Hearty Dak Bokkeum Tang (Spicy Braised Chicken)
A spicy braised chicken dish where parboiled chicken is marinated, then braised down with kelp broth and vegetables until saucy.
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 →
Parboiling the chicken briefly in boiling water to remove excess fat and gaminess is the secret to a clean flavor. After marinating the chicken for 30 minutes to let the seasoning soak in, pour in kelp broth and braise it down spicy with vegetables and rice cakes. It is wonderful to enjoy the chicken and vegetables first, then stir-fry rice in the remaining sauce.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken1 whole, 600 g (medium)
- Potato1
- Onion1
- Carrot1/4
- Large green onion (daepa)1 stalk
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
- Rice cakes10
- Kelp broth (or water)2.5 cups
Seasoning
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)3 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)2 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)2 tbsp
- Minced garlic2 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)2 tbsp
- Green plum syrup (maesil-cheong) (or corn syrup (mulyeot))2 tbsp
- Sugar0.5 tbsp
- Ground black pepper0.5 tsp
- Ginger powdera little
- Toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- Trim off excess fat, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, make shallow cuts into the thick parts of the drumsticks, and soak in cold water to draw out the blood.
- In addition to rice cakes, sweet potato glass noodles are also great to prepare.
- Use chicken stock if you have it; if not, use kelp broth made by steeping dried kelp (10 cm square) in 2.5 cups of water for about 1 hour.
Steps
1. This is a medium-sized chicken. The weight after trimming off excess fat is 600 g.
Cut into bite-sized pieces, and make shallow cuts into the thick parts of the drumsticks.
Soak in cold water to draw out the blood.
Drawing out the blood like this removes a lot of the chicken's gamey smell.
2. Bring enough water to submerge the chicken to a rolling boil, add 4 tbsp soju, and parboil the chicken.
Since this is to remove excess fat, parboil for only 1-2 minutes, then discard the water.
3. Drain the parboiled chicken in a colander.
4. Cut the potato, carrot, and onion into thick, large pieces, and chop the large green onion and chili peppers into large pieces as well.
I prepared a few rice cakes, but you can also prepare sweet potato glass noodles alongside them.
5. Add all seasoning ingredients except toasted sesame oil and mix well.
6. Add the seasoning to the chicken and toss. Let sit for about 30 minutes so the flavors soak in.
7. Pour the kelp broth over the chicken, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Steep dried kelp (10 cm square) in 2.5 cups of water for about 1 hour.
It is great if you have chicken stock, but if you don't, you can use kelp broth like I did.
8. Add the hard ingredients, the potato and carrot, and boil.
Once the potato and carrot are cooked tender and the broth has reduced to a shallow simmer...
10
9. Add the onion, large green onion, and rice cakes, stirring occasionally as they cook.
10. Once all the ingredients are cooked through, finish with toasted sesame oil.
Ppunwife's tips
- Soaking the chicken in cold water to draw out the blood removes a lot of its gamey smell.
- Parboiling the chicken in boiling water with soju for 1-2 minutes removes excess fat.
FAQ
How do you reduce the gamey smell and excess fat from the chicken?
You can cleanly get rid of gaminess and excess fat by soaking the chicken in cold water to draw out the blood, then parboiling it for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water with 4 tbsp of soju.
Can I use a different broth instead of kelp broth?
Chicken stock works great if you have it; if you do not have broth ready, you can use plain water or kelp broth steeped in water.
Can I add other add-ins besides rice cakes?
Sweet potato glass noodles also pair wonderfully if you prepare and add them along with or instead of rice cakes.
