How to make delicious and authentic ‘Chuncheon style dak galbi’ at home.
Dak galbi or dakgalbi (닭갈비, Korean spicy chicken stir fry) is by far my all time favorite Korean dish. That’s probably because growing up I had this meal a couple of times a week because my parents had owned a dak galbi restaurant for 10+ years.
And, I absolutely loved having it every time! I considered it as my privilege. 🙂
What is Dak galbi /Dakgalbi
Essentially, dak galbi / dakgalbi (닭갈비) is spicy chicken stir fried in a large pan, which is often a cast iron pan.
Chopped chicken is marinated in a mix of spicy Korean sauce then stir fried with rice cakes, sweet potatoes, green cabbage, and perilla leaves.
Dak galbi originated from Chuncheon (춘천), a beautiful lake city of Gangwon province in Korea. (It’s also the place where I spent the first 10 years of my life!)
At some restaurants, you can ask for bone-in chicken (slightly cheaper) or boneless chicken. I always preferred boneless chicken dak galbi since it’s more convenient to eat.
You can also see some restaurants selling chargrilled version (숯불닭갈비), which is another of my favorite dishes. This is cooked differently and results in a slightly different taste to regular dak galbi; You can use this grilled gochujang chicken recipe for that.
Nowadays, there are many variations on dak galbi one of which includes cheese dak galbi. You can dip the cooked dak galbi in melted cheese from the pan. Yum!
How to Make Dak Galbi, the Restaurant Way, at Home
- Typically, dak galbi is cooked and served in a large round cast iron pan at a restaurant. And I personally think it is essential that you eat it this way because it tastes so much better! Trust me! I use this cast iron skillet (12 inch) for my cooking and it’s just perfect.
- I love cooking dak galbi at the table (over the portable gas burner) so that we can eat it as things get ready. Typically, the cabbage and rice cakes cook the fastest and the sweet potato the last. If you were to wait until everything cooks then somethings could over cook as a result.
- Prepare some lettuce, perilla leaves, sliced garlic, ssamjang (spicy dipping sauce) to make a wrap just like you would with other Korean BBQ.
- When you are nearly finished the meal (make sure you leave some meat, vegetables and the sauce in the skillet), you can add some (cooked) udon noodles or rice and stir fry them. I typically use 1 cup of steamed rice, some chopped kimchi, a dash of sesame oil and some shredded seasoned seaweed. Some restaurants also crack an egg over the rice but I personally prefer without it. Also, I don’t normally add additional sauce to cook the noodles or rice, but if you want you could add some gochujang (about 1 Tbsp) or make extra marinade then add it.
The above photo shows how you should end the dak galbi meal. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my recipe!
FYI, a lot of people already commented that it’s the best dak galbi recipe they tried and the flavor is comparable to Chuncheon style dak galbi. I hope you try my recipe with some confidence. 🙂
Ingredients for Dak galbi, 2 to 3 servings
Main
- 500g /1.1 pounds chicken thigh fillets (you can use a whole chicken or chicken breast instead), cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 medium sweet potato (180g/6.3 ounces), cut into long thick sticks (like English chips)
- 1/2 small carrot (60g/2.1 ounces), diagonally sliced
- 1/4 small cabbage (320g/0.7 pounds), shredded
- 10 Korean perilla leaves (35g/1.2 ounces), thinly sliced
- 18 fresh Korean rice cakes pieces (175g/ 6.1 ounces), separated, if you use pre-packaged rice cakes, separate them first then soak in warm water for 10 minutes before you use them.
- Some cooking oil (2 to 3 Tbsp) – I used rice bran oil
Marinade sauce
- 3 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp raw sugar
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp Korean curry powder
- 1/2 small onion (35g/1.2 ounces), grated or minced
- A few sprinkles of ground black pepper
* 1 Tbsp = 15 ml
**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my essential Korean cooking ingredients list!
How to Make
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix them well. Pour the sauce over the chopped chicken and marinate for at least 30 mins. (Though I strongly recommend marinating it for at least 4 hrs, and if you can afford more time, for overnight for better flavored chicken. However if you are really short of time, 30 mins is OK.)
2. Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat and once heated add some cooking oil. Put all the vegetables and rice cakes into the skillet and add the meat on top. Cook them on medium high heat for 3-4 mins. Then reduce the heat to medium to medium low and cook further until all is cooked (about 10 – 15 mins). During cooking, stir often to avoid food sticking onto the pan. You can cover with a lid to speed up the cooking process.
