Ginseng chicken soup, or samgyetang, is one of traditional Korean dishes, which optimally combines meat with vegetables. The main ingredients of this soup are chicken, ginseng, glutinous rice, chestnuts, jujubes, and garlic. People who are exposed to stress or cannot endure heat are advised to take a sufficient amount of high-quality protein and vitamin C.Samgyetang is an optimal dish for relieving stress as chicken is rich in high-quality protein and fat, while ginseng effectively relieves fatigue and depression, and even helps fight anemia and diabetes. Samgyetang is one of the most effective summer dishes as it blends the medicinal effects and nutritive elements of ginseng, glutinous rice, jujubes and chestnuts. And chicken is especially good for pregnant women and children because it is low-fat and easy to digest, and is richer in amino acids than beef.
Samgyetang is prepared by stuffing a young chicken with ginseng, glutinous rice, garlic, pine nuts, jujube and other ingredients, and boiling it for a long time. Ginseng used in samgyetang is a cure-all medicine whose effects have been proved by centuries. The scientific name of this sort of ginseng is Panax; it is effective in improving the heart functions.
Garlic used in samgyetang plays the role of an aphrodisiac; jujubes and chestnuts tone up the stomach and prevent anemia; pumpkin seeds improve hormone excretion and prevent parasites; adlay prevents diabetes and removes waste matters from the body, thus minimizing side-effects of various diseases; ginger protects the lungs; and black sesame seeds prevent arteriosclerosis. Well-cooked samgyetang has a soft taste, while its chewy meat and the combination of fragrances of medicinal stuffs are effective in stimulating appetite.
- How to cook:
Main ingredients: chicken, ginseng, jujubes, chestnuts, glutinous rice
Sub-ingredients (to be used in preparing the broth): pine nuts, walnuts, peanuts, Korean liquor, chicken feet, salt
1. Clean the chicken and soak in cold water to remove blood.
2. Prepare the broth.
3. Blend peanuts, pine seeds and walnuts in a mixer (1:0.5:0.5).
4. Stuff the chicken with raw glutinous rice, one jujube, one chestnut, and a ginseng root, and close the bottom of the chicken with a toothpick.
6. Cook the stuffed chicken in cold water.
7. When the chicken is half cooked, add milk vetch.
8. Boil for 40 min-1 hour more.
