Korean Stuffed Chicken with Fresh Ginseng Soup (SamGyeTang)

This soup reminds me of the wonderful visit I made to South Korea a few years ago. Our friends took us to a different restaurant each day. One of my favorites was this quaint restaurant, where we all sat down on the wooden floor around a low table. We were served with a variety of colorful dishes, piping hot ginseng soup and Makgeolli, a milky colored rice wine. I love the sweet taste of this wine, and I am quite smitten by it's unique taste and flavor. It reminds me of Chinese rice wine, that my mother used to make in Malaysia.Ginseng is a popular health food in Korea, and the Koreans eat ginseng and other herbs to recuperate strength and for youthful complexion. Ginseng has been used as medicine for thousand of years both in China and Korea, and Korea is one of the largest producer of ginseng.I bought some fresh ginseng roots in a Korean supermarket to make this nutritious soup. This soup calls for young chicken, preferably 100-day old hens. You can also use black silky chicken, or raise your own pullets. I used Cornish game hens for this recipe. Enjoy!

Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts/Sukjunamul

This is one of the many side dishes (banchan) that comes with your Korean meal. You can serve this warm or cold.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb mung bean sprouts
1 spring onion, chopped finely
¾ tsp. soysauce
1 tsp. sesame seed oil
½ tsp. garlic powder or fresh minced garlic
dash of pepper
1 Tbsp. sesame toasted sesame seeds
Method:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and blanched bean sprouts. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water. Remove and squeeze most of the water and put in a larger bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve warm or cold with rice.
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Stir Fried Korean Noodles/ChapJae

Recently I've noticed in my neighborhood there are quite a few Korean restaurants serving authentic Korean cuisine. Seems to me it is getting quite popular, not sure if it is after the popular TV drama, Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace). It is a period drama of a palace maid who became the palace chef and later becoming the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.
Anyway, this dish is sometimes serves as an accompaniment with your main course. ChapJae is a transparent noodle cook with meat, vegetables and a piquant sauce of garlic, soy sauce and sesame seed oil. The noodles are made of potato starch and mung bean so it tends to absorbs the other flavors of the other ingredients. The noodle can be easily purchase in Asian or Korean supermarkets. This is my version I've added other ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 packet sweet potato noodles (use only half)
¼ lb chicken, beef, pork, or prawn (optional)
2 shallots, sliced thinly
5 pips garlic, chopped finely
1/2 lb. baby bok choy, cut in strips
1 bag baby spinach (optional)
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and julienned
1 bunch scallions, chopped finely
8-10 dried shiitake mushrooms, presoaked and sliced thinly
3-4 pieces cloud ear fungus, presoaked and sliced thinly
1 cup firm tofu, cut in thin strips
cilantro for garnishing
Seasoning:
3 Tbsps. vegetable oil
3 Tbsps. sesame seed oil
3 Tbsps. light soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp. tsp. honey
2 Tbsps. sesame seed
salt and pepper
Method:

1. Squeeze out most of the water from the mushrooms and cut into fine strips. Do the same with the cloud ear fungus.

2. Wash and cut vegetables in 2" lengths and julienned bamboo shoots. 

3. In a large pot put enough water to boil over high heat. Cook half of the noodles according to the package instructions. The noodles should be soft and transparent when cooked. Rince in cold water a couple of times. Set aside.

4. In a small skillet, add some 1 tablespoon of oil and brown tofu on both sides. Keep aside.
5. In a large skillet or pot heat oil over medium heat and fry shallots and garlic till soft for about 2-5 minutes. Add in mushrooms and cloud ear fungus and fry for 10 minutes, adding about 2 tablespoon of warm water to let it simmer for another minute.

6. Add the rest of the mushroom, clood ears, tofu, vegetables and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
7. Mix sesame seed oil, soy sauce, and honey together. Season to taste. In another smaller saucepan, simmer the seasoning sauce on low. Add a little more salt or sugar if needed. Remove from heat.

8. To serve: Reheat noodles simply by running noodles in warm water and drain as it tends to stick together. Toss noodles into a larger serving bowl. Using a pair of kitchen scissor, cut noodles to shorten the length. Add in the vegetables followed by the seasonings. Using two spoons toss noodle and vegetables to mix. Season well to taste.
9. Toss in sesame seeds and garnish with cilantro. I love mine with Sriracha hot sauce.

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