Dakgalbi (Korean Spicy Chuncheon Chicken Stir Fry) is a famous chicken dish that has origins in the city of Chuncheon–a city east of Seoul near the Chuncheon Dam.
Dakgalbi was born in the late 60’s and became quite popular because of its taste and price. Just how popular? Guess how many restaurants there are in Chuncheon? 618!!! And population is only about 270K!?!
With the abundance of chicken farms in Chuncheon, restaurants could buy the chicken at very reasonable prices which was a big plus in the 60’s or anytime I guess. Dakgalbi (which literally means Chicken/Dak Ribs/Galbi) and white meat were especially cheap at that time because white meat was not a popular cut at that time – no one worried about diets back then.
Last winter, an old college friend of mine invited me and a few friends to visit her in Chuncheon. In return she offered to buy us the famous Chuncheon Dakgalbi (춘천 닭갈비). Chuncheon is a city east of Seoul that is near the upper Han river and is known for it’s natural beauty – especially near the Chuncheon Dam. The city is only about an hour away from where I live so it was an easy trip to make.
The restaurant we went to was quite full even though it was a very cold winter day and it snowed just a couple days before. But a perfect room was ready for us – a traditional Korean style ondol(온돌) room where you sit on this toasty warm floor.. Once your butt meets the ondol floor..well, you just melt onto the floor.
We ordered the Chuncheon Dakgalbi for 4 and they brought in this large frying pan filled with chicken marinated in their special gochujang sauce. We were then instructed to cook the chicken first for a bit and then add the vegetables. Here’s a picture of their Dakgalbi.
We cooked it until everything is soft and tender and then ate it with some ssam! Yumm.. Koreans just love to eat ssam with everything I guess. And then when you think you just can’t eat any more, they add rice to the leftover sauce and make fried rice with it!!
Much like my Soft Tofu Stew recipe, you can make the sauce first and use the leftover later.
Dakgalbi (Spicy Chuncheon Chicken) Recipe
Ingredients for Dakgalbi Sauce
- 4 T gochujang
- 3 T Korean red chili powder (고추가루 gochukaroo)
- 1 T Korean curry powder or 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala (optional) – you can just increase curry powder instead
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 T Apple lemon soy sauce
- 4 tsp dark soy sauce (진간장 jinkanjang)
- 2 T red wine or 1 T mirin
- 2~3 tsp sugar
- 2 T Green plum syrup (매실액 maesil syrup) OR 2 T rice malt syrup + 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 T sesame oil
- 2 T Garlic pear seasoning paste
Make the sauce for Dakgalbi by mixing all of the above.
*In case you don’t have some of my special ingredients:
Instead of 2 T Apple Lemon soy sauce + 4 tsp dark soy sauce, substitute
- 3 T dark soy sauce
- 3 T sweet rice wine (mirin)
- 2 tsp sugar
Instead of 2 T Garlic Pear Seasoning paste, substitute
- 1 T chopped garlic
- ½ tsp chopped ginger
Servings: 4 Cooking Time: Prep 15 + Cook 25 min Difficulty: Moderate
Ingredients for Dakgalbi
- Approx 1/2 of the sauce or more to taste
- 1 ½ lb chicken (thigh + breast)
- 6 oz sweet potato (heaping 1 C when cut – see pic)
- 6 oz green cabbage (4 C when cut)
- 1 onion
- 3~4 oz rice cake (ovals or ttoekbokki)
- 3 green onions or 1 Korean large green onions (대파 Daepa)
- 6~10 perilla leaves (깻잎 Kkaetnip)
Directions
- Remove fat and skin(optional) from chicken into bite size pieces.
Chicken thigh meat cut into bite size pieces for Chuncheon Chicken - Marinate chicken with the sauce. Use about 1/2 of the sauce to coat all the chicken. Leave chicken for 1 hour or overnight.
Dar and White Chicken marinating in Dakgalbi Chuncheon Chicken Sauce - Peel onions and sweet potato. Cut onions, cabbage into roughly 1 inch squares. Cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch squares 1/3 inch thick. Slice green onions.
Vegetables for Chuncheon Dak Galbi - Cut perilla leaves into 1/2 in strips.
How to cut Perilla (Kkaetnip) leaves - Heat pan and add chicken, rice cakes and sweet potato.I used my favorite Staub sauté pan here but you can use whatever pan available. Make sure it’s not too shallow. Add 3 T water and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Chicken in pan with sweet potato and rice cakes - Add remaining vegetables (cabbage, green onions, onions) and sauté on medium heat for 10~12 min until chicken is fully cooked. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. *I added about 2 T additional sauce to taste.
