Hearty Dakgalbi (Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken) with Extra Fixings
A satisfying dakgalbi dish of deboned chicken drumsticks marinated in seasoning and stir-fried generously with vegetables and rice cakes.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
A 2-serving dish of deboned chicken drumsticks marinated in sauce and stir-fried with an assortment of fixings like sweet potato, rice cakes, and cabbage. A touch of curry powder enhances the flavor of the sweet and spicy sauce, making it great as a side dish for rice or as bar food.
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken drumsticks4, 300 g
- Tteokbokki rice cakes10
- Cabbage2 leaves
- Sweet potato1/2 (medium size)
- Onion1/2
- Carrot1/3
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
- Red chili pepper2
- Large green onion (daepa)1/2 stalks
- Perilla leaves20 leaves
Seasoning
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)3 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)1.5 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)2 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)2 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Green plum syrup (maesil-cheong) (or corn syrup (mulyeot), oligosaccharide syrup (oligodang))2 tbsp
- Curry powder1 tbsp
- Ginger powder0.5 tsp
- Ground black pepper0.5 tsp
- Instead of drumsticks, you can debone a whole chicken or simply buy pre-trimmed boneless chicken meat.
- Do not throw away the leg bones; keep them in the freezer to use for making broth.
- Let it mature overnight in the refrigerator or marinate it in the morning; even if pressed for time, marinate it for at least 2 hours so the seasonings soak in.
Steps
1. Let's debone the chicken drumsticks.
Make a deep slit all the way down to where the bone is in the middle.
2. As you scrape down the meat attached to the bone on both sides with your knife, it will open up like that.
3. Tilt the knife flat to separate the meat attached to the bone.
4. Just cut off the meat attached to the end of the leg bone with the knife.
5. This is from 4 chicken drumsticks. The deboned weight is 300 g.
It is about the amount from half a medium chicken. Instead of drumsticks, you can debone a whole chicken,
or if that is too troublesome, just buy pre-trimmed meat at the supermarket.
Do not throw away the leg bones; keep them in the freezer to use for making broth.
6. Lightly score and butterfly any thick portions, then cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Rinse with water and drain.
7. Add all the measured seasoning ingredients and mix together.
The seasoning is on the slightly sweet side, so you may reduce the sugar or green plum syrup,
and skip the curry powder if you do not like the scent of curry.
8. Add the meat to the marinade and mix well.
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9. It is good to let it mature in the refrigerator overnight, or marinate it in the sauce in the morning if you plan to eat it for dinner.
Even if that is not feasible, marinate it for at least 2 hours for the flavor to absorb.
10. For the extra ingredients, cut the tteokbokki rice cakes, sweet potato, and carrot into suitable sizes on a bias.
I added plenty of rice cakes because I like them more than meat, which amounts to about 10 regular tteokbokki rice cakes.
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11. Cut the onion, cabbage, Cheongyang chili pepper, red chili pepper, large green onion, and perilla leaves into large pieces as well.
12. Arrange the carrot, sweet potato, onion, and rice cakes first in the pan, place the marinated meat on top, stir-fry over high heat, then reduce to medium heat.
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13. Cover with a lid and cook until the ingredients and sauce meld together and are somewhat cooked through.
14. Add the cabbage and chili peppers and cook.
If the seasoning liquid boils down before the ingredients are cooked through, try adding a little water while stir-frying.
At the very end, add the perilla leaves and cook just briefly.
Ppunwife's tips
- If the seasoning liquid boils down before the ingredients are cooked through, try adding a little water while stir-frying.
- If you add rice and seaweed flakes to the remaining sauce and stir-fry until a crispy crust forms, it makes a fantastic scorched rice fried rice.
FAQ
Can I use other cuts of chicken or a whole chicken instead of drumsticks?
It is perfectly fine to debone a whole chicken and use it, or if prepping is cumbersome, you can buy and use pre-trimmed boneless meat from the supermarket.
How long should I marinate the chicken?
It is best to let it mature in the refrigerator for half a day or overnight, but even if you are short on time, marinate it for at least 2 hours so the seasonings soak in properly.
What should I do if the sauce boils down too much while stir-frying?
If the sauce boils completely down before the ingredients are fully cooked, simply stir-fry while adding a little bit of water.
How can I adjust the sweetness or curry aroma of the sauce?
If you feel the sweetness is too strong, reduce the amount of sugar or green plum syrup, and you can leave out the curry powder depending on your preference.
