Korea's Stir Fry Marinated Chicken

Dak Galbi 닭갈비

Dak galbi, also romanized dalk galbi, is a popular Korean dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang (chili pepper paste) based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, perilla leaves, and tteok (rice cake) together on a hot plate. It is a local specialty food for the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, where dak galbi originates. Because of its origin, the dish is also called Chunchŏn dak galbi.

It is said that dak galbi appeared after the late 1960s as an inexpensive anju (food that is eaten while drinking) in small taverns, on the outskirts of the city to replace the comparatively expensive gui dishes which are grilled over charcoal. The dish has spread to Chunchŏn's main districts, where the livestock industry thrives and offers fresh ingredients with no need for refrigeration. There is a street known as dak galbi golmok (dak galbi alley) which has a high concentration of dak galbi restaurants. Due to the city's northern location, it is a common destination for conscripted soldiers on leave.

It is also a popular dish for university students who are on a low budget, as dak galbi is relatively cheap and served in abundance. It earned the nickname "commoners' galbi" or "university student's galbi" back in the 1970s.

Despite the fact that its name means chicken ribs, there is no rib meat in dak galbi.

The city of Chunchŏn has held an annual autumn festival dedicated to dak galbi since 2005.

Ingredients:

1 pound of deboned drumsticks (the video shows how to debone them), or chicken breast
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
10 cloves of peeled garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
¼ cup hot pepper paste (gochujang)
⅓ cup hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
½ cup cooking wine (mirim) or water-sugar solution (½ cup water and 1 teaspoon sugar)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound cabbage, rinsed, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion (about 1 cup), sliced
5 oz (1cup) rice cake (garaeddeok), cut into 2 inch long pieces
5 oz (1 cup) sweet potato, peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces
1 small carrot (½ cup), sliced
2 green chili peppers, sliced
2 dozen perilla leaves

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and put them into a bowl. Mix with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and  ground black pepper by hand or a spoon. Set aside.
2. Prepare the sauce by combining garlic, ginger, hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and cooking wine in a bowl. Mix it well with a spoon. If you  use a food processor, blend it until creamy for about 1 minute.
3. Prepare a large, shallow, and wide pan or a grill for the dak galbi. Spread the cabbage on the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, green chili pepper, carrot, rice cake, and sweet potato.
4. Add the perilla leaves on top. You can cut them a few times or place the leaves whole. The leaves will shrink when cooked, so don’t be afraid to be generous!
5. Put the marinated chicken in the center of the pan, on top of the vegetables. Put the sauce on top.
6. Cover and cook over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon so the pan doesn’t burn and the ingredients and sauce mix evenly.
7. Lower the heat to medium and cover. Cook for another 20 minutes, or until it’s done. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon.
8. Now you can eat. The cabbage will cook first, followed by the rice cake, chicken, and sweet potato, so eat in that order. Keep the heat low during the meal. Cook, stir, eat, and talk. The pieces will be hot, so be careful! If the dakgalbi becomes totally cooked, turn off the heat.
9. When it’s almost totally finished, add some rice and chopped kimchi to what’s left on the grill and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat for a few minutes. Serve in separate bowls, or give everyone a spoon and let them eat from the pan together.

Delicious~ (─‿‿─)

Korean Soup (Chicken)

Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang) 삼계탕

Samgyetang is a variety of guk Korean soup, which primarily consists of a whole young chicken and Korean ginseng. The dish's name literally translates as "'ginseng chicken soup" in English. Samgyetang is traditionally served in the summer for its supposed nutrients, which replaces those lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers in Korea.

To make samgyetang, a whole young chicken is stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried seeded jujube fruits,garlic, and ginger. Depending on the recipe, other medicinal herbs such as Astragalus propinquus (hwanggi), wolfberry (gugija), Codonopsis pilosula (dangsam), and Angelica sinensis (danggwi) may also be added.

Like chicken soup, which is thought to help common sicknesses in the West, it is widely believed in Korea that samgyetang can both cure and prevent physical ailments. Proteins, minerals, and hormones from the whole chicken mixed with the beneficial properties of the ingredients combined in the dish makes it a revered culinary item in South Korea. Only whole uncut ingredients are used for the dish, as they are believed to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients.

Many Koreans enjoy it on three specific days in summer: "Chobok" (초복), "Jungbok" (중복), and "Malbok" (말복), which Koreans believe to be the hottest and most sultry of the year. Food with high nutrient content is eaten to regain the loss of stamina in the summer heat, and samgyetang is a favorite dish.

There are specialty restaurants in South Korea that serve nothing but samgyetang, having gained local popularity through their special recipe for the dish which are often kept secret. The dish is usually accompanied by side dishes and, in some restaurants, a small complimentary bottle of insamju (ginseng wine).

Ingredients:

Small chicken (Cornish hen)

1/4 cup of sweet rice

a dozen cloves of garlic

green onions

a few jujubes

1 or 2 small ginseng roots

Directions:

1. Wash and rinse your chicken in cold running water.
2. Soak 1/4 cup of sweet rice for 1 hour.
3. Stuff the chicken with the sweet rice, a ginseng root, a few jujubes, and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Place it in a pot.
4. Pour water into the pot and boil it over high heat for 20 minutes. When it starts boiling, skim off any foam and fat that rises to the surface Then pour in more water and boil it over medium heat for 40 minutes.
5. When it cooks properly, the chicken will be easily pulled apart by chopsticks.
6. Serve it with salt and pepper and kimchi or kaktugi.

Meok ja! 먹자!