnight. At the same time, soak the ginseng (if using dried; there's no need to soak fresh) and the red dates, separately.
• When rice, dried ginseng and jujubes have finished soaking, drain and rinse them. Remove the giblets from the hens and rub about 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt all over each, inside the cavity and underneath the skin.
• Put a couple of spoonfuls of soaked rice into each cavity, then add the ginseng root, jujubes and garlic, and finish stuffing with more rice. Some cooks truss the birds, but the rice will expand during cooking and keep most of the stuffing inside the cavity.
• Place the two hens and any remaining rice in a pot just big enough to hold them both. Add the white parts of the scallions. Fill the pot with 8 cups water or more, if needed, to cover most of the chicken.
• Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, until the meat falls easily off the bone.
• Transfer each chicken to a large soup bowl and add the broth. Sprinkle chopped green scallions on top, and salt to taste at the table.

KOREAN CHICKEN AND GINGER SOUP

Steps:

• Put the cooked rice in a medium bowl. Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is toasted and golden brown, 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the garlic and sesame oil over the rice. Set the pot aside. Season the rice with 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir with a fork until combined, breaking up any lumps.
• Stuff the cavity of each hen with 1/2 cup of the rice mixture. Overlap the skin flaps to enclose the rice inside the hens, fold the legs closed and tie with kitchen twine.
• Place the hens breast-side down in the reserved pot and add the chicken broth, 2 cups water, shallots, ginger, scallion whites, smashed garlic cloves, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the foam that rises to the top. Partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then use a spatula and a spoon to gently turn the hens breast-side up, being careful not to break the skin (they will float). Continue to simmer, partially-covered, until the hen breasts are firm and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, make the sauces. Combine the soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the sesame oil, sesame seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in another small bowl and set aside.
• Using a slotted spoon and tongs, remove the hens from the liquid, place them on a cutting board and remove the kitchen twine. Slice along the top of the breastbone to cut each hen into 2 halves, keeping the rice inside the cavity. Strain the broth through a sieve. Place each hen half in a wide, shallow bowl (rice side down) and divide the soup among the bowls. Garnish the soup with scallion greens and serve with the sesame sauce, soy-vinegar sauce, kimchi and seaweed.