Units Scale

3 quarts of water
3 cups/15 large jujube dates (dae-choo 대추)
1/2 cup goji berries
3 large fresh ginseng roots/2 dried ginseng roots>5 years (in-sahm 인삼)
1 piece dried Kalopanax bark (Eom-namu 엄나무) (optional)
2 pieces dried Astragalus herb (Hwang-gee 황기) (optional)
Kalopanax Bark is beneficial for arthritis and also has anti-inflammatory effects. Astragalus is an immune system booster
***
2 organic rock Cornish game hens
6 garlic cloves
3/4 cup glutinous sweet rice (use short-grain regular rice if sweet rice is unavailable)
1/4 cup goji berries
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
***
Ginseng Chicken Soup:
Herbal Broth, previously prepared
2 stuffed rock Cornish game hens
2 cups/10 raw chestnuts – be very careful when peeling the chestnuts!
2/3 cup gingko nuts
2 cups of jujube dates
2 tsp of sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a 6-quart Rival crock pot and cook on low for ten hours.
Strain the herbal broth through a sieve.
Pour the herbal broth back into the crock pot and discard the scraps.
Sweet Rice Stuffing:
When picking your chicken or hen, make sure the poultry’s skin is pale, spot-free and resilient. What you stuff inside your bird may vary. Some recipes stuff ginseng directly into the chicken. If you are using fresh ginseng, you may add a bit of fresh ginseng in the stuffing mix; however, I believe the ginseng is most efficacious steeping in the broth. If you are using two birds, divide the stuffing materials accordingly.
Soak the sweet rice for 1-2 hours, drain, and set aside.
Wash and clean the inside of the game hens.
Sew-up the neck end of the game hens.
Stuff a clove of garlic into the neck end from the tail end.
Lightly salt the inside of the game hens, reserving a tiny pinch of salt for the rice stuffing mix.
Line the rest of the garlic cloves against the ribs of the game hens.
Mix the sweet rice with goji berries, toasted sesame seeds, cracked black pepper, and pinch of salt. Stuff the rice mixture into the game hens.
Sew-up the game hens.
Peel the chestnuts.
Shell the gingko nuts.
Place the stuffed organic game hens, chestnuts, gingko nuts, dates, and salt into the prepared herbal broth.
Set the crock pot to cook on high for six hours. Your Samgyetang is then cooked and ready to serve!