Dak-galbi (Korean Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken)
The ultimate dak-galbi with a secret restaurant-style sauce once featured on TV! Ginger-wine-marinated chicken thigh is stir-fried in a gochujang-and-curry sauce with cabbage, sweet potato, and rice cakes, then finished with perilla leaves — a generous skillet great for a meal or with drinks.
Ingredients
Main
- Boneless chicken thigh800 g
- Onion1/2
- Cabbage200 g
- Green onion1 stalk
- Perilla leaves1 bunch
- Tteokbokki rice cakes300 g
- Sweet potato1
- Carrot150 g
- Ginger wine (or cooking wine)3 tbsp (to marinate)
- Black peppera little (to marinate)
- Water1 cup (while cooking)
Sauce
- Sugar3 tbsp
- Red pepper flakes (gochugaru)4 tbsp
- Sesame seeds2 tbsp
- Curry powder1 tbsp
- Minced garlic2 tbsp
- Gochujang4 tbsp
- Cooking wine2 tbsp
- Soy sauce3 tbsp
- Corn syrup3 tbsp
- Salt2 tsp
Directions
- 1
Cut the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with ginger wine (or cooking wine) and a little black pepper, and let it marinate.
- 2
Julienne the onion 1 cm thick; peel the sweet potato and cut into finger-thick (1.5 cm) sticks; cut the carrot into 1 cm rounds, then julienne 0.5 cm wide.
- 3
Stack the perilla leaves and cut into 2-3 cm strips, then loosen them by hand; cut the green onion thickly on the diagonal, or halve and cut into 5 cm lengths.
- 4
Cut the cabbage into large 2-3 cm pieces, and separate the tteokbokki rice cakes, setting them with the vegetables.
- 5
Combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.
- 6
Lightly oil a pan, add the chicken and two-thirds of the sauce, and stir-fry. (Reserve the remaining third of the sauce.)
- 7
Once the surface of the chicken is cooked, add the onion, carrot, cabbage, and sweet potato and stir-fry.
- 8
When the chicken is half-cooked and the onion turns translucent, add 1 cup of water and the reserved sauce and cook the chicken through.
- 9
When the liquid has reduced somewhat, add the green onion and rice cakes and stir-fry.
- 10
Stir-fry until the liquid is fully reduced and the oil glistens, then top with perilla leaves, turn off the heat, and it's done.
Tips
A tablespoon of curry powder is the secret to dak-galbi's signature savoriness and color. Hold back a third of the sauce and add it after the vegetables so it seasons evenly without burning. Stir-fry until the liquid fully reduces for authentic flavor.