Samgyetang (Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup) — Nourishing Whole-Chicken Soup
Samgyetang is one of those deeply comforting Korean soups that makes sense year-round.
Traditionally enjoyed during the hottest days of summer, samgyetang (삼계탕) is a whole young chicken simmered with garlic, jujube, ginseng and other traditional asian ingredients. My version keeps the soul of this nourishing Korean chicken soup while skipping the premade / plastic lined herbal tea bag.
Steeping a single plastic or plastic-sealed tea bag in hot water releases roughly 11.6 billion microplastic and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into your cup. These tiny particles come from nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene mesh, or plastic-based paper bag sealants. [1, 2,3]
(Who wants micro-plastics in their healing soup?)
I like to know exactly what is going into the broth I serve those I love.
Instead of a mystery packet of herbs of unknown quality / a plastic-based tea bag steeping alongside the chicken, I use whole, recognizable ingredients (with health benefits in mind): astragalus root, jujube, garlic, lotus seeds, and black garlic
The result:
a deeply savory, silky chicken broth with subtle sweetness from jujubes and a gentle earthy flavor + immune & digestive system supporting benefits from the astragalus.
And whilst a hot bowl of samgyetang is traditionally associated with summer, there is absolutely no reason you can't make this comforting chicken soup whenever your family wants it.
Why We Love This Samgyetang
This is the kind of meal I love having in my blog because there comes a time when everyone needs something warm, nourishing and easy to digest… it’s a deeply warming hug in a bowl…
The whole chicken creates a rich broth, while garlic, jujube and traditional herbs add layers of flavor. This is actually called dak-baeksuk (clear chicken stew) if you choose to skip the rice like I do.
Anyways here’s my “SamGyeTang”
Only clean, whole-food ingredients and a pressure cooker.
OK to use a regular pot if you don’t have an IP.
Ingredients
1 young spring chicken, 4–5 lb, pasture-raised if possible
10 cloves organic white garlic
3 cloves organic black garlic
7 dried organic jujubes
15–20 g organic astragalus root (hwanggi)
8 cups filtered water
1 inch knob of ginger, peeled & sliced
15 g Lotus seeds (optional, but it calms the mind & digestion)
½–¾ cup glutinous rice, optional but traditional
Korean Ginseng, optional - avoid if breastfeeding
For Serving
Quality mineral-rich salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, optional
Sliced green onion, optional
*A Note About Ginseng
I keep ginseng optional because I want this recipe to work for the whole family.
If you are breastfeeding, leave ginseng out rather than making it a regular part of the recipe. Human safety data for ginseng during breastfeeding are limited, and LactMed notes that many sources recommend avoiding it during lactation.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501814/
The soup is still delicious & quite nutritious without it.
If using a regular pot, make sure it simmers for 1-1.5 hours to fully get the beneficial compounds and flavor of astragalus into the broth
How to Make Samgyetang in the Instant Pot
1. Prepare the chicken
Optional Step
(I skip this step because I want all of the nutrients from thepasture-raised bird)
Remove the giblets from the cavity and trim away any excess fat you don't want in the broth.
Pat the chicken dry.
If your chicken has a large fatty tail section, feel free to trim it as well.
2. Prepare the herbs
Rinse the astragalus, jujubes and lotus seeds under cool water.
If your astragalus pieces are particularly dusty or have visible debris, rinse them thoroughly.
You do not need a tea bag.
The whole ingredients can go directly into the pot.
3. Prepare the rice
If using rice, rinse it well and soak it for 2–3 hours.
Drain thoroughly.
4. Stuff the chicken
Place some of each ingredient garlic, jujubes, and drained glutinous rice inside the chicken cavity.
Don't overstuff it.
The rice expands as it cooks, so leave plenty of room for it to swell.
If you're skipping the rice, go ahead and add some garlics, and a few jujubes to the cavity and put the remaining ingredients directly into the pot.
5. Load the Instant Pot
Place the chicken breast-side up in the Instant Pot.
Add:
any remaining garlic
remaining black garlic
remaining jujubes
astragalus root
lotus seeds, if using
ginger, if using
*optional, ginseng
8 cups filtered water
The chicken does not need to be completely submerged.
6. Pressure cook
Secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to High Pressure for 60 minutes.
Allow the pressure to release naturally for about 15–20 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure.
7. Check the chicken
Carefully remove the chicken.
The meat should be extremely tender and easy to pull away from the bones.
For food safety, verify that the thickest parts of the chicken have reached at least 165°F / 74°C.
8. Strain the broth
Optional:
Remove the astragalus pieces and any larger herbal pieces from the broth.
Or just tell your fam to eat around it (:
If you prefer a very clean broth, strain the entire broth through a fine-mesh strainer.
Discard the woody astragalus pieces.
9. Season at the table
Taste the broth before adding salt.
I prefer to keep the broth relatively lightly seasoned and serve quality salt alongside the chicken.
Pull the chicken into bite-size pieces and dip each piece into a little salt before eating.
That simple combination of tender chicken + concentrated broth + a hit of salt is one of my favorite ways to eat samgyetang.
10. Serve warm
Ladle the hot broth into bowls with tender chicken, jujubes, black garlic pieces, and lotus seeds.
Top with green onion if desired.
Serve immediately. (It’s still delicious reheated the next day if there are any leftovers - I love to reserve some broth and make porridge with it for the next meal)
A Few Notes for the Best Samgyetang
Don't overdo the astragalus. For a 4–5 lb chicken, I use 15 g as my everyday family amount, go up to 20-25 g if you prefer a more pronounced/bold herbal flavor.
Don't skip the salt. The broth is intentionally mild, and seasoning at the table lets everyone adjust their own bowl. My kids love to dip, dip the chicken in their own salt bowl.
Don't use a plastic herbal tea bag. Choosing whole ingredients make it possible to see & know exactly what you're cooking with and the quality - remove the woody herbs (ex: astragalus) before serving.
Glutinous rice is optional. If you want the classic stuffed-chicken experience, use it. If you're primarily after a rich chicken broth person, leave it out like we do. It’s still amazing…
Can You Eat Samgyetang Outside of Summer?
Absolutely.
Although samgyetang is traditionally associated with the hottest days of the Korean summer, I love making it whenever we want a warm, nourishing chicken soup.
A pressure cooker also makes it much more practical for an ordinary weeknight.
The Simplest Version
If you don't have every ingredient, don't let that stop you.
At its heart, this is simply:
whole chicken + garlic + jujube + astragalus + water + time.
Everything else is basically optional / customizable.
And that's part of why I love this dish so much.
DM me if you have any questions ♡
