Dak Baeksuk (닭백숙)

Whole chicken gently boiled with garlic — samgyetang's plainer sibling.

Korean name: 닭백숙
Spice level: Not spicy
Flavor: savory · mild
Typically contains: chicken
Vegetarian / vegan: Not vegetarian — meat or seafood is core to the dish
Typical price: ₩40,000–₩60,000 per dish checked 2026-07 — varies by area
Good to know: Beginner-friendly ●●●○○ Solo dining ●○○○○ Kid-friendly ●●●●○
Also written as: baeksuk, dak baeksuk, boiled whole chicken

Spice and flavor are editorial assessments of the standard version — individual restaurants and recipes vary. Ingredient notes are typical, not guaranteed: always check with the restaurant for allergies or dietary needs. Eating and cooking notes describe common practice in Korea; our first-hand deep-dives live in the Eat Like a Local guides.

What is Dak Baeksuk?

Dak-baeksuk (닭백숙) is whole chicken simmered plainly with garlic and often glutinous rice — samgyetang's larger, share-style sibling, typically made with a full-grown bird for 2–4 people. It is the dish of mountain-foot restaurants and summer retreats: the chicken is eaten first, dipped in salt-pepper, then rice porridge (dak-juk) is cooked in the remaining broth as the finale.

How to eat it

Dismantle the whole chicken at the table — it's a sharing dish; tongs and scissors provided.
Dip the meat in salt-pepper; the broth is deliberately plain.
Finish with the rice porridge (juk) cooked in the leftover broth — the traditional second act.

Cooking it at home

Simmer a whole small chicken with garlic heads, onion and jujube 50–70 minutes.
Keep seasoning out — baeksuk means 'plain boiled'.
Cook soaked rice in the strained broth afterward for the closing juk.

Good to know

Order ahead or expect a 30–40 minute wait at proper baeksuk houses — it's cooked per order.

The countryside sibling of samgyetang, minus the ginseng focus — mountain-valley 'baeksuk villages' near hiking trails are a Korean weekend institution.

Nutrition

Calories	56 kcal
Carbohydrate	4.49 g
Protein	4.23 g
Fat	2.11 g
Sodium	49 mg

Per serving (~610ml): ≈342 kcal · sodium ≈299 mg (15% of the WHO daily guideline, 2,000 mg)

Per 100ml · total serving 610ml · Official data: National Integrated Food Nutritional Information Standard Data (Korea MFDS) (DB item: 닭백숙, synced 2026-07-17). Values vary by recipe and portion.