Korean Chicken Noodle Soup, Dak Kalguksu!
Earlier this week was the official autumn beginning of 2019!
I love fall, the smell in the air, tone down colors, cool wind, brown leaves, pumpkin spice everything… all about fall!
When the weather gets cooling down, I start craving hot soup and I know I’m not the only one.
Chicken noodle soup is definitely the ultimate comfort food universally and all of the Asia countries have their own version of chicken noodle soup! And yes, I’m sharing Korean chicken noodle soup today!
Korea, we have a couple of different chicken soups, but this Dak Kalguksu is the one that comes up to my mind first!
Dak means chicken, Kalguksu means fresh hand-cut noodles.
Let’s get into Dak Kalguksu, Korean ultimate comfort food!
Combine chicken stock, ginger, green onions, and chicken bones from thighs in a large pot. Cover, bring it to boil over high heat, and keep hard boil for 30 minutes.
You could use chicken backbones from a grocery store but what I did is get 4 bone-in skin-on chicken things and debone them.
Deboning chicken thigh is super easier than you think, I explained all the details on my Chicken Teriyaki recipe post, so check it out!
Meanwhile, I cut up onion, potato, garlic, and green onions.
I also cook the chicken meat too while waiting on soup. Season skin-on chicken meat lightly with salt and pepper. Pan-fry the chicken on a dry pan, until the chicken is fully cooked and the chicken skin is nicely golden brown crispy and, about 3 to 4 minutes each side. Tap out excess chicken fat with a paper towel. Set aside and keep it warm – make sure it doesn’t get soggy!! I like to keep it skin side up in a 170°F oven with no cover. After 5 minutes, I turn off the oven it will keep it warm.
Remove all solid ingredients from the soup and add 3 cups water. Bring back to boil.
Add garlic, onion, and potato. Bring back to boil. Season the soup with fish sauce, Korean soup soy sauce, or use both and salt to your taste.
Shake off excess flour or starch on fresh Kalguksu noodles really well and add them into the soup. You can find fresh kalgusku noodles from Korean or Asian grocery stores in the refrigerator section. You can also use fresh linguini or fettuccine pasta, works perfectly as well! Cook the noodles by following the cooking time of the package you are using. Frequently stir.
Cut the crispy chicken into bite-size.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Slice the crispy chicken into bite-size and place it on top of the noodle soup. Garnish with some chopped green onions and black pepper.
Serve immediately with some kimchi or geotjeori, fresh kimchi!
Enjoy!
Korean Chicken Noodle Soup Dak Kalguksu
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 12 cups chicken stock
- 3 slices ginger
- 2 to 3 green onions, plus more for garnish
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, deboned and keep the bone and skin-on meat separately
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, Korean soup soy sauce or mixture of two
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 medium size onion, slice
- 1/2 lb potato, sliced into bite size
- 10 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 portions fresh kalguksu noodles, you can substitute to fresh pasta, such as linguini or fettuccine
- 2 green onions, chopped
- pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Combine chicken stock, ginger, green onions and chicken bones from thighs in a large pot. Cover, bring it to boil over high heat and keep hard boil for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, season skin-on chicken meat lightly with salt and pepper. Pan fry the chicken on a dry pan, until chickens are fully cooked and the chicken skin is nice golden brown crispy and, about 3 to 4 minutes each side. Set aside and keep it warm.
- Remove all solid ingredients form the soup and add 3 cups water. Bring back to boil. Add garlic, onion and potato. Season the soup with fish sauce, soy sauce or both and salt to your taste.
- Shake off excess flour or starch on fresh noodles really well and add into the soup. Cook the noodles by following the cooking time of the package you are using. Frequently stir.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Slice the crispy chicken into bite size and place on top of the noodle soup. Garnish with some chopped green onions and black pepper. Serve immediately with some kimchi or geotjeori, fresh kimchi! Enjoy!
- Cook Time: 40 mins
