dianeseattle
Member
found this recipe suggested as a flu-killing comfort food. there actually is science proving that chicken soup, as promulgated by the iconic Jewish mother, really DOES help ease the aches and shorten the duration of flu and colds. this recipe would be too much for one of us, but could be made for four meals, and the broth could be kicked up by adding more water or even another broth, like vegetable.
The second any of us got a cold, my mom would boil a single Cornish game hen, stuffed to the gills with rice, garlic, ginseng, and jujubes (or Chinese red dates). It was the perfect way to cook up a single serving of chicken soup for the ailing child. Koreans eat this piping hot soup, called samgyetang, in the height of summer to stay cool, believing, as Dave Kim writes in The New York Times, "that it replenishes nutrients, improves circulation and helps balance the body’s internal and external temperatures." But we always had it in the winter, especially during flu season, and it's certainly one of the most comforting meals I turn to even when I'm not sick. I decided to swap out the ginseng and jujubes for ginger, onion, and fried shallots, as they're more readily available and what I tend have lying around myself—which is also why I'm hesitant to call this a proper samgyetang but rather a samgyetang-inspired Cornish game hen soup. Magical healing powers still included. —Eric Kim
The second any of us got a cold, my mom would boil a single Cornish game hen, stuffed to the gills with rice, garlic, ginseng, and jujubes (or Chinese red dates). It was the perfect way to cook up a single serving of chicken soup for the ailing child. Koreans eat this piping hot soup, called samgyetang, in the height of summer to stay cool, believing, as Dave Kim writes in The New York Times, "that it replenishes nutrients, improves circulation and helps balance the body’s internal and external temperatures." But we always had it in the winter, especially during flu season, and it's certainly one of the most comforting meals I turn to even when I'm not sick. I decided to swap out the ginseng and jujubes for ginger, onion, and fried shallots, as they're more readily available and what I tend have lying around myself—which is also why I'm hesitant to call this a proper samgyetang but rather a samgyetang-inspired Cornish game hen soup. Magical healing powers still included. —Eric Kim
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 1 hour
- Serves 1
- 1/4 cup glutinous (sweet) rice, or any other short-grain white rice
- 1 Cornish game hen (about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger
- 1/4 small yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more to taste
- Water, as needed
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 1 small shallot)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro
