Dak Kal Guk-su (닭갈국수) Chicken Noodle Soup

Down a side alley in Busan's main shopping district, there's a row of gregarious old women squatting on short plastic stools, and serving noodles from a steaming vat of broth to hungry shoppers.  It's one of my favorite places to eat in all of Korea, and the ajumma's surprise at our skill with chopsticks, our tolerance for spicy foods, or our meager Korean skills makes me feel like I'm eating lunch with a proud aunt.  Though they also serve Jap-Chae (잡채), this is my favorite meal there.  Add the chives in at the end instead of salt.

So Good!

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1 whole chicken (~1kg or so)
1/2 Asian squash (ho-bak, 호박)
1/2 onion
1/4 carrot
3 shiitake mushrooms
1 handful (~80g) Asian Chives (부추)
Guk-su noodles for 2 people (~240g)
1/2 spoon soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper



Chicken Broth:
1/2 onion
1 big leek
10 pieces whole garlic
1 piece ginger
3 spoons cheong-ju (청주)
1/2 small spoon peppercorns
3 liters water

Spices:
5 spoons soy sauce
1 spoon crushed chilies
1 spoon cheong-ju (청주)
1/2 spoon each: minced garlic, sesame oil, sesame salt
pinch of pepper





Steps:

1. Chill, clean the chicken.  Slice onion, squash, carrot, and mushrooms thinly.
2. In a pot, add the whole chicken and the broth ingredients.  Heat to a boil.  When it boils, turn to medium and simmer for ~1 hour.
3. When the chicken has cooked, remove, let it cool and tear into bite-sized strips.  Strain veggies from broth.
4. Mix spices with cut Asian Chives.  Let stand.
5. Heat the chicken broth from Step 3 to a light boil.  Add noodles and cook.
6. When the noodles are nearly done, add the chicken and vegetables from Step 1.  Boil a little.  Add soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.  Serve with chives on the side (mix it in for a little salty, a little spicy).

Notes:

- Ho-bak, the Korean squash, is a bit like a fat zucchini.  You can substitute in whatever squash-like vegetable you have, or skip it entirely.