How to use ginseng to make a delicious chicken soup and the root’s supposed benefits
The human-shaped root that grows in the mountains is most potent when dried and is a key ingredient in the cooling Korean soup samgyetang
The phrase “wild ginseng hunter” does not have quite the same manly ring as “big game hunter”, although I am not sure about what is so macho about using big guns to kill animals – many of which cannot even be used for food – to the brink of extinction. But hunting wild ginseng is not exactly a stroll in the park.
The wild plant – which is harvested for its root – grows in unpolluted, mountainous areas that are often difficult to reach, and it takes a sharp eye to find because it blends in with the other forest foliage.
In Korea, where wild ginseng is thought to have almost mythical properties, the simmani (wild ginseng hunters) purify themselves by washing, fasting and praying, to make themselves worthy of finding the root.
Fortunately, the plant can be cultivated, although its potency is considered far inferior to that of the wild root. Even then, though, it is not easy to farm: it needs cool, unpolluted water and soil; the plant grows very slowly (it takes about six years before it is harvested); and it depletes the soil so much that it takes more than a decade before it is ready to grow the next crop.
Ginseng can be bought fresh or dried, with the latter being more expensive because it is said to be far more potent. And the root can be “cooling” or “heating” depending on the variety and where it is grown.