Chuncheon chicken with vegetables added - This is when it’s fully cooked.
Dakgalbi Chicken Cooked - Finish the dish by adding cut perilla and optionally some toasted sesame seeds.
Serve with rice. You can also eat it with some ssam and it will taste even better.
For an extra treat, finish the meal by making fried rice with drippings from the pan and any leftover chicken from the table. Add some remaining ssam lettuce if you’d like as you see in the picture above.
Dakgalbi (Chuncheon Spicy Chicken Stir Fry)
Ingredients
Dak Kalbi Sauce
- 4 Tbs gochujang
- 3 Tbs Korean red chili powder (gochukaroo)
- 1 Tbs Korean curry powder (or 1 tsp curry powder)
- 1 tsp garam masala (optional – you can just increase curry powder instead)
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 Tbs apple lemon soy sauce
- 4 tsp dark soy sauce (진간장 / jinkanjang)
- 2 Tbs red wine (or 1 Tbsp mirin)
- 2-3 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbs Maesil Syrup (Maesil Cheong) (매실액 / maesil syrup or 2 Tbs rice malt syrup + 2 tsp vinegar)
- 1 Tbs sesame oil
- 2 Tbs garlic pear seasoning paste
Ingredients for Dak Kalbi
- Approx 1/2 of the sauce or more to taste
- 1 ½ lb chicken (thigh + breast)
- 6 oz sweet potato (heaping 1 cup when cut)
- 6 oz green cabbage (4 cups when cut)
- 1 onion
- 3-4 oz rice cake (oval or ttoekbokki)
- 3 green onions (대파 Daepa or 1 Korean large green onions)
- 6-10 perilla leaves (깻잎 Kkaetnip)
Instructions
- Make the Dak Kalbi sauce by mixing all the ingredients together. Set aside.
- Remove fat and skin (optional) from chicken and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Marinate chicken with the sauce. Use about 1/2 of the sauce to coat all the chicken. Leave chicken for 1 hour or overnight.
- Peel onions and sweet potato. Cut onions and cabbage into roughly 1 inch squares. Cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch squares with 1/3 inch thickness. Slice green onions.
- Cut perilla leaves into 1/2 inch strips.
- Heat pan and add chicken, rice cakes, and sweet potato. Add 3 Tbs water and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining vegetables (cabbage, green onions, onions) and sauté on medium heat for 10-12 mins until the chicken is fully cooked. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. (I added about 2 T additional sauce to taste.)
- Finish the dish by adding cut perilla and optionally some toasted sesame seeds.
- Serve with rice. You can also eat it with some ssam. For an extra treat, finish the meal by making fried rice with drippings from the pan and any leftover chicken from the table. Add some remaining ssam lettuce if you like.
Tips & Notes:
- Substitute for 2 Tbs Apple Lemon soy sauce + 4 tsp dark soy sauce = 3 Tbs dark soy sauce + 3 Tbs sweet rice wine (mirin) + 2 tsp sugar.
- Instead of 2 Tbs Garlic Pear Seasoning paste, substitute with 1 Tbs chopped garlic + ½ tsp chopped ginger.
Nutrition Information:
The unique taste of this dish comes from the slight hint of curry flavor hidden behind Korean gochujang sauce. Korean curry powder contains only about 10% actual curry spices so the flavor is much milder compared to the original curry powder mix so be careful not to add too much when you are using real curry spices otherwise you may end up with Chicken curry instead!
Bon Appetit!
I love the recipe’s
Hi Jin Joo ssi,
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I love Dak Galbi and have been wanting to cook it at home. However in my country we do not have “2 T Green plum syrup (매실액 maesil syrup) OR 2 T rice malt syrup + 2 tsp vinegar”. Can you suggest the substitute for these ingredients? Are these ingredients suppose to give the sweet taste to the sauce? Thanks!
Hi! Yes, they are supposed to make it sweet mostly with a little bit of acidity as plum syrup is a little sour. You can just add 1 T of brown sugar and vinegar instead. If you have corn syrup, you can add that instead of sugar. I think it will be great if you add a squeeze of lime instead of vinegar.
Adjust to taste. Good luck and thanks for asking!!
Chuncheon Dak Kalbi is best eaten after visiting Nami Island specially on cold days, although we can also enjoy it at Yogane in Myeongdong.
Yes! I have always wanted to visit Nami Island but never got to..I will have to follow your advice next time I visit~Thanks for stopping by.
What kind of cabbage do you use for this please? Napa? Thank you
I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. It’s just regular green cabbage. Not napa.