Korean Chicken Soup (Dakgomtang)

Name: Korean Chicken Soup (Dakgomtang)
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 4 150 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

Shops to compare

List price at each shop

Missing items
These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.
Sainsbury's
· £21.39 of food
£31.82
33% spare
No price at Sainsbury's for:
- short-grain white rice
- medium onion
- salt
- gochugaru
MorrisonsBest choice
· £10.62 of food
£16.26
35% spare
No price at Morrisons for:
- short-grain white rice
- medium onion
- large green onions
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru
Aldi UK
· £7.67 of food
£9.38
18% spare
No price at Aldi UK for:
- short-grain white rice
- garlic cloves
- medium onion
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru
- fish sauce
Asda
· £7.75 of food
£13.43
42% spare
No price at Asda for:
- short-grain white rice
- garlic cloves
- medium onion
- toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru
- fish sauce
Tesco
· £13.25 of food
£18.67
29% spare
No price at Tesco for:
- short-grain white rice
- garlic cloves
- medium onion
- salt
- gochugaru
- fish sauce

£5.35a serve

from £5.35 a serve at Sainsbury's · 10 of 14 ingredients priced

About £21.39 of ingredients used for 4 serves.

£19.50 across 5 shops · 11 of 14 items priced · £4.32 more for bigger packs, 54% spare for later

Sainsbury's

£21.39

missing 4 items

you'll pay £31.82 · 33% of it spare

MorrisonsBest choice

£10.62

missing 5 items

you'll pay £16.26 · 35% of it spare

Aldi UK

£7.67

missing 6 items

you'll pay £9.38 · 18% of it spare

Asda

£7.75

missing 6 items

you'll pay £13.43 · 42% of it spare

Tesco

£13.25

missing 6 items

you'll pay £18.67 · 29% of it spare

Buy at Asda£1.49

fresh ginger

£5.00/kg

need 20 g2 × Asda Standard 10 g£0.05

Asda£5.00/kg£0.05·Tesco£5.60/kg£0.56·Aldi UK£7.92/kg£0.99·Sainsbury's£12.50/kg£1.25·Morrisons£1.55·OcadoN/A

salt

£1.09/kg

need 21 gAsda Table Salt 750 g£0.82

Asda£1.09/kg£0.82·Aldi UK£0.65·Morrisons£1.00·Sainsbury's£25.00/kg£2.25·Tesco£142.50/kg£2.85·OcadoN/A

soy sauce

£3.80/L

need 30 mlAsda Dark Soy Sauce 150 ml£0.57closest match

Asda£3.80/L£0.57·Aldi UK£0.55·Tesco£3.67/L£0.55·Morrisons£0.90·Sainsbury's£13.75/L£1.65·OcadoN/A

Buy at Sainsbury's£8.57

whole chicken

£2.29/kg

need 1.8 kg2 × Sainsbury's Standard 1.6 kg£3.66closest match

Sainsbury's£2.29/kg£3.66·Aldi UK£2.54/kg£4.69·Morrisons£5.29·Tesco£2.70/kg£5.66·Asda£3.05/kg£4.58·OcadoN/A

vinegar

£0.79/L

need 15 mlSainsbury's Malt Vinegar 568 ml£0.45

Sainsbury's£0.79/L£0.45·Asda£0.51/L£0.29·Aldi UK£0.35·Morrisons£0.35·Tesco£5.00/L£1.25·OcadoN/A

onion

£0.80/kg

need 40 gSainsbury's Onions 1 kg£0.80closest match

Sainsbury's£0.80/kg£0.80·Tesco£0.95/kg£0.11·Asda£3.00/kg£0.60·Aldi UK~£5.00/kg£0.95·Morrisons£0.95·OcadoN/A

Buy at Tesco£3.16

toasted sesame oil

£10.60/L

need 15 mlTesco Toasted Sesame Oil 250 ml£2.65

Tesco£10.60/L£2.65·Sainsbury's£11.00/L£2.75·Aldi UKN/A·AsdaN/A·MorrisonsN/A·OcadoN/A

green chili pepper

£8.50/kg

need 1 itemTesco Standard£0.51closest match 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (sold by weight)

Tesco£8.50/kg£0.51·Asda£8.83/kg£0.53·Aldi UK£0.55·Sainsbury's£8.46/kg£0.55·Morrisons£0.59·OcadoN/A

Buy at Morrisons£5.63

garlic cloves

£0.87

need 15 items4 × Morrisons Garlic Bulbs 4 Pack 4 per packclosest match

Morrisons£0.87·Sainsbury's£0.95/ea£0.95·Aldi UKN/A·TescoN/A·AsdaN/A·OcadoN/A

fish sauce

£2.15

need 30 mlSquid Brand Fish Sauce 725 mlclosest match

Morrisons£2.15·Sainsbury's£10.00/L£1.50·Aldi UKN/A·TescoN/A·AsdaN/A·OcadoN/A

Buy at Aldi UK£0.65

large green onions

£0.65

need 2 itemsNature's Pick Spring Onions 0.1kg 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (sold by weight)

Aldi UK£0.65·Sainsbury's£0.65/ea£0.65·Asda£0.68/ea£0.68·Tesco£3.69/ea£3.69·MorrisonsN/A·OcadoN/A

Not priced

short-grain white rice · 360 g
medium onion · 1 item
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.