Aloha! 🌺 It’s Jihye in Seoul.
Do you love shopping at Costco? If you do, you probably pick up their famous, reasonably priced Rotisserie Chicken on almost every visit. It’s an absolute classic treat!
However, for just the two of us, it’s always a bit too much food. Plus, we aren't huge fans of the dry chicken breast on the second day. So... I always use the leftovers to make this incredibly comforting, spicy Korean soup.
If you are crazy about Korean food, you probably know Yukgaejang (Spicy Beef and Vegetable Soup). Well, this is Dakgaejang—the delicious chicken version! It is completely zero-waste, super budget-friendly, and transforms your leftover Costco carcass into a gourmet, soul-warming meal.
🍲 What is Dakgaejang? (The Ultimate Korean Comfort Food)
In Korea, Dakgaejang is famous for being a restorative soup. We traditionally eat it to boost our stamina during the brutally hot summer days, but its fiery, rich broth makes it equally perfect for chilly winter nights. While making it from scratch requires boiling a whole raw chicken for hours, using a heavily seasoned, roasted Costco chicken hacks the process, giving you an unbelievably deep bone broth in half the time!
🛒 Ingredients
For the Broth:
Leftover Costco Rotisserie Chicken (Save ALL the bones and leftover white meat!)
Broth Aromatics: 5 Garlic cloves, 1 Bay leaf, the white root parts of 3 Green onions, a pinch of whole Black peppercorns
For the Soup:
Bean Sprouts: 1 small bag (Mung bean sprouts or soybean sprouts both work)
Enoki Mushrooms: 1 pack (You can also add Shiitake for extra earthiness)
Green Onions: 1 large bunch (Cut into long, 2-inch strips)
Seasoning: Gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes), Rayu (Chili oil), Salt, and Black pepper to taste
👩🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Debone and Prep the Chicken
First, please separate the leftover meat from the bones. Tear the meat into bite-sized shreds. Pro Tip: I highly recommend discarding the skin, the excess fat, and the small tail part. A traditional Dakgaejang requires a clean, refreshingly spicy broth, and leaving the greasy skin will make the soup too heavy and oily!
2. Make the Bone Broth
Put all the chicken bones into a large pot of boiling water. Add your aromatics: 5 garlic cloves, the white parts of the green onions, 1 bay leaf, and the whole peppercorns. Turn the heat to medium and let it boil for at least an hour to extract all that deep, roasted flavor from the marrow.
3. Strain the Broth (The Secret to a Clean Soup)
Prepare your vegetables (wash the bean sprouts, trim the enoki mushrooms, and slice the green onions). When the bone broth is fully cooked, strain it through a cheesecloth or a wet, heavy-duty kitchen paper towel placed over a sieve. This genius trick catches any tiny stray bones and filters out the excess fat, giving you a perfectly clean soup base. (Note: I always rinse the kitchen paper towel with hot water before doing this to remove any paper dust!)
4. Assemble and Boil (🚨 Do NOT Cover!)
Bring your beautifully clean broth back to a boil. Add the shredded chicken meat, all the prepared vegetables, Rayu (chili oil), and Gochugaru (chili powder) to your desired spice level. Important Culinary Secret: When you cook raw bean sprouts, leave the pot uncovered! If you cover and uncover the lid while they are boiling, the temperature fluctuation traps a fishy, raw bean smell inside your soup.
5. Season to Taste
Since the Costco rotisserie chicken is already injected with a lot of sodium and pre-seasoned, you probably won't need to add much salt at all. Taste the broth first, then add just a pinch of salt and black pepper as you desire.
Whenever I cook this soup, I can't control myself. Give me a big bowl of hot rice, some crunchy Kimchi, and this soup... and there will be absolutely zero conversation at the table! Lol!What is your ultimate comforting food? Let me know in the comments below!
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