Korean Boiled Chicken Soup
Quick answer
- Total time
- 90 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Dak-baeksuk is a Korean whole-chicken soup simmered for over fifty minutes with whole garlic cloves, jujubes, green onion, and ginger in a large pot of water until the broth runs clear and deeply flavored.
Read more
Skimming fat and foam throughout the cooking process is essential for the signature clarity of the broth. Neglecting this step leaves the soup greasy and cloudy when reheated the next day. The jujubes contribute a subtle sweetness and the garlic, softened to near-paste after the long simmer, dissolves into the liquid to create a mellow depth that needs nothing more than salt and pepper to taste complete. The chicken is shredded against the grain for the softest possible texture, then returned to the hot broth so every bite of meat is saturated with the clean, aromatic stock. Unlike samgyetang, dak-baeksuk skips ginseng, making it simpler to prepare while remaining a staple restorative meal eaten during Korea's hottest summer days.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
Remove every bit of innards from the young whole chicken, then rinse the inside and outside under running water.
Check the neck area for blood or residue, and drain well so the broth starts clean.
- 2Control
Put 2.2 L water, 20 g ginger, half of the green onion, 12 whole garlic cloves, and 6 jujubes in a large pot.
Set it over high heat first so the aromatics begin to flavor the water.
- 3Control
When the water begins to boil, add the chicken and cook over high heat for 10 minutes.
As large foam rises, skim it right away so off flavors do not mix back into the broth.
- 4Control
Lower to medium-low and simmer gently for at least 40 minutes.
Carefully turn the chicken once so it remains evenly immersed in the broth.
- 5Control
During simmering, skim foam and surface fat several times to keep the broth clear for serving and reheating.
The chicken is done when the leg meat separates easily with chopsticks or tongs.
- 6Control
Remove the chicken and shred the meat against the grain.
Add the remaining green onion to the broth and simmer 5 minutes, then season with 1 tsp salt and black pepper and pour the hot broth over the chicken.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Dak-baeksuk steeps a whole chicken with garlic and jujubes into a clear, restorative fifty-minute broth.
- Finish cue
- The chicken is done when the leg meat separates easily with chopsticks or tongs.
- Avoid this
- As large foam rises, skim it right away so off flavors do not mix back into the broth.
- Storage and reheating
- Skimming fat well keeps the reheated broth cleaner in taste.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
90min, 8 ingredients
Category median
45min, 8 ingredients
Based on 310 recipes
Official cooking and safety guidance
-
Safe temperature
FoodSafety.gov sets 74°C as the minimum internal temperature for poultry. This recipe checks for at least 75°C in the thickest inner part of the thigh.
-
Storage and reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours and use them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat the center to 74°C.
Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety
Sources checked 2026-08-22
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