Cheese Dakgalbi – Korean Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry (Spicy & ADDICTING!)

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If you’re a spicy food lover, dakgalbi is one of the best things in the world! Dakgalbi combines chicken marinated in a to-die-for spicy sauce and Korean sweet potatoes, green cabbage, rice cakes and kkaennip leaves. Top it up with some cheesy mozzarella and stir-fry the last bits to make the best spicy chicken fried rice of all time!

If you asked me what dish is my #1 favorite across all cuisines of the world… well, there are two of them: dakgalbi and jeyuk bokkeum (Korean spicy pork). Dakgalbi combines everything I love, a juicy chicken, a super flavorful spicy sauce and some vegetables that soak up this amazing sauce.

When going back to Korea, this is probably the first restaurant I go to when I get there. Since I live abroad, and Korean restaurants over here do not propose dakgalbi, I’ve learned how to make it home to satisfy my recurring cravings : )

After having some spicy dakgalbi, I love grabbing a bingsu for dessert, especially in summer.

What is Dakgalbi?

Dakgalbi or dak galbi (닭갈비) is a dish that originates from Chuncheon, a city in Korea and the capital of Gangwon Province. The dish is made of boneless chicken thighs cut up into pieces and marinated in a spicy sauce made of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) and gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes). It is stir-fried with Korean sweet potatoes, green cabbage, kkaennip leaves and (optionally) rice cakes.

Dakgalbi is super easy to make, it just takes a little time to prep and chop all the vegetables. But once that’s done, it takes about 10-15 minutes for everything to cook. The green cabbage soaked up in the spicy sauce is a MUST, if you need to omit one vegetable in this dish, make sure you keep the green cabbage.

In this recipe, I’m also adding some mozzarella in the center to dip chicken in. Some restaurants modernized the traditional dakgalbi by adding melted mozzarella on top or in the center. But if you prefer, you can ignore it.

How to serve Dakgalbi?

In Korea, you will find restaurants exclusively serving dakgalbi. Each table is equipped with a large round pan/grill in the middle. The waiter brings you a plate with marinated chicken and vegetables and throws everything all together into the pan. They stir-fry it for you until everything is ready to eat.

When you have dakgalbi, it is a custom to keep some leftovers of meat and vegetables when you’re almost done. You can then order some portion of rice and ask to add extra seaweed, cheese, etc. The waiter will then mix the rice with your leftovers to make an INCREDIBLY TASTY FRIED RICE! As a fried rice lover, honestly, I cannot resist this fried rice… it’s a bomb! For spicy food lovers who have never had dakgalbi, put it on your “to-eat” list, you won’t be disappointed.

For making dakgalbi at home, you can use a large cast iron pan that can fit all meat and vegetables for a similar result as the restaurant. Not everyone owns a cast iron pan, in this case, use a regular pan (large size). Dakgalbi will still taste great but note that a cast iron pan will give you the best result with regards to stir-frying meat and vegetables.

ingredients to make dakgalbi?

• rice cakes – rice cakes are optional but I usually like to add a few of them. It adds an extra (chewy) texture.
• boneless chicken thighs – make sure you use chicken thighs (deboned will make your life easier) not chicken breast. Chicken breast isn’t appropriate for dakgalbi as it is too dry.
• green cabbage – chop green cabbage into 3 cm/1.2 inch squares.
• Korean sweet potato – do not substitute Korean sweet potato (white) with a regular Western sweet potato (orange). They taste totally different, Western sweet potato would not suit this dish. If you cannot find any Korean sweet potato, you can just omit it.
• onion
• green onions
• kkaennip leaves – kkaennip leaves look similar to perilla leaves but they are different in taste. Perilla leaves are often mistaken for kknaennip leaves due to their appearance. Depending on where you live, these can be difficult to find. While they add a great taste to dakgalbi, if you cannot find them, you could also omit them.
• mozzarella grated cheese – I love adding melted mozzarella to my dakgalbi, but it is optional, if you prefer it without cheese, that’s also fine!
• dried parsley – sprinkle dried parsley on top of the mozzarella. Just for the look, it doesn’t add anything in terms of taste.
• cooking oil

Sauce:

• garlic cloves – garlic is a staple in Korean marinades. Crush the garlic instead of chopping it by hand, you’ll get the garlic juice extract.
• ginger – mince or grate some ginger.
• sugar – sugar somewhat sweetens the spicy sauce.
• gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) – I like to use a little more gochugaru than gochujang in most of my Korean spicy sauces.
• soy sauce – I always use this Korean soy sauce. Make sure not to use dark soy sauce (whose flavor is much stronger).
• mirin (rice wine) – mirin is a sweetened rice wine and is often used in Korean marinades.
• mulyeot (Korean corn syrup) – I usually like to add 1 tbsp of mulyeot in this marinade to give it some shine just like a glaze and to add some mild sweetness. But if you do not have any, mulyeot can be skipped.
• gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) – gochujang is one of the stars of this sauce. Do not omit or replace it, there is no substitute for gochujang.
• sesame oil
• black pepper

Fried rice:

• cold rice – to make fried rice with leftovers, make sure you use refrigerated fried rice such as when making any fried rice. Warm rice, just cooked, will make your fried rice mushy.
• sesame oil – use some sesame oil to season the rice.
• salted seaweed – optional but always a great addition to fried rice.
• mozzarella shredded cheese – optional, I usually like to add extra cheese, never enough : )
• green onion – optional

How to prepare Dakgalbi?

1. Soak the rice cakes in the water while preparing the rest.
2. Prepare the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients together.
3. Chop the chicken into small bite sizes.
4. Add the chicken to the sauce and let it marinate for at least 1 hour – less is fine but 1 hour is best.
5. Chop the cabbage, sweet potato, onion, green onion and kkaennip leaves.
6. Heat some cooking oil in your pan on medium heat. Place chicken, sweet potato and onion. After about 2-3 minutes, add cabbage, rice cakes and green onions. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes and chicken are almost cooked. Add in the kkaennip leaves and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Make space in the middle of your pan and add mozzarella cheese. Turn your heat down to medium heat. Cover your pan with a lid and let the cheese melt.
8. Sprinkle with dried parsley.
9. Ready to eat =)
10. Don’t eat all of it, leave some leftovers to make fried rice. In Korea, if you go to the restaurant, it is very usual to do this.
11. In a bowl, assemble cold rice, sesame oil, salted seaweed, and green onion. Heat up your pan on high and add everything to the chicken. Sauté (fry) for 3 min. Then, add the mozzarella on top or mix it in.