Sweet and Spicy Chuncheon Dakgalbi (Chuncheon Style Spicy Stir Fried Chicken)
Sweet and spicy Chuncheon dakgalbi made by stir-frying marinated chicken thigh meat together with vegetables.
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 →
Chicken thigh meat marinated in a special sauce with curry powder and gochujang is stir-fried with an assortment of vegetables. Pre-cooking the sweet potato in boiling water keeps it from getting mushy, ensuring the sauce stays clean rather than pasty. It is sweet, spicy, and not overly harsh, making it wonderful as a side dish for rice or as bar food.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken thigh meat500 g
- Cabbage100 g
- Sweet potato1 (medium-sized)
- Onion1/4
- Large green onion (daepa)1/2 stalk
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
- Perilla leaves15 leaves
Seasoning
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)3 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)2 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))2 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)2 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)2 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Minced ginger1 tsp
- Curry powder1 tbsp
- Ground black peppera little
- Among these, having just cabbage, onion, and perilla leaves is plenty, and preparing rice cakes or pizza cheese is also great.
- Add all the seasonings to the chicken thigh meat, mix well, and let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Here is 500g of chicken thigh meat.
I brought out a bit of extra ingredients from the fridge.
Sweet potato, cabbage, onion, large green onion, Cheongyang chili pepper, and perilla leaves.
Among these, having just cabbage, onion, and perilla leaves is plenty, and preparing rice cakes or pizza cheese is also great.
Cut the ingredients
Trim some of the excess fat and skin from the chicken thigh meat and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
Slice the sweet potato thickly so you can enjoy its texture, and cut all the vegetables to a size similar to the chicken.
Add the sweet potato to boiling water, cook until done, and take it out.
You can cook it while stir-frying, but as the sweet potato cooks through to the center it can mush up and make the sauce thick, so prepping it this way lets you enjoy a clean finish.
Marinate the chicken
Add all the seasonings to the chicken thigh meat, mix well, and let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
Use 3 tbsp gochugaru, 2 tbsp gochujang, 2 tbsp regular soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp corn syrup, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tbsp curry powder, and a little ground black pepper.
Stir-fry
Drizzle a little oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken, and stir-fry over medium heat without letting it burn.
When the meat feels almost fully cooked inside...
Add the sweet potato and all the vegetables except the perilla leaves, and stir-fry until slightly wilted.
At the very end, add the perilla leaves, stir-fry just briefly, and finish by adding toasted sesame seeds.
Finish
Chuncheon dakgalbi is complete.
I have eaten it in Chuncheon, the home of dakgalbi, and this tastes just the same.
Ppunwife's tips
- You can cook it while stir-frying, but as the sweet potato cooks through to the center it can mush up and make the sauce thick, so prepping it this way lets you enjoy a clean finish.
FAQ
Why do you boil the sweet potato before stir-frying?
If you stir-fry it together in the pan, the sweet potato can break down and make the sauce thick while cooking all the way through, so boiling it in water beforehand keeps the dish clean.
Are there other ingredients that go well besides the basic vegetables?
Depending on your preference, adding rice cakes or pizza cheese goes very well, and making fried rice in the leftover sauce after eating the meat is also wonderful.
How long should the chicken be marinated?
Toss the chicken thigh meat evenly with the prepared seasoning and let it marinate for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors well.
At what point should the perilla leaves be added?
Add them at the final step after the other vegetables and meat are cooked, and stir-fry just briefly to preserve their distinctive aroma.
