Dak-baeksuk (Whole Boiled Chicken Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 7 quart heavy pot with lid
• •Fine-mesh skimmer or wide ladle
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Large platter for resting the chicken

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the rice

   Rinse the short-grain rice in 4 or 5 changes of cold water, until the water is mostly clear, then soak it in fresh cold water for 30 minutes. Drain it before it goes into the broth. Rice for juk (porridge) needs this head start, or the outside breaks down before the center softens.

2. 2

   Trim the chicken

   Remove any giblet packet from the cavity. Trim off the tail, the yellow fat pockets near the opening, and any loose neck skin. Do not wash raw chicken under a running tap; pat the cavity with paper towel if it needs cleaning. Less loose fat gives a cleaner broth, and keeping raw chicken water out of the sink keeps the kitchen safer.

   A 1.3 to 1.5kg chicken is best here. A large roasting bird looks generous, then cooks unevenly and gives you dry breast before the legs are tender.
3. 3

   Start cold

   Put the chicken breast side up in a 6 to 7 quart heavy pot. Add the 12 cups cold water, garlic, jujubes, ginger, onion, scallion whites, and the optional ginseng or hwanggi if using. The water should cover the chicken by about 1 inch; add up to 2 cups more only if the bird sits high. Starting cold draws flavor out gently and keeps the broth from turning harsh.

4. 4

   Skim the boil

   Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, uncovered. For the first 10 minutes, skim off the gray foam and floating bits with a ladle or skimmer. Do not stir hard. You are clearing the broth, not washing the chicken in circles. When the surface calms, lower the heat.

5. 5

   Simmer quietly

   Partially cover the pot and simmer gently for 50 to 65 minutes, turning the chicken once after 30 minutes. The liquid should move in small, steady bubbles, never a rolling boil. A hard boil tears the skin, clouds the broth, and tightens the breast. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74C or 165F and the leg moves easily at the joint.

   If the breast rises above the broth while cooking, add 1 cup hot water. Cold water drops the simmer and makes the timing uneven.
6. 6

   Rest and strain

   Lift the chicken carefully to a large platter and let it rest 10 minutes. Strain the broth into a clean pot. Return the soft garlic cloves and jujubes if you like them at the table; discard the onion, scallion whites, ginger, and any woody herb pieces. Skim off excess fat, but leave about 1 tablespoon on the surface because that small richness belongs in the bowl.

7. 7

   Season lightly

   Measure the broth. If you have 9 to 10 cups, stir in 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. This is not a fully seasoned stew. The broth should taste quiet because the chicken will be dipped in salt at the table, and the leftover broth still has to become porridge. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway.

8. 8

   Mix the salt

   In a small dish, mix 2 teaspoons fine sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds. If your table likes gireum-jang (sesame oil dipping salt), put 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil in a second small dish and spoon a little of the salt mixture into it. This measured salt keeps each bite bright without making the whole pot briny.

9. 9

   Serve the chicken

   Cut or pull the chicken into serving pieces and place it in a wide bowl or return it to the pot. Ladle broth around it with the garlic cloves and jujubes, then scatter sliced scallions over the top. Eat the meat dipped in the salt mixture, spoon the broth between bites, and keep kimchi or kkakdugi beside it. The sharp crunch is there for a reason.

10. 10

    Cook the juk

    When the meat is mostly gone, measure 6 cups of broth into a clean pot and bring it to a gentle simmer. Add the drained soaked rice and cook 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until the grains bloom and the porridge thickens but still moves loosely from the spoon. Stir in any shredded chicken scraps and a few mashed garlic cloves from the pot. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and finish with sliced scallion.

    If you have less than 6 cups broth left, add water to reach 6 cups and add 1/8 teaspoon salt for each added cup. Write that down. Memory is a borrowed bowl.

Chef Tips

• •Buy a fresh young chicken, not an oversized roasting bird. The smaller bird gives tender legs, soft breast, and broth with enough body in one pot. If your market only has larger birds, cut it in half before simmering so it cooks evenly.
• •The optional ginseng or hwanggi should sit in the background. Dak-baeksuk is not a medicine cabinet. Garlic, jujube, and clean chicken broth are the spine, and the herbs only lean against it.
• •The safe shortcut is the vessel: after the first boil and skimming, an electric pressure cooker can cook the chicken on high pressure for 25 minutes with a 15 minute natural release. The broth will be a little cloudier, but the table will still eat well. The unsafe shortcut is skipping the skim and then wondering why the broth tastes muddy.
• •Serve salt at the table. If you salt the whole broth heavily, the meat tastes flat and the juk becomes too salty after it reduces. Restraint is not blandness; it lets the chicken taste like itself.

Advance Preparation

• •You can simmer the chicken 1 day ahead. Strain the broth, cool it quickly in shallow containers, and refrigerate the chicken covered with a little broth so it does not dry out. Reheat gently, not at a hard boil.
• •The rice can be rinsed and soaked up to 8 hours ahead if kept refrigerated. Drain it before adding to the broth.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Broth and chicken keep 3 days refrigerated, or the broth can be frozen for 2 months. Juk thickens as it sits; loosen it with broth or water when reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 800g)