3. Serve with rice and other Korean side dishes (optional).
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Dak Galbi (Korean Spicy Chicken Stir Fry)
Ingredients
Main
- 500 g chicken thigh fillets (1.1 pounds), you can use a whole chicken or chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 sweet potato (180g / 6.3 ounces), cut into long thick sticks (like English chips)
- 1/2 carrot (60g / 2.1 ounces), diagonally sliced
- 1/4 cabbage (320g / 0.7 pounds), shredded
- 10 leaves Korean perilla (35g / 1.2 ounces), thinly sliced
- 18 pieces Korean rice cakes (175g / 6.1 ounces), separated, if you use pre-packaged rice cakes, separate them first then soak in warm water for 10 minutes before you use them
- Some cooking oil (2 to 3 Tbsp) - I used rice bran oil
Marinade Sauce
- 3 Tbsp gochujang Korean chili paste
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru Korean chili flakes
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp raw sugar
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp Korean curry powder
- 1/2 onion (35g / 1.2 ounces), grated or minced
- Few sprinkles ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix them well. Pour the sauce over the chopped chicken and marinate for at least 30 mins. (Though I strongly recommend marinating it for at least 4 hrs, and if you can afford more time, for overnight for better flavored chicken. However if you are really short of time, 30 mins is OK.)
- Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat and once heated add some cooking oil. Put all the vegetables and rice cakes into the skillet and add the meat on top. Cook them on medium high heat for 3-4 mins. Then reduce the heat to medium to medium low and cook further until all is cooked (about 10 - 15 mins). During cooking, stir often to avoid food sticking onto the pan. You can cover with a lid to speed up the cooking process.
- Serve with rice and other Korean side dishes (optional)
Notes
** How to Make Dak Galbi, the Restaurant Way, at Home
- Typically, dak galbi is cooked and served in a large round cast iron pan at a restaurant. And I personally think it is essential that you eat it this way because it tastes so much better! Trust me! I use this cast iron skillet (12 inch) for my cooking and it's just perfect.
- I love cooking dak galbi at the table (over the portable gas burner) so that we can eat it as things get ready. Typically, the cabbage and rice cakes cook the fastest and the sweet potato the last. If you were to wait until everything cooks then somethings could over cook as a result.
- Prepare some lettuce, perilla leaves, sliced garlic, ssamjang (spicy dipping sauce) to make a wrap just like you would with other Korean BBQ.
- When you are nearly finished the meal (make sure you leave some meat, vegetables and the sauce in the skillet), you can add some (cooked) udon noodles or rice and stir fry them. I typically use 1 cup of steamed rice, some chopped kimchi, a dash of sesame oil and some shredded seasoned seaweed. Some restaurants also crack an egg over the rice but I personally prefer without it. Also, I don't normally add additional sauce to cook the noodles or rice, but if you want you could add some gochujang (about 1 Tbsp) or make extra marinade then add it.
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
One of my favourite Korean dishes!The chicken is succulent and the spicing is perfect. I also love the addition of the rice cakes. I tried other recipes but this is the best one by far.
Thanks a ton:) we were in korea for 3.5years. Dagkalbi will be our regular weekly recipe..
we miss ë‹ê°ˆë¹„ more than we miss korea..
Every year we will find one korean restaurant and will try dakgalbi there but we never get the authentic taste.. I never get confident to try this in home.. thank god I have got to see this webpage..
When I saw it, it’s very simple to follow..
I tried and we reminisce about our korean days.
Thanks a loads to your recipe and it brought happiness of being together when we do live cooking… and It fulfilled when we finish it with rice…
Absolutely delicious! I made this a bit less spicy by reducing the pepper paste by 1/3 and it is still so flavourful and delicious! I’m eating leftovers of it as i write this and i am just blown away with how tasty it is.
Do you have the Chargrilled Dak Galbi recipe that you mentioned in the article?
You can use this recipe. https://mykoreankitchen.com/gochujang-chicken/ It’s similar but slightly different. Also, the sauce sticks less to the grill. Enjoy!:)
what is the difference between curry powder [purchased at the regular market, and Korean curry powder?
^-^))
During the 2 years I lived in Korea, my local dak galbi restaurant was one of the favorite hangs to welcome new friends/coworkers and say goodbye to those leaving. When I moved back to the states, I figured I’d never eat it again. I’m SO happy to have come across your blog, because this recipe is the REAL DEAL! Next time, I’ll need to part the chicken at the end and add the cheese river down the center, like our restaurant did. Until dak galbi catches on in the states like Kbbq (which it SHOULD), I’ll be making this recipe!
This is such a tasty fun way to upgrade chicken. Spicy and packed with flavor! 💕💕
My husband loves this recipe. Thanks
Made this for my family for the first time yesterday and it was a massive hit! Absolutely delicious, I can’t wait to make it again!
I was stationed at Camp Page also! I would eat Dak Galbi at least 3 times a week. I have to try this recipe, as the others I’ve tried just aren’t the same. Thanks for the referral!
Had it with some soju and some friends. Such a great, comforting recipe that reminded me of my stay in Seoul.
I was stationed with the US Army at Camp Page in Chuncheon. This recipe is the most authentic. Used to eat Dak Galbi 5-7 times a week. It’s that good. Had our favorite restaurant on Dak Galbi alley. This recipe is spot on as I remember. Thanks so much.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed my recipe. Thank you for feedback. 🙂
Would you please share the recipe for onion sauce ? Can the garlic sauce and onion sauce be used in the same recipe?