Korean dakgalbi (or dak-galbi) is a spicy stir-fried chicken dish that is served at the table in the same skillet or cast iron pan it’s cooked in. You wrap it up in lettuce leaves together with some nori and kimchi (a bit like san choy bow) to make little handheld bundles of sweet, fiery and savoury goodness. Then, once all the chicken and vegies are eaten, it’s common to toss the rice through the remaining sauce. This is such a great meal to serve family-style – it’s the ultimate interactive meal and conversation-starter!
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
½ small onion, cut into wedges
1 small sweet potato, peeled, cut into wedges
500g (1 lb) chicken thigh pieces, cut into thin strips
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced into batons
lettuce leaves, to serve
steamed rice, to serve
kimchi, to serve
finely sliced nori seaweed sheets, to serve
Marinade:
½ small onion, roughly chopped
4cm (1.5”) piece, ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp gochugaru*
3 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp curry powder
- Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender and process until a smooth-ish paste forms.
- In a deep frying pan with a lid, place the cabbage in an even layer on the base. Nestle in the onion wedges, then scatter the sweet potato and chicken pieces on top. Pour the marinade over the top of the chicken and spread over evenly.
- Add 1 cup of water to the pan, then cover with a lid. Turn the heat on high and cook for 5 minutes until things are steaming and the liquid has started simmering. Next, lift the lid off and give the ingredients a mix, before spreading them into an even layer. Pop the lid back on.
- Now turn the heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked through and the potato is tender.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle over the spring onion. Serve with lettuce leaves, rice, kimchi and nori. To eat, make little bundles of the dish and the side dishes using the lettuce leaves.
- Notes: – Gochugaru are Korean red pepper chilli flakes. Find them online or from an Asian grocery store.
