Korean Chicken Noodle Soup (Dak-Kalguksu 닭칼국수)
On our honeymoon in Seoul, Jess and I ate a lot of incredible food. Street stalls, markets, late night snacks, the whole thing. But nothing hit quite like Kalguksu Alley in Namdaemun Market. It’s this tight little corridor where every spot is slinging bowls of hand cut noodles in steaming broth and the energy is absolute chaos in the best way. Ajummas clock you from a mile away, pull you in, and before you know it you’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers waiting for a stainless steel bowl of comfort to land in front of you.
In this video I recreate that bowl from scratch. Whole chicken simmered with ginger, scallions, garlic, onion, jujubes, and MSG until the broth is deeply savory and clean. The chicken gets shredded, the broth gets strained, and the hand cut noodles go in. It’s finished with scallions, fried tofu, gim, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and a swipe of gochujang on the rim just like we had it. This is simple food done right. Cozy, nostalgic, and one of the most memorable bites of the entire trip.
Namdaemun Market is one of Seoul's oldest and largest traditional markets, a sprawling, round the clock maze of vendors selling everything from street food and textiles to kitchenware and fresh produce that has been at the center of Korean commerce for over 600 years.. Pictured above is “Kalguksu Alley” within Namdaemun Market. The woman (second from the left with the dual peace signs) was the lady who reeled us in. She was a gem. Oh, and we also had a killer bowl of bibim naengmyeon but that’s for another video.
Just some more shots from Namdaemun Market. A seriously loaded up street cart, Mandu (Korean dumplings) and Tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes in a savory spicy sauce).
The life-cycle of a hand-cut noodle.
Dak-Kalguksu (Korean Chicken Noodle Soup)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the whole chicken in a large stockpot add ginger, scallions, onion, garlic, jujubes, dashima, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and MSG then fill with cold water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat. Remove the dashima.
- Once boiling, reduce to a low simmer. Skim any foam from the surface. Simmer gently for 60 to 75 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the broth is milky and aromatic.
- Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Keep hot.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones. Shred the meat into bite-sized strips and reserve for garnish.
- Cook kalguksu noodles in unsalted boiling water until just tender. Drain well. Set aside.
- To build each bowl, place noodles into a stainless steel bowl. Ladle over the strained hot broth.
- Garnish with coined Tokyo negi whites (daepa), sliced scallions, fried tofu, shredded chicken, sliced gim, toasted sesame seeds, and a light drizzle of sesame oil. Smear a spoonful of gochujang on the side of the bowl and munch with a side of your favorite kimchi.
- In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the oil and water and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead on a clean surface for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and very firm. It should feel tight and dense, not soft.
- Wrap tightly and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling much easier.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough to about 2 to 3 mm thick. Dust the top generously with flour so the noodles do not stick together.
- Fold the sheet loosely into thirds and slice into 3 to 4 mm wide strips using a sharp knife. Separate and toss lightly in flour.
- Cook immediately in boiling broth or salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until tender but still chewy. Serve hot in soup.
(Left) These massive scallions that I know as “Tokyo Negi” are called “daepa (대파)” in Korean. (Right) All the garnish and toppings that go into our bowl of Dak-Kalguksu.
Tbh, these have no business being on this page but I found them in my camera roll and thought they were worth posting. Made me laugh.
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