5.30.2007

Samgyetang

We tried this for the first time last week. There's a quiet little specialty restaurant just around the corner from our villa. Their wafer-thin floor pillows didn't do much for my bony rump.

Also known as Ginseng Chicken Soup, Samgyetang is a whole young chicken stuffed with rice, served in a ginseng broth. It's recognized by Koreans as more than just a nutritious dish and is seen as defense against sickness and source of energy and good health. Carmen was told about it by her co-teacher, so we decided to give it a try. Ordering was much more simple than we expected as it's the only thing served at the restaurant, and there's a huge picture of the meal on the wall meaning we could do the classic 'point and nod'.

As with most traditional meals in Korea, Samgyetang is served with several side dishes including kimchi (of course), soy peanuts, lettuce and peppers. Bring your game face because some of this stuff is spicy (that word has a new meaning for me since living here, so I don't use it lightly).
Directions: pull apart the chicken, mix with other ingredients in the soup, scoop into the side bowl and chow down.

3 comments:

W.R. Little said...

i'm sorry... but that all looks way too frightening for me.

Gary said...

I love samgyetang as it's the best meal during the cold winter and especially when you're sick. It's just a feel good meal that sticks to your bones.

wade little: It can be difficult to eat an entire chicken like that in its entirety, but it's not that bad. ;)

lisa said...

As your older sister who knows you order your Hunan Kung Pow with 1 pepper and that I can't cook with vegetables when you come over, I have a hard time believing you'd eat that!!! Show me pictures of you consuming the food on that table.