Today’s recipe is jjimdak, a braised chicken with vegetables dish that originated in Andong, Korea. It’s a colorful and flavorful dish made with chicken, a variety of vegetables, mushrooms, and glass noodles. It’s perfect for enjoying with friends and family. Sometimes you hear “jjimdak” called “dakjjim” in English and that’s because dak (닭) means chicken and jjim (찜) is a cooking term in Korean that means braise or steam.
I first posted this recipe 13 years ago and it was a big hit on my website and YouTube. It’s a really delicious dish! Then I visited Korea a few years ago and I went to city of Andong to taste their real authentic Andong jjimdak that I had heard so much about. Now, I’m updating my original recipe to a more faithful Andong-style version with more detailed measurements that are better laid out.
One thing I learned is that the real Andong jjimdak is a little darker. I’m going to achieve this by adding chunjang which is black bean paste normally used for making jjajangmyeon.
I may have changed some details here and there but the result is the same: a delicious, irresistible dish that almost everyone loves!
Ingredients for 4 servings
- 2 pounds chicken thighs (or chicken breast), cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 ½ ounces (100 grams) of glass noodles (starch noodles)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ plus ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
For sauce:
- 12 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons peeled ginger, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- ¼ cup rice syrup (corn syrup or sugar)
- 1 tablespoon chunjang (black bean paste)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Vegetables
- ½ large green onion (or 3 to 4 regular green onions)
- 2 medium potatoes (8 ounces), peeled and cut into ½ inch thick chunks
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
- 7 to 8 white mushroom (or any mushrooms), cut into chunks
- 2 small carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into ¼ inch thick
- 2 green chili peppers, stems removed and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 red chili pepper (optional), stems removed and cut into ½ inch pieces
- ⅓ of English seedless cucumber (about 2 ounces), sliced diagonally ¼ inch thick
- 7 to 8 small dried red chili peppers, stems removed
Directions
Prepare noodles, onion, and chicken
- Soak the noodles in cold water in a bowl for at least 40 minutes until softened.
- Shred the large onion (daepa) into 3 to 4 inch thin strips and soak in cold water in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the chicken, salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper in a large bowl mix together. Set aside.
Make sauce:
- Combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice syrup, and chunjang in a medium bowl and mix well.
- Set aside.
Time to cook!
- Place the potatoes, onion, mushrooms, carrots, green chili peppers, red chili pepper (if used), cucumber, and dried red pepper on a large platter or tray.
- Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a large wok or a frying pan and add the dried red peppers. Stir them gently with tongs for about 20 seconds until the oil is fragrant and the peppers turn a little light brown. Remove the peppers with tongs and put them in a small bowl.
- Add the chicken carefully with the tongs to the hot oil. Heat up to medium high heat. Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes, moving around the chicken with a wooden spoon to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan.
- Turn the chicken over and allow it to be cooked another 3 minutes until the both sides are opaque and light brown.
- Add the sauce, 2 cups of water, potato, and onion. Stir them a few times. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium high heat.
- Drain the noodles and add to the pan along with the carrot, mushroom, green chili pepper, and dried red pepper. Stir all them with the wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until the noodles turn transparent and nicely cooked. If the broth is boiled down, add just a little bit of water (about ½ cup) and turn down the heat to medium.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the cucumber, and red chili pepper (if used), sesame oil, and the remainder of the ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
Serve:
You can place the jjimdak in the pan directly on the table or transfer it to a large platter before serving. Drain the shredded green onions and garnish them on the center of the pan or platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve right away.
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Can I use something else instead of the dried red peppers? Maybe some red pepper flