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Korean

Samgyetang

Non-vegetarian

삼계탕 · samgyetang

Small whole chickens stuffed with sticky rice, garlic and jujubes and simmered into a gentle, milky broth, traditionally with ginseng — eaten to beat summer heat.

Samgyetang is a Korean soup from South Korea, ready in about 2 hours and made with chicken pieces, skin-on and glutinous rice. It serves 2 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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A serving of Samgye-tang
Representative photo. wizdata / Wikimedia Commons · CC0-1.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Rest
30 min
Total
2 h
Serves
2
Level
Intermediate
Calories
905

Ingredients

2 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Soak the glutinous rice (opens in a new tab) in water for 30 minutes, then drain.

    • 1 min

  2. Step 2

    Rinse the chickens inside and out, removing excess fat around the cavity. Stuff each with rice, a few garlic cloves (opens in a new tab) and a jujube, then cross the legs and tie or tuck them to close the cavity.

    • 10 min

    Food safety: Wash hands, boards and sink thoroughly after handling raw chicken.

  3. Step 3

    Put the chickens in a pot with the remaining garlic (opens in a new tab) and jujubes, the ginseng, ginger and water. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then cover and simmer gently.

  4. Step 4

    Check that the meat comes away from the bone easily and the rice inside is soft, then simmer 10 minutes more if needed.

    • 10 min

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C in the thickest part, and the stuffing must be hot throughout.

  5. Step 5

    Serve each chicken in a large bowl with plenty of broth, sprinkled with spring onion (opens in a new tab), with salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) on the side.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    South Korea · Well documentedMore food from South Korea
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Simmered, Boiled
    Taste
    mild, savoury, garlicky, earthy
    Diet
    No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Low-sodium
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    One-pot
    Cook more with
    Chicken pieces, skin-on · Glutinous rice · Garlic · Dried jujubes · Fresh ginger · Spring onion
    Techniques
    Boiling · Simmering · Stock making

    Allergens

    None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    905 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 1415 g · recipe makes 2

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 29%
    • Carbohydrate 21%
    • Fat 50%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy905 kcal64 kcal
    Protein65 g4.6 g
    Carbohydrate46.4 g3.3 g
    Net carbohydrate43.8 g3.1 g
    Sugars0.6 g0 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre2.6 g0.2 g
    Fat49.4 g3.5 g
    Saturated fat14.1 g1 g
    Trans fat0.3 g0 g
    Cholesterol244 mg17 mg
    Sodium1422 mg101 mg
    Salt equivalent3.6 g0.3 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    803 mg
    Calcium
    188 mg
    Iron
    4.6 mg
    Magnesium
    105 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    141 µg
    Vitamin C
    31 mg
    Vitamin D
    0.7 µg
    Vitamin B12
    1 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    33 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: ginseng root.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Tie the legs firmly so the rice doesn't escape into the broth.

    Common mistakes

    • Overstuffing the cavity — the rice swells and can burst out.
    • Boiling hard: a gentle simmer keeps the broth clear and the meat tender.

    Serve with

    • Serve with radish or cabbage kimchi.

    Storage

    • Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

    Reheating

    • Reheat gently until piping hot.

    History

    Eating samgyetang on the boknal days, the three hottest periods of the Korean summer, is a long-standing custom based on the idea of fighting heat with heat.

    Confidence: Well documented

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 1, 2, 3

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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