Spicy Korean Braised Chicken (Dakdoritang)

Dakdoritang, or spicy braised chicken, is a hearty and addictive stew that tastes heavenly when you mix the gravy into your rice!

A few notes about the ingredients

• Chicken: Originally, dakdoritang is made with a whole chicken chopped into chunks, bones included. But I always go for the boneless option if given the choice (it just makes life so much easier), which is why my recipe uses boneless chicken. You can use whatever part of chicken you like—wings, drumsticks, breast, anything goes.

• Oligodang: Also known as oligosaccharide syrup, this is a common Korean ingredient used in place of sugar or corn syrup. It’s supposedly healthier, but I use it mostly to give the food a nice gloss. I wouldn’t recommend honey since it has a distinct fragrance and taste. If you don’t have oligodang, use sugar or any other starchy syrup.

• Chilis: My recipe doesn’t call for it, but it’s very common to top this dish with a couple chopped chilis along with the scallion for an extra kick. I personally don’t use chilis because storing them in my fridge is a chore, but feel free to add some if you’d like.

• Anchovy broth: Anchovy broth adds depth to the flavor, but water is fine. You can also use dashi stock, chicken broth, chicken seasoning powder, etc.

Servings: 3-4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 600g boneless chicken (or a whole chicken)

• 1-2 cups milk (optional, depending on bowl size)

• 2 medium potatoes

• 1 large carrot

• 1 onion

• 1/4 cup gochujang

• 1/3 cup light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• 1/4 cup oligodang or sugar

• 2 tbsp gochugaru

• 1 tbsp rice wine

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup anchovy broth or water

• 1 stalk scallion, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into large chunks and soak in milk for about 20 minutes to tenderize and get rid of the gamey smell, then rinse with cold water. (The milk part is optional.)

2. Peel and chop the potatoes, carrot, and onion into large chunks.

3. To make the sauce, mix gochujang, soy sauce, minced garlic, oligodang, gochugaru, rice wine, fish sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper with anchovy stock or water.

4. Boil everything in a pot until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

5. Garnish with scallion and serve with rice.