Chicken noodle soup from scratch (Dak-kalguksu)

Ingredients

Ingredients (Serves 4)

•1 pound chicken breast

•16 cups water (3.78541 liter)

•16 peeled garlic cloves (about ½ cup)

•1 medium onion, cut into quarters

•3½ cup all purpose flour, plus ⅓ cup flour to dust

•½ cup potato starch

•1 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks (about 1½ cup)

•2 green onions, chopped

•vegetable oil

•toasted sesame oil

•kosher salt

•fish sauce (or soup soy sauce)

•ground black pepper

Directions

Put water, chicken breast, garlic, and onion in a large stock pot and boil for 1 hour over high heat.

Combine flour, starch, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and 1¼ cup water in a large bowl.

Mix with a wooden spoon to form a lump. Knead it by hand until it forms as ball. Put it into a plastic bag, seal it, and let it sit in the fridge or on the kitchen counter for 10 minutes.

Take the dough out of the plastic bag, knead it for 2 to 5 minutes, and then put it back in. Kneading it in stages like this, and storing it in the plastic bag between sessions will make it soft and pliable with a minimum of effort.

Combine the zucchini matchsticks with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

Squeeze the excess water out by hand and sautee with a few drops of vegetable oil in a pan. Set aside.

After an hour of boiling, remove from the heat. Strain. The stock will be about 13 cups at this point and it should look clear but a little milky.

Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons fish sauce (or soup soy sauce) or to taste. Mix well and put it back to the stock pot. Set aside.

Collect the cooked garlic into a small bowl and mash it with a spoon. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.

Pull the chicken into thin strips with your fingers and mix it in with the garlic mixture. Set aside.

Take out the dough and knead it again for a couple of minutes until it’s really smooth. Divide the dough into 2 balls.

Dust a large cutting board or clean kitchen table with flour and put the dough on it. Roll it out with a rolling pin to a circle about 18 inches wide and 1/16 inch thick (1 or 2 mm). Flip it over occasionally to make it even, round, and flat. If you need to, sprinkle some flour on it when you flip, to keep it from sticking.

Evenly spread some flour on the dough, and fold it over 3 or 4 times. Cut it into thin noodles, about 1/8 inch thick. Sprinkle some flour on them, and gently mix them up to separate them and spread the flour evenly.

Make noodles with the other ball of dough but repeating the steps above.

Bring the stock to a boil and add the noodles. Stir with a wooden spoon and cover.

Cook for 4 to 6 minutes until all the noodles float and some bubbles form on the surface. Remove from the heat.

Ladle into large individual bowls. Put some zucchini on the center of each bowl and add some chicken. Sprinkle some chopped green onion over top, and serve immediately with kimchi and few more side dishes if you have them.

Combine 2 table spoons hot pepper flakes and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil in a small bowl. Mix well and serve. When you eat, add some of the mixture to your noodle soup and eat.