Samgyetang Varieties

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The chicken stew samgyetang is the go to dish for Koreans when they need to rejuvenate themselves from the hot and muddy weather. But these days restaurants around the country are constantly experimenting with new varieties of samgyetang. Let’s check it out.

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Soft chicken meat and white savory soup boiled with various medicinal herbs. This is Korea's leading health dish samgyetang. These days the traditional chicken stew is transforming, combined with a variety of ingredients. Here is a samgyetang restaurant in Seoul. First of all, the green soup is a surprise to everyone. This is mugwort samgyetang. The herb mugworts help with blood circulation and keep you warm. Shall we peep into the kitchen? It appears to be little more than an ordinary samgyetang recipe. However the highlight of this dish is a special sauce.

[Soundbite] Jeong Moo-gwan(Runs Samgyetang(Chicken Stew) Restaurant) : "The sauce is made by grinding Perilla seeds, Chinese yam and 6 different grains and fruits."

The sauce is made from this dark green, thick mugwort concentration. One ladle of the sauce is mixed with the broth for a good boil and voila, green mugwort chicken soup is ready for the customers.

[Soundbite] Kim Seon-hwa(Seoul Resident) : "I like the different taste as well as the mugwort aroma."

Chilled chicken soup called Chogyetang is also popular in the summer. But this dish has also undergone a makeover. At a glance, it looks like a salad. Chogyetang is filled with colorful veggies and even blueberries. The chicken is hidden beneath. Give it a good mix before eating. So how is chogyetang made? First make the broth. Herbs, vegetables and chicken are boiled for 9 long hours. This broth is matured in the fridge for 4 days, which is an essential process. Then whip up a sweet and sour marinade to which the matured broth is added and this then goes into the freezer. Super refreshing icy broth is made this way. Then slice up some crunchy veggies. The greens, chicken, icy broth and sauce all go into the bowl to make delicious chogyetang. The final touch is some blueberries as topping. Noodles can be thrown in at the very end for an even tastier experience.

[Soundbite] Jeong Wan-nam(Gyeonggi-do Prov. Resident) : "It's my first time trying and I love the texture and sweet and sour taste."

This time we head to a pasta restaurant in Chuncheon, Gangwondo Province where we hear samgyetang is also served. Can we call it samgyetang Italian style? It's what's called 'samgye pasta' in which diners enjoy a piece of chicken for every roll of noodles.

[Soundbite] Baek Chang-hee(Runs Pasta Restaurant) : "Many people seek out health dishes in the summer so we thought of giving a twist to samgyetang to create a pasta dish."

This samgyetang variation is quite different from the original. Only savory breast meat is used in this dish. The chicken breast is sealed up and cooked at a lower temperature for about 6 hours. This way, the meat becomes softer. Now just pull apart the extremely tender meat. The chicken is then panfried with other ingredients. Some broth and noodles are also added. Make sure all the ingredients get a generous coating of the delicious marinade. It's time to plate. The chicken and a ginseng root are placed over the noodles. Samgye pasta is ready to serve!

[Soundbite] Park Chan-hyeok(Seoul Resident) : "Pasta to me is greasy but this dish married with samgyetang is really savory and fresh. I like it."

Try these unique samgyetang dishes incorporating different ingredients and recipes and stay healthy this summer.