Dakgangjung is a very popular traditional Korean dish and is usually made with chunks of chicken from a whole chicken. I’m using chicken wings in this recipe, but you could use chunks.

Each piece of chicken wing is coated with sweet and crispy sauce. Of the ingredients, thinly sliced ginger will turn into something like candy which has not only its own special chewy taste but also influences the whole flavor of chicken. Peanuts turn it into an amazingly crispy snack!

I also posted an easier version of dakgangjeong where you don’t need to mix a batter or slice ginger. It’s just as delicious as this one, so check it out!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Prepare 40 chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinse them off in cold water and drain them.
  2. Transfer the chicken into a big bowl.
  3. Add kosher salt, ground pepper, eggs, and a mixture of the flour and the starch powder. Mix it by hand.
  4. Deep fry the chicken wings in vegetable oil 2 times at about 350” to 380”F.

Make sauce:

  1. Prepare a big wok or pan.
  2. Place 1 cup of water in the wok and heat it up.
  3. Add the ginger to the boiling water.
  4. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and boil it over medium heat.
  5. 5 minutes after, add corn syrup and keep boiling over low medium heat about 30 minutes.
  6. Raise a spoon of the sizzling sauce above the wok in the air and drop it until the sauce starts to stop halfway down. Then turn off the stove.

Mix it up:

  1. Reheat the sauce.
  2. Add the deep fried chicken, peanuts (or any kind of nuts), dried red hot chili pepper, and the toasted sesame seeds into the sizzling sauce and mix it with a spatula. The amount of sticky sauce will decrease while you are stirring. Then turn off the heat and you are done!

*tip: Before the chicken cools down, separate each piece of chicken to prevent them from sticking to each other.

dakgangjeong - fried chicken

For the spicy food lover

You can sprinkle 2 tbs of dried and crushed red chili pepper instead of ½ tbs.

For vegetarians

Just make the sauce following the recipe above, and then add whatever dried ingredients you like and make candy! You can use sliced ginger, nuts (almond, walnuts, pine nuts, and peanuts), or sesame seeds.

  1. Place plastic wrap on your cutting board
  2. After mixing all the dried ingredients with the sticky sauce, spread it on the plastic wrap. Wait a few minutes for it to harden.
  3. Cut into bite size pieces and enjoy!

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340 Comments:

  1. Hi Maangchi!
    I found your video last night when i browse for korean side dishes.
    I’m so glad and happy that I found your blog.
    I love korean food especially Tofu stew,Dduk bok kie,Radish kimchi and Napa kimchi.
    B’cause of you, now I can try to make it myself.
    Thank you.

  2. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi,anonymous,
    Yes, I used all purpose flour in this dish.

  3. HI! I’m loving your blog!! I wanted to tried many different recipes so much but I have to wait until I can go the Korean market, but I have a question…You mentioned the ingredient “flour” like what kind? All purpose or???Thanks

  4. this looks soo delish :) i guess im going to ask my mom to make it for mee ^^ haha.. the only time i really get to eat chicken like this is at partys >< because my mom order from the chan chi jeep place ..thankss

  5. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Thank you, ruth!

  6. been watching your videos and i’m very impressed on the way you present it… this one looks so delicious also. thank you for sharing.

  7. Hi Maangchi,

    I can’t wait for your new video. I’m sure it will be great !!

    The jelly has got such a refreshing taste to it and I’m sure it’s very healthy too..

    Angela

  8. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi, Ange,
    I checked the link you sent me.
    It’s called “chung po muk” made from mung beans. There are a few kinds of popular jelly dishes which depend on what materials are used such as buckwheat, acorn, and mungbeans.

    check this out.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokdumuk

    Anyway, you like the “chung po muk muchim”, actually it’s my favorite food.

    I will include this dish in the list of my future videos.

    Thank you.

  9. Hi Maangchi,

    It’s me again, remember last time I was talking about “vu” the waterchestnut jelly, I found an image from the internet, if you scroll down to the middle bit you will see an image of the chestnut jelly.
    Do you know how to make this? I love this.

    http://www.aromacookery.com/aromacookery/2005/10/crystal_jade_ko.html

  10. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Dear John Chang,
    Sure I will try to use molasses later. Thank you!

  11. Hi Maangchi. My mom makes something similar but she uses Molasses. Its a type of dark sugar syrup and it gives the sweet chicken crust a little bit of a deeper flavor. The peanuts are a great idea, I’m going to tell her to add peanuts. But try the molasses, I think you’ll really like the flavor!

  12. Hi Manngchi,

    Cool, the side dish image you sent me looks yummy too. I will take a picture of the “vu” next week when I visit the Korean grocery store.

    I have already made 6 dishes from your recipes already, they all taste great, and my friends thought I actually bought them from a restaurant…. LOL…it was such a great compliment. I have also made cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi this afternoon, I will let you know the out come on Tuesday.

    can’t wait to do another soon.

  13. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Angela,
    I think the dish is called “Mook” that looks like jelly. I will include it in the list of my upcoming cooking videos anyway.
    I found this on the internet.

    http://happyday.donga.com/food/cuisine_detail.php?cookid=20020419000004

  14. Hi Maangchi,

    Thanks for returning your comments.
    “vu” is actually korean but I’m probably not pronouncing it correctly.

    Apparently it’s made from water chest nut powder and you slice them into small pieces and dressed with soy sauce vinegar, sugar, and shallots.

    Angela

  15. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Dear Angela,
    oh, you are talking about lotus stem side dish. It’s usually sauteed with soy sauce and sugar or corn syrup. Sure I will make a video for the side dish and post it in my blog some day, but I can’t figure out what the jelly side dish “vu” you mentioned.

  16. Hi Maangchi,

    I have only found your website last week and now I am a big fan of yours.

    your instruction is so clear and very easy to follow especially the videos, they are the best.

    I love korean food so much, especially the side dishes from the restaurant.

    I was wondering if you know how to make more side dishes, like the sweet lotus, and the “vu” the jelly side dish. I love “vu’ so much.

    Angela

  17. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    ka6_jeram
    Yes, you can keep the sauce in the refrigerator and use it when you make it. Thanks

  18. Can i make the sauce and keep it the fridge for later use?

  19. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    hello, christine!
    Yes, even though you leave ginger out, the taste will still be good.
    You can put some different kinds of nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds instead of peanuts.

  20. Hi Maangchi, this looks so yummy, I can’t wait to try it! I have one question though, is the ginger taste strong? I’m not a big fan of ginger, so if I left it out, will it taste as good? Is there something else I can substitute it with?

    Thanks!

  21. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Dear Hendrian,
    Using a spoon to peel ginger is not a new trick. My grand mother and mother used it. I also used to peel it that way long time ago. Thank you for giving me chance to talk about it. : ) Nice!

  22. hi maangchi,

    I saw how you peeled the ginger. Try this trick I learnt while working in the kitchen: instead of using a knife, use a tablespoon to peel. Just put the tip of the spoon onto the ginger and peel! Hope that helps.
    Regards
    Hendrian

  23. maangchi, do you have duck recipe? I’m duck lover and always hunt many duck dish with many style.. can u give me one? Thanks

  24. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    erasmusa,
    I am very glad to hear that you are learning about Korean food from my recipes. Now you can judge Korean dish that you are served at a korean resturant. “hmm, this soon du bu should be more thicker than this, only 1 shrimp?” or “oh, this cook must forget about using sesame oil!” etc… lol

  25. hi maangchi! i’v been watching your vodcasts for months now. although i still haven’t cooked any korean food, i’ve learned about it and appreciate what goes into the food i eat in korean restaurants. all the best to you and your work! :)

  26. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Agasuka,
    Yes, you have to stir fry hot pepper flakes longer with some vegetable oil.

    I will give you this method which I don’t like beause it is time consuming. We call it gochu kierum.

    In a small heated pot, pour 5 TBS of vegetable oil first and 3-4 TBS of hot pepper flakes and stir it for short time. Then put some of this into Soondubu jjigae.

    I simplified by stir frying the hot pepper flakes with other ingredients and vegetable oil in the same pot.

    Your pictures will encorage some people to attempt trying to make some dishes without worrying.

    Thanks,

  27. Hi Maangchi,

    I saw your the column of “Bloggers who made my recipes”

    Other than what you posted, I also made the following:
    1. Bean Sprouts Side dish http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=143
    2. Jap Chae
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=110
    3. Yuk Gae Jang
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=90
    4. Jeon
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=78
    5. Bulgogi Stew
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=69
    6. Deon Jang Chigae
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=54
    7. Kim Bap
    http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=43

    By the way,
    sorry to inform you that my Soon du bu was a failure. I encountered the same problem as one of your youtube viewers. The hot pepper flakes floated in the soup and ruined the dish. I guess I should have stir fired it longer before pouring in the liquid.

  28. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Rebecca,
    It looks very good! You changed the recipe a little to fit your taste, which is wonderful.

    I posted the picture of your delicious looking boneless dak kang jung dish under “Bloggers who made my recipes”.

  29. Hi…

    This dish was so easy to follow! I guess I am a little strange when it comes to meat, I do no like bones. So I made the meal using skinless/boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size. I also added the crushed red pepper to the sauce. I included a picture for you. Thank you so much! I look forward to all of your other meals!

    http://i250.photobucket.com/albums
    /gg242/Mrs_T05/dakkangjung.jpg

  30. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    James,
    Wow, it looks perfect!

  31. I know I wrote this as a video comment on youtube but I couldn’t tell if it posted without a hitch. Here it is again:
    >>
    Maangchi, I made this earlier tonight. There’s a picture on my website if you want to see how it turned out. I love it! I could see why this is a popular potluck dish. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    http://yakap.org/2008/03/dak-kang-jung.html
    >>

  32. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    anne.h,
    sure, you must be good at cooking.
    Update me when you make other dishes.

  33. Dear Maangchi,

    I found your website last week. I love your videos! I made bibimbap for my fiance and it was delicious. I hope I can make this one and all the others someday. Keep it up!

  34. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Hi, lillian,
    I was expecting your comment. : )
    Oh, your mom sounds like she has allergy in wheat.
    Yes, you can use all starch powder(either potato or corn) instead of mixing it with wheat flour.

  35. Maangchi these look transcendentally delicious! I can easily imagine they’re the first thing to go at potlucks. My mom can’t eat wheat–can I use all starch powder instead of mixing it with wheat flour? Also, what kind of starch powder is it? Thanks!

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