Dak Gomtang: A Medicinal Korean Chicken Rice Soup

Winter is coming. Which means it’s time for dak gomtang. This Korean chicken soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food. And it’s so nutritious, so nourishing, that it’s practically medicinal.

It’s one of the first things I start cooking up when the weather starts to chill. Or just when someone in my family starts sneezing.

It may take a little longer to cook than my typical 15-minute recipes. But this recipe produces enough for 4 large servings, there’s very little “work” involved, and it is an extremely budget-friendly dish to top it all off.

What is Dak Gomtang?

Dak means chicken. Gomtang refers to a bone soup that’s made not only using bones, but also various meats and parts of beef or chicken to get a rich, hearty, and nutrient-dense broth.

Add in some rice and you get dak gomtang, a hearty Korean chicken rice soup that’s incredibly nourishing. It warms you from the inside out and that’s why it’s a staple for Koreans, especially during the winter months.

It’s also the perfect dish to make when you starting feeling ill. The softened rice is gentle on digestion and the nutritious chicken broth will give you new life.

Plus, it’s a cook once, eat thrice sort of dish. This recipe produces at least 4 servings, with plenty of broth leftover to whip up some more.

Dak gomtang Ingredients

Here’s a full list of ingredients, followed by what you’ll use them for:

• Whole chicken, 1 – 1.5kg (2.2 – 3.3 lbs)
• Onions
• Bay leaf
• Rice
• Garlic
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: Samgyetang kit
• Optional: 1/2 tbsp gukganjang

For the Broth

• 1 whole chicken, 1 – 1.5kg (2.2 – 3.3 lbs)
• 1 or 2 onions, cut in half
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: Samgyetang kit

You can also add a couple cloves of garlic, scallions, ginger, as well as whole black peppercorns. The more, the merrier for a flavorful broth. If you have the ingredients on hand, go for it. If not, that’s totally okay, too – it’s delicious with just the above.

For the Chicken

• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper

For the Rice

• 2 cups rice
• 7 cups of chicken broth (5 to cook with, 2 to serve)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp garlic
• Optional: 1/2 tbsp gukganjang

Tips for Making Dak Gomtang

I like big pots. Use a large pot that’s big enough to comfortably fit the whole chicken and then some. The bigger the pot, the more broth you’ll have to use. For this recipe, I filled my stock pot almost to the brim and wound up with around 13 cups of chicken broth.

No need to overdo it. The key to a great dak gomtang is the broth. But you don’t need to simmer it for hours and hours on end. Just about an hour is fine.

You can do longer as well, of course, but I’ve found that there isn’t a tremendous amount of difference. Here’s what the chicken broth looks like after being simmered for 1 hour vs 2 hours vs 3 hours:

As you can see, after 3 hours, it become more slightly more opaque and milky. But if you’re short on time, it’s not a big enough difference to matter.

Go pouch-less. The samgyetang kit is optional but I like to use it when I can. This particular one has no ginseng in it. Instead, it has a variety of roots and herbs that impart an earthy, woodsy flavor that deepens the taste of the chicken broth.

If you decide to use it, you can toss the whole packet in but I always open the packet and pour it out into the soup.

It may be a little persnickety of me but I don’t know if the pouch is bleached or not. And since I’ll be boiling it all for at least an hour, I don’t want anything leaching from the bag. The broth is drained through a colander afterwards so the bits and pieces don’t end up in your broth anyway.

How to Make Dak Gomtang

There are a couple parts to this dak gomtang recipe. It seems a lot at first but it’s a pretty hands off process. I’m going to divvy it into parts: broth, chicken, and rice.

Dak Gomtang Broth

Place the chicken in the pot. No need to wash or trim the chicken. Just make sure to remove the absorbent pad underneath the chicken.

Then put in the onions, bay leaf, and the samgyetang mix (if using).

Fill it up with water.

Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.

The Chicken

Take the chicken out and let it cool for around 5 to 10 minutes. Then take some tongs (or a knife and fork and pull the meat off the chicken.

Because I’ll be throwing the bones back in for a more flavorful broth, I like to set up a station like the one below with the cooked chicken in the middle, one bowl for the chicken meat, and another for the bones.

When the chicken has been stripped of meat, toss it back in the pot of chicken broth to boil for another 20 to 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash the rice and let it drain. While the rice is draining is the perfect time to prepare the chicken.

Note: The chicken is good enough as is. But if you want to add more flavor to the dish, you can shred the chicken into smaller pieces and then season it with 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

The Rice

At this point, you’ll want to drain the chicken broth so you have it ready to go.

Now it’s time to cook the rice.

Drizzle 1 tsp of sesame oil into a dry and heated pot. Add 1 tsp of garlic followed by the rice. Stir well, making sure the rice doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Stir fry the dry rice for around 3 to 5 minutes. This gives the individual grains a toasty flavor and the rice a chewier, yet less sticky texture.

Pour 5 cups of chicken broth into the rice and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes (the longer you leave it, the softer it gets).

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Or, add 1/2 tbsp of guk ganjang or 1/4 tbsp of regular soy sauce.

Assemble and Serve

When the rice is cooked to the texture you want, scoop it into a big bowl. Top it off with the shredded chicken. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

You can also add more chicken broth to make it more soup-y.

Enjoy immediately!