Baekje Samgyetang 백제삼계탕

A small glass of ginseng liquor lands next to every bowl in the second-floor dining room near Myeong-dong Station Exit 6. The bird is small but packed tight with glutinous rice, and it is cooked until the bones slip out at a nudge of the chopsticks, leaving even the breast moist. The broth is clear and only faintly salted; loosen the rice into it after the meat and it thickens like chicken porridge. Spicy, well-fermented kimchi and radish kimchi supply the salt the soup holds back. Dakbal pyeonyuk, pressed and chilled chicken feet cut into slices, adds a springy cold side.