Dakgalbi – spicy chicken with cabbage and sweet potatoes from the pan Recipe
Dakgalbi is a street food dish from the city of Chuncheon, where huge pans full of chicken, cabbage and sweet potatoes sizzle in the middle of the table. Everything is coated in a spicy red-orange marinade, and guests stir and snack straight from the pan. At home, you can make this dish in a large frying pan or wok and place it in the center of the table as a mini version of the restaurant show.
This home-style dakgalbi brings the interactive, street-food feel of Chuncheon straight to your table: everything cooks together in one pan, the sauce is deeply spicy and savory, and everyone can share from the same sizzling centerpiece.
Chef's tips
Cut the sweet potato quite thinly so it cooks through at the same time as the chicken. Don’t be afraid of a bit of charring on the edges of the meat and vegetables – it adds a smoky, restaurant-style flavor. Adjust the level of gochugaru to your heat tolerance, and if your pan is small, cook in two batches so the ingredients fry instead of steaming.
How to serve
Serve the pan in the middle of the table with bowls of steamed white rice, fresh lettuce leaves for wrapping, and small side dishes like kimchi or pickled vegetables. Offer extra gochujang or chili flakes on the side for those who like it very hot, and cold beer or iced tea to balance the spice.
Ingredients
- chicken thighs - 600 g
- Chinese cabbage - 300 g
- sweet potato - 250 g
- carrot - 1 piece
- onion - 1 piece
- spring onion - 3 piece
- gochujang paste - 3 tablespoon
- gochugaru chili flakes - 1.5 tablespoon
- soy sauce - 2 tablespoon
- garlic - 4 clove
- ginger - 1 teaspoon
- sugar - 1.5 tablespoon
- oil - 3 tablespoon
- water - 80 ml
- yellow cheese - 80 g
Preparation
- Cut the chicken thighs into strips or bite-sized cubes, and finely chop the garlic and ginger.
- In a large bowl, mix the gochujang paste, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar, 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic, ginger and water until you get a thick marinade.
- Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and mix thoroughly with your hands or a spoon so that every piece is coated in the sauce. Set aside for at least 15 minutes (you can also marinate the meat a few hours in advance in the fridge).
- Cut the Chinese cabbage into larger pieces, peel the sweet potato and slice it into thin half-moons, cut the carrot into thin matchsticks, the onion into thin wedges, and the spring onion into 3–4 cm pieces.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat, add the sweet potato and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until it starts to soften slightly.
- Add the onion and carrot and fry for another 3 minutes, until the vegetables soften but do not brown too much.
- Add the marinated chicken along with all the marinade, spread the meat evenly over the pan and fry for 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside.
- Add the Chinese cabbage and spring onion, mix, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5–7 minutes over medium heat, until the cabbage softens and the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Remove the lid; if the sauce is very thin, cook for another 2–3 minutes uncovered so it can reduce slightly and thicken.
- If using cheese, sprinkle it over the top of the dish, cover the pan for 1–2 minutes until the cheese melts and forms a stretchy layer.
- Serve the dish directly from the pan, placing it in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves onto their plates.
Storage
Dakgalbi dobrze się odgrzewa, a smaki jeszcze się pogłębiają. Jeśli jest w nim ser, po rozmrożeniu może być mniej ciągnący, ale danie nadal będzie smaczne.
