Korean braised spicy chicken recipe : Dakdoritang (Dakbokkeumtang)

Korean braised spicy chicken, Dakdoritang (Dakbokkeumtang)

It is a typical Korean home dish frequently eaten for lunch or dinner at home.

Like many countries around the world, Korean has been eating chicken for a longtime.

Chicken is the most popular chicken dish in modern Korea, Dakdoritang is the representative traditional chicken dish after Samgyetang.

There is a simple way to cook, it is a slow-cook that needs to be boiled down for more than an hour to make its unique spiciness and deep taste.

Definition : What is Dakdoritang?

Dakdoritang (닭도리탕) or Dakbokkeumtang (닭볶음탕) or braised spicy chicken is a traditional Korean dish made by boiling chunks of chicken with vegetables and chili peppers.

In the Joseon Dynasty, there were similar dishes such as Dakjjim (steamed chicken), dakbokkeum (Stir-fried chicken), but instead of chili powder, soy sauce and garlic were used.

This type of soy sauced-based chicken is now a dish called "Jjimdak".

The current style of Dakdoritang

It is spicy and sweet because it is based on Gochujang (red pepper paste) and Gochugaru (chili pepper powder).

You can eat chicken with rice mixed with broth that has a savory and deep taste, or stir-fry with rice, egg and sesame oil in the remaining soup and eat it.

Since it is pretty cheap, around 4,000~7,000won($3~$6) per a chicken, It is typical Korean home dish frequently eaten for lunch or dinner at home.

The restaurant sells small size for 23,000 to 30,000 won ($20~$25) and large size for 35,000 to 44,000 won ($30~$37).

The representative chicken dish of Korea

• Dakdoritang : Spicy braised chicken with red pepper spices
• Jjimdak : Braised sweet chicken with soy sauce
• Samgyetang : A dish made by putting rice, ginseng, and jujube in the stomach of chicken and then simmer for a long time. It is also known as Baeksuk, and the difference from Samgyetang is that it used big size chicken with not only ginseng but also other medicinal herbs.
• Dakgalbi : Chicken breasts and legs are marinated in spicy sauce and grilled with vegetables such as cabbage, sweet potatoes. It is the representative food of Chuncheon, Ganwon-do.

Variation

• Kimchi : Add kimchi that has been aged for a long time to make it more salty and spicy. However, if you add too much kimchi or kimchi seasoning, the original taste of Dakdoritang will disappear and taste like Kimchijjim (steamed kimchi).
• Sweet potatoes : If you add sweet potatoes instead of potatoes, you can taste another styles of Dakdoritang by combining spicy and sweet flavors.
• Rice cake, noodles, cheese : According to your preference, you can enjoy a variety of flavors by adding rice cake, noodles, cheese. 

Recipe

• Prep time : 20 minutes
• Cook time : 50 minutes
• Total time : 1 hour 10 minutes
• Servings : 3

Ingredients

1Tbs = 15ml

• 1 bone-in Chicken (750g) 
• 180ml water
• 50g scallions (can be omitted)
• 150g potatoes
• 100g carrots
• 1 onion
• 50g mushrooms (can be omitted)
• 30g radish (can be omitted)
• 3Tbs Soy sauce
• 1tbs salt

Sauce

• 3Tbs Gochujang (Red pepper paste)
• 3Tbs Red pepper powder
• 4 Tbs Soy sauce
• 1 Tbs + 1/2 Tbs honey (or 1Tbs + 1/2 sugar)
• 1 Tbs + 1/2 Tbs Minced garlic
• 1 Tbs Rice wine (Milim, or soju 1 Tbs and ginger 1/8ts)
• a little bit of black pepper

* If it's bland, add more soy sauce and if you want it to be spicier, add red pepper powder. 

Instructions

Step 1. Prepare all vegetables cut into chunks except scallions.

 - Scallions cut into slice (2 inch length)

Step 2. Make sauce by mixing all sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3. Wash chicken and drain. 

Step 4. On high heat, boil 300ml water (2 cups) in a medium size pot. Once boiling, add chicken, 3Tbs soy sauce, 1tbs salt, parboil it for 1 minutes.

Step 5. Drain water

Step 6. On medium-high heat, stir chicken with sauce in a clean pot for 5 minutes. if the sauce is likely to stick to the bottom, add water little by little. 

Step 7. Add onions, carrots, radish, potatoes, 180ml water (1.5 cups) and boil it over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, covered. Stir it occasionally and gently.

Step 8. Remove cover and cook it for 8 minutes more. Add scallions and mushrooms, cook it for further 1 minutes. Serve it with a rice.

Source : Namuwiki