[Food] Dakdoritang (닭도리탕, Spicy Braised Chicken Stew)

[Food]

[Food] Dakdoritang (닭도리탕, Spicy Braised Chicken Stew)

Just as people in other countries have loved eating chicken-based foods for a long time, it has been the same for Koreans. Koreans usually prefer to cut chicken into small pieces and deep fry them, which is 'Fried Chicken'. However, today, I won't talk about the popular, famous Korean fried chicken, but Korean-style spicy braised chicken stew 'Dakdoritang (닭도리탕)'.

No one knows the exact origin of Dakdoritang but people guess that people in Pyeongyang (North Korea's capital city) often ate a food called 'Doritang' in the early 1900s which had a very similar recipe to the current Dakdoritang. So people suppose that 'Doritang' spread to South Korea to became dakdoritang.

Dakdoritang is one of the most popular and cheap foods for Korean meat-lovers because chicken is usually cheaper than pork and beef, and is also spicy and not very hard to cook. You need some vegetables (potatoes, onion, chilis, carrots, spring onions and garlic), some Korean seasoning (Chili paste and chili powder) and chopped chicken.

The recipe is simple but it differs at restaurants according to one's  preference of spiciness and amount of soup with chicken. Firstly, cut a chicken into small pieces, then mix chili paste, chili powder and soy sauce to make the dakdoritang sauce. This sauce forms the basis of dakdoritang so some good restaurants or cooks have their own secret dakdoritang recipe.

Stir-fry diced chicken pieces and chopped vegetables with the sauce. When the chicken is well covered with the sauce, pour water (or meat stock) to braise. The recipe can be a little different depending on the amount of soup desired in dakdoritang and its spiciness.

Do you enjoy spicy chicken soup with rice? then pour much water in it

If you prefer a thick chicken taste and sauce like the above picture, then you don't need to use much water

If you want spicy dakdoritang, pour as much chopped spicy chili and powder as you like

Koreans love dakdoritang's spicy meat and soft vegetables, but they also love its spicy sauce that comes out of chicken meat. The sauce is delicious when mixed with rice to salivate your   taste buds.

It is usually popular in a rainy or cold day when people usually think of hot, spicy meat soup to warm the body from top to the bottom - heart included.


So, how about cooking a dish of dakdoritang today? It might energize your body with its spicy and warm flavor.

Dakdoritang with cylinder-like rice cakes in it

Bon Appétit!