Samgyetang - Korean Stuffed Chicken and Ginseng Soup

Korean Chicken and Ginseng Soup!
     This delicious, traditional Korean soup is so very healthy and it does have medicinal value!  This soup is usually served in the summer but it is great for chilly weather too.  It seems like every culture has a chicken soup for a cold remedy.  It is true that the soup broth of a whole chicken does help the body to fight off illness.  This Korean chicken soup is "number one" for fighting the common cold because of the medicinal ingredients.  The "hard to find" ingredients in this soup can easily be found in a good Chinese Market.
     Recipe:  Cook some plain sticky sushi rice for ten minutes.
     After the rice is cooked half way, place the rice in a strainer and rinse it with cold water to remove any excess starch.  Let the water drain from the rice.
     Place the rice in a bowl.
     Add sliced sections of a ginseng root.
     Add a sliced shallot.
     Add some sliced red date (jujube).
     Add some chopped fresh shelled gingko nut.
     Mix the stuffing ingredients together.
     Stuff a very small whole chicken or cornish game hen with the rice.
     Use a bamboo skewer to thread the stuffed chicken cavity shut so it is sealed.
     Boil enough water in a soup pot to cover the chicken.
     Add a few pinches of chopped ginger and garlic.
     Add a little splash of soy sauce.
     Add a tiny amount of Korean Hot Chili Sauce.
     Boil the broth for ten minutes.
     Strain the broth through a fine sieve and return the broth to the soup pot.
     Add the stuffed chicken to the broth.
     The broth should almost cover the chicken.
     Add a few whole garlic cloves.
     Add some very fine minced ginger.
     Add a couple of ginseng roots that are cut into sections.
     Add a few coarsly chopped gingko nuts.
     Add a few of dried red dates (jujube) or a few wolf berries.
     Bring the broth to a boil.
     Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for an hour till the chicken is fully cooked and the meat can easily be pulled from the bones with chopsticks.  (Add water while simmering if necessary.  Turn the chicken every once in a while.)
     Finally add a few drops of sesame oil.
     Set the stuffed cooked chicken in a large soup bowl and remove the bamboo skewer.
     Pour the broth into the soup bowl.
     Add a few large green onion white sections to the broth.
     Separate the yoke and white from one egg.
     Whisk the egg white and yoke separately in separate bowls.
     Heat a little bit of oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
     Pour the egg white on one side of the pan and the egg yoke on the other side of the pan.
     Cook the egg till it starts to become golden colored.
     Place the fried egg yoke and egg white on a cutting board.
     Slice the egg into thin strips.
     Lay the egg white and yoke strips over the chicken.
     Sprinkle some thin sliced green onion over the egg strips.
     The flavor of this great soup is amazing!  The slight hint of red date or wolf berry with the ginger, garlic and ginseng is excellent.  Gingko nut adds a nice flavor too.  Gingko is one of the ingredients in dish called Congee.  The ingredients in this soup have strong antioxidant properties as well as immune system boosters.  Ginseng is known for returning balance to ones system.  The sticky rice stuffing stays intact and is nicely flavored.  The chicken meat is easily pulled from the bones.  This healthy Korean soup is fun to eat or share with chopsticks and a spoon.  Yum!  ... Shawna