30-Minute Dak Gomtang: Easy Korean Chicken Soup

Dak Gomtang (Korean Chicken Soup) is the perfect dish when you’re craving something warm and comforting. It’s a rich Korean chicken soup especially loved on cold days. The best part? Unlike Samgyetang, which requires many ingredients and a long simmering time, you can make this authentic Korean dish in just 30 minutes using simple ingredients. Ready to make it together?

What is Dak Gomtang? 닭곰탕

How Dak Gomtang Differs from Samgyetang

Dak gomtang and samgyetang are both Korean chicken soups, but their flavors are completely different. Samgyetang includes glutinous rice, ginseng, jujube, garlic, chestnuts, and more, and it simmers for about 2 hours, giving it a deep herbal aroma. Dak gomtang is made with simple ingredients like green onion, garlic, and onion, and it takes only 30 minutes to cook with a much clearer broth. While dak gomtang tastes clean and light, samgyetang has a deeper, richer, herbal chicken flavor. If you don’t live in Korea, it may be difficult to find ingredients like ginseng or dried jujube for samgyetang and especially glutinous rice.

That’s why dak gomtang, which uses ingredients you can easily find in supermarkets around the world, is a much easier Korean chicken soup to make at home.

Why You’ll Love This Korean Chicken Soup Recipe

• Simple ingredients: You can create a deep chicken broth using basic ingredients like chicken, green onion, onion, and garlic. All the ingredients are easy to find anywhere in the world. No herbal ingredients needed.
• 30-minute super easy recipe: No special cooking skills required. Just add everything to the pot and boil for 30 minutes.
• Healthy: The broth is light and non greasy, and it’s packed with protein, making it a healthy Korean soup.

DakGomtang Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 5 chicken drumsticks (600g): You can use other parts of the chicken, but Koreans prefer the soft, juicy texture of drumsticks, so I used only drumsticks. Using a whole chicken is also perfectly fine.

• 3 napa cabbage leaves: When you add napa cabbage, it releases a natural sweetness that balances the savory chicken fat, making the broth much deeper in flavor than expected. Since it’s a vegetable, it also increases the overall nutrition.

• 1 stalk green onion, 1 onion, 8 garlic cloves: Just like in almost every Korean soup, green onion, garlic, and onion go into this one as well.
• 30 ml white wine: Great for removing any strong bad chicken smell when blanching. If you don’t have white wine, you can use soju, cheongju, or cooking wine.
• 1 tsp salt: Adding more tuna sauce can make the broth cloudy, so use salt to adjust the seasoning.
• 2 pinches black pepper
• 1L water: The water will reduce as it boils. If the broth becomes too salty, simply add more water.

Secret Ingredient

• 2 tbsp tuna sauce (Chamchiek): If you want to recreate the flavor of dishes Korean moms make, use this instead of regular Korean fish sauce or Korean soup soy sauce (guk ganjang). It has less of a fishy smell than regular fish sauce and adds deeper umami—one of Korean moms’ secret kitchen items.
  • Tuna Sauce (Chamcie aek) on Amazon

• 1/2 tsp MSG: Many restaurants use it for extra umami. Some Korean moms like to hide the fact that they use it, but there’s no evidence that MSG is unhealthy. It’s a secret kitchen weapon that instantly boosts flavor.

Dipping Sauce (Magic Sauce)

You can dip the chicken in simple salt and pepper, but if you want it even more delicious, try this dipping sauce. It uses chicken broth, so the seasoning tastes incredibly savory and flavorful. This is truly the taste of Korea.

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp plum extract
• 2 tbsp chicken broth
• 1.5 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)

Ingredient Substitutions (for non Korean kitchens)

• Tuna sauce: Tuna sauce is a trendy ingredient used in many Korean dishes because it has less fishy smell and adds a deep umami flavor, so I highly recommend buying it. If you don’t have it, you can substitute Korean anchovy fish sauce or Korean soup soy sauce (guk ganjang).
• Napa cabbage: You can omit it, or replace it with one small potato cut into small pieces.
• Plum extract: Plum extract adds aroma and a pleasant tanginess to the dipping sauce, making it truly delicious, but if you don’t have it, sugar or honey works as a substitute.

Dak Gomtang Recipe (Ready in 30 Minutes)

Step by Step Instructions

• Cut the green onions into large pieces and slice the onion in half.
• Cut the napa cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
• Add the chicken drumsticks to boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes. You can add white wine or soju to help remove any odor.

• Drain the water, then place the blanched chicken, green onions, onion, and whole garlic cloves into a pot. Add water.
• Season with salt, MSG, and black pepper.
• Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, cover with a lid and reduce to medium-low heat. After 15 minutes, add the cabbage and simmer for another 15 minutes.

• Remove the onion and green onions from the pot.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt or water to your preference.
• Dipping sauce: Mix soy sauce, vinegar, plum extract, chicken broth, and gochugaru together.

Cooking Tips for the Best Korean Chicken Soup

• Remove any chicken smell: Blanch the chicken once, discard the water, and cook it again in fresh water. Adding white wine or cooking wine during blanching is even more effective for removing odors.
• Medium low heat: When simmering the chicken, keep the lid on and cook it over medium-low heat. This keeps the meat juicy and tender.
• Dipping sauce: Add a bit of the chicken broth to the dipping sauce for an extra Korean-style flavor boost.

How to Adjust the Saltiness and Broth Strength

Taste the soup at the very end. If it’s not salty enough, add a bit more salt. If it’s too salty, add more water. Adjust it to your preference.

Essential Kitchen Tool for Korean Chicken Soup

Deep Pot
To fully submerge and simmer the chicken, a deep pot is essential. I used a shallow pot for filming, but using a deep pot in real cooking allows the chicken fat to melt properly, creating a richer and more flavorful broth.

• Deep Pot on Amazon

Ttukbaegi (Korean Earthenware Pot)

To enjoy this chicken soup warm throughout the meal, serving it in a ttukbaegi is recommended. If the soup cools, the chicken fat solidifies and, if you have a sensitive palate, it may taste slightly off. Keeping it warm allows you to fully enjoy the rich, flavorful broth.

• Ttukbaegi on Amazon

Other Tools

• Ladle
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Tongs

How to Eat Dak Gomtang

• Place the chicken and broth together in a bowl. The original recipe separates the bones and shreds the meat, but you really don’t need to do that. No shredding needed. Prepare a bowl of rice on the side.
• For dipping the chicken, prepare a simple salt-and-pepper mix, as well as the spicy dipping sauce I shared today.
• Dip the chicken into the dipping sauce, and eat the rice together with the broth. If you mix the rice directly into the soup, it tastes even better.

Other Korean Chicken Recipes

Ban Ban Korean Fried Chicken (Half Yangnyeom, Half Original)

“Ban Ban(반반)” means half and half, half yangnyeom chicken and half classic crispy fried chicken. It’s the most popular way Koreans order chicken. In this recipe, you’ll learn how to recreate authentic Korean yangnyeom sauce and make restaurant style Korean fried chicken easily at home.

Cheese Dakgalbi

If you’ve traveled to Korea, you’ve probably tried cheese dakgalbi — spicy stir-fried chicken dipped in gooey melted cheese. The good news? It’s surprisingly easy to make at home. Here’s how to recreate that iconic Seoul street-style cheese dakgalbi flavor in your own kitchen.

FAQ about Dak Gomtang