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Dakbaeksuk
Poached whole chicken
닭백숙 (dakbaeksuk): whole chicken simmered for hours with garlic, jujubes and medicinal roots
Dakbaeksuk is a whole chicken simmered plain in a big pot, a dish Koreans eat on the boknal 'dog days' of midsummer and at valley restaurants in the mountains, where families sit on platforms by the stream. Unlike samgyetang it is not stuffed; the bird simmers with a fistful of garlic, a few jujubes and dried roots such as astragalus until it falls apart, and you eat the meat with salt and pepper and drink the milky broth. Suitable as part of a balanced diet: high in protein, with no flour or added sugar. About 420 kcal and 8 g carbohydrate per portion; restaurants finish with rice porridge in the broth, so keep that portion small or use brown rice. The usual mistake is boiling it fiercely, which makes the meat stringy; it should simmer gently. Chef's tip: skim the fat off the broth before serving; it tastes cleaner and lighter.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pot
- 3 ⅓ lb whole chickenexcess fat trimmed
- 10 ½ cups water
- 20 cloves garlicpeeled
- 3 slices dried astragalus root (hwanggi)optional
- 1 root dried ginsengoptional
- 1 ⅛ in fresh gingersliced
- 1 leekcut into 3 pieces
- 1 onionhalved
To serve
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 spring onionschopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Rinse the 3 ⅓ lb whole chicken inside and out and put it in a large pot with the 10 ½ cups water, 20 cloves garlic, 4 dried jujubes, 3 slices dried astragalus root (hwanggi), 1 root dried ginseng, 1 ⅛ in fresh ginger, 1 leek and 1 onion.
5 minStep 2: Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then cover and simmer gently for 80 minutes until the legs pull away easily and the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F.
80 minStep 3: Lift the chicken onto a platter. Skim the fat from the broth and discard the leek, onion and roots; keep the soft garlic.
5 minStep 4: Mix the 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper in a small dish. Pull the chicken into pieces, dip in the salt and pepper, and serve the broth in bowls with the garlic and 2 spring onions.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does dakbaeksuk take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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