Imjasu-tang (Chilled Sesame Chicken Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy pot, 5 to 6 liters
• •Fine sieve
• •Cheesecloth or cotton soup cloth
• •Blender or large mortar and pestle
• •Nonstick skillet for jidan
• •Chilled serving bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the chicken

   Put the chicken, water, onion, garlic, scallion whites, ginger, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large pot. Bring it just to a boil, then lower the heat so the surface moves gently. Skim the foam for the first 10 minutes. Simmer 45 to 55 minutes, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74C or 165F and the meat pulls cleanly from the bone.

   Do not boil the chicken hard. A rough boil makes cloudy broth and dry breast meat, and this soup has nowhere to hide either one.
2. 2

   Strain and chill

   Lift out the chicken and let it cool until you can handle it. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a bowl, discard the aromatics, and chill the broth until the fat firms on top, at least 2 hours. If you are cooking tonight, set the bowl over ice and stir, then refrigerate. Skim off every bit of fat you can; cold soup shows fat more plainly than hot soup.

3. 3

   Shred the meat

   Pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred it by hand into fine strips, about 5cm long. Keep the pieces narrow and even so they sit lightly in the broth. Measure out 2 cups shredded chicken for the soup; save the rest for rice porridge or muchim.

4. 4

   Salt the cucumber

   Toss the julienned cucumber with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and let it stand 10 minutes. Squeeze it gently, just enough to remove excess water without crushing it. This keeps the cucumber crisp and stops it from thinning the sesame broth.

5. 5

   Make egg garnish

   Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Beat each with a pinch of salt. Oil a nonstick skillet lightly, wipe out the excess, and cook thin yellow and white sheets over low heat. Let them cool, then cut into fine threads for jidan (egg garnish). Low heat matters because browned egg tastes heavy in a cold, pale soup.

6. 6

   Grind the sesame

   Put the toasted sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon pine nuts, and 2 cups cold chicken broth in a blender. Blend 2 full minutes, rest 30 seconds, then blend 1 minute more. The mixture should look milky and thick, not speckled. If using a mortar, grind the sesame first to a paste, then loosen it slowly with broth.

7. 7

   Strain the broth

   Pour the sesame mixture through a very fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth into a bowl. Press firmly with a spoon, then gather the cloth and squeeze until only a dry sesame meal remains. Stir in 2 more cups cold chicken broth, the soup soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and white pepper. Taste cold, then add salt 1/4 teaspoon at a time until it tastes nutty, savory, and clean.

   The rice vinegar should brighten the broth, not announce itself. If you taste vinegar first, you used too much.
8. 8

   Chill it hard

   Refrigerate the sesame broth until very cold, at least 1 hour. Stir before serving because finely ground sesame settles. If the broth thickens too much, loosen it with 2 to 4 tablespoons cold chicken broth. It should coat a spoon lightly and pour like thin cream.

9. 9

   Assemble the bowls

   Divide the shredded chicken among 4 chilled bowls. Ladle about 1 cup sesame broth into each bowl. Arrange cucumber, yellow and white jidan, pine nuts, and jujube slices on top. Serve immediately, cold enough that condensation beads on the bowl. This is not a soup to wait on the table.

Chef Tips

• •Use toasted white sesame seeds that smell nutty, not stale. Taste one before you begin. Rancid sesame will ruin the whole pot, and no amount of chicken can repair it.
• •A blender is a good modern tool here. A spice grinder can help if your blender is weak, but the broth must still be strained through cloth. Smoothness is not decoration in this dish; it is the technique.
• •Soup soy sauce gives a cleaner savory note than regular soy sauce. If you only have regular soy sauce, use 2 teaspoons instead of 1 tablespoon, then adjust the salt separately so the broth does not darken too much.
• •Keep the garnish restrained. Imjasu-tang should be pale, cool, and composed, with small touches of yellow egg, white egg, green cucumber, red jujube, and ivory pine nut. The five colors are care, not clutter.
• •Cook the month you're standing in. This soup belongs to deep summer and special tables. In cold weather, use the same chicken and broth for dak-gomtang instead, and save the sesame bowl for heat.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook and strain the chicken broth up to 2 days ahead. Chill it, skim the fat, and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •Shred the chicken 1 day ahead and store it in a covered container with 2 tablespoons broth so it does not dry out.
• •Make the sesame broth up to 8 hours ahead. Stir well before serving, and season again only after it is fully cold.
• •Cut the cucumber and jidan the same day you serve. The cucumber loses snap overnight, and jidan dries at the edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)