Korean spicy chicken stew (dak bokkeum tang)

Name: Korean spicy chicken stew (dak bokkeum tang)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Korean recipes
Ingredients: 1 small chicken (about 1kg), jointed, or 1kg bone-in skin-on chicken thighs; 1 tsp sea salt flakes; 2 tbsp rapeseed oil; 10g caster sugar; 35g Korean soy sauce; 10g gochugaru; 1 leek, cut into 2cm slices; 1 onion, cut into 3cm chunks; 1 tsp doenjang; 50g gochujang; 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2cm slices; 350g floury potatoes, such as maris piper, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks; 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped; ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper; Sliced red chillies, spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish; Cooked rice and kimchi to serve

Portion size: Serves 4
Prep time 15 min. Cook time 50 min
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Recipe by: Joo Won

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Put some fire in your belly with a bowl of this Korean spicy chicken from chef Joo Won. “This is a hearty, warming stew. ‘Dak’ means chicken; ‘bokkeum’ means stir fried and ‘tang’ means soup or stew,” says Joo.

Born in Busan, Joo moved to Europe to become a pastry chef. After over a decade working in French Michelin-starred kitchens, he’s now opened a London restaurant, Cálong, which combines European and Korean cooking. Follow Cálong on Instagram @calonglondon.

Loved this dish? Discover more authentic Korean recipes.

Before you start

Chef Joo’s Korean ingredient tips “Using proper Korean ingredients in this dish is important to get the best flavour. While supermarkets sell their own versions of some, they’re different in flavour and strength. You’ll need to go to a specialist grocer or shop online (my favourite stores are Oseyo, H Mart and Korea Foods) but it makes all the difference.”

Korean soy sauce “Look for bottles with ‘jin’ or ‘yangjo’ on the label. The brands Sempio or Chung Jung One are good. If you can’t find them, Kikkoman (a Japanese soy sauce) is similar to Korean soy sauce, so you could use that instead.

Gochugaru “These chilli flakes come in both fine and coarse powders – ideally you’d use a 50/50 mix for this dish, but if you only have one type that’s okay. Just make sure it’s produced in Korea for the best flavour. Brands to look out for are Wang, Nongshim-taekyung or Choripdong.

Gochujang (fermented chilli paste) and doenjang (fermented soybean paste) “My recommended brands are CJ Haechandle, Sempio or Chung Jung One. I think they’re much better than own-brand supermarket versions.”

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Ingredients

1 small chicken (about 1kg), jointed, or 1kg bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
10g caster sugar
35g Korean soy sauce
10g gochugaru
1 leek, cut into 2cm slices
1 onion, cut into 3cm chunks
1 tsp doenjang
50g gochujang
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2cm slices
350g floury potatoes, such as maris piper, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sliced red chillies, spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish
Cooked rice and kimchi to serve

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Method

Put the chicken on a tray, skin-side down, and sprinkle with the salt. Set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature (you can prepare the vegetables while you wait).
Set a large saucepan (25-30cm) over a medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the chicken, skin-side down, and fry until the skin is golden and most of the fat has rendered out. Turn the heat down to low-medium and remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds – you want to lower the temperature a little, otherwise the soy added in the next step may burn.
Add the sugar and soy sauce, put the pan back over the heat and stir to coat the chicken. Once the chicken pieces are glazed in the sweet soy mixture, add the gochugaru and stir to combine. Pour in enough water to just cover the chicken.
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Turn up the heat and bring the liquid to the boil. Add the leek and onion, cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the doenjang and gochujang. Cook, stirring, until the pastes dissolve into the liquid, then add the carrot, potatoes and garlic.
Leave the stew to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, then add the freshly ground black pepper. Turn the heat right down and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Keep topping up the stew as needed with more water – you want the level to stay just below the point of covering the meat and vegetables.
Finally, turn the heat up to high and vigorously simmer the stew until the sauce reduces a little. During this process, the vegetables will break down a little and thicken the sauce.
Season with plenty of black pepper, then garnish with chillies, spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and a side of kimchi.