Korean Chicken and Neungi Mushroom Soup
Quick answer
Neungi-dak-gomtang is a Korean chicken soup elevated by neungi mushrooms, a wild variety prized for their intense, almost truffle-like fragrance.
What makes this special
- Neungi-dak-gomtang steeps wild mushrooms into chicken stock for a complex, woody aroma.
- 15 additional minutes of neungi infusion steeps complex mushroom aroma into chicken stock
- Two-stage process: 50-minute chicken simmer then strain, then mushroom infusion
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Trim the whole chicken, removing any blood spots or remaining innards, and t...
- 2 Rinse the 80 g neungi mushrooms only briefly, just enough to remove grit wit...
- 3 Put the blanched chicken in a pot with 2600 ml water, onion, 10 garlic cloves, and 20 g ginger.
Neungi-dak-gomtang is a Korean chicken soup elevated by neungi mushrooms, a wild variety prized for their intense, almost truffle-like fragrance. The chicken is blanched first to remove impurities, then simmered for fifty minutes with onion, garlic, and ginger to build a clear, rich stock. After straining, the torn chicken meat is returned to the pot along with the neungi mushrooms, which steep in the hot broth for fifteen minutes - long enough to release their deep, earthy perfume without losing its complexity. The mushroom's aroma permeates the entire liquid, transforming an already satisfying chicken soup into something far more layered and aromatic. Seasoning is kept to soup soy sauce and salt, ensuring nothing competes with the interplay between poultry richness and mushroom fragrance. In Korea, this soup is considered both nourishing and luxurious, often served during autumn when neungi mushrooms are freshly foraged.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Trim the whole chicken, removing any blood spots or remaining innards, and take off some skin if you want a lighter broth.
Blanch it in boiling water for 3 minutes, then rinse under cold water to wash away impurities.
- 2Prep
Rinse the 80 g neungi mushrooms only briefly, just enough to remove grit without washing away their aroma, then tear them into thick strips. Halve the onion and keep the garlic cloves and ginger pieces whole for a clean stock.
- 3Control
Put the blanched chicken in a pot with 2600 ml water, onion, 10 garlic cloves, and 20 g ginger.
Bring it up over medium heat, and skim off any foam that rises so the broth stays clear.
- 4Control
Once it boils, keep it at a steady medium simmer for 50 minutes.
Avoid a hard boil, which can cloud the stock, and check doneness when the leg meat begins to separate easily from the bone.
- 5Step
Lift out the chicken and let it cool just until safe to handle, then shred the meat along the grain.
Strain the broth to remove onion, garlic, ginger, and fine particles, then return the clear liquid to the pot.
- 6Finish
Add the shredded chicken and neungi mushrooms to the strained broth, then simmer over medium heat for only 15 minutes so the mushroom aroma stays distinct. Season with 2 tablespoons soup soy sauce and 1 teaspoon salt, then finish with green onion.
After the steps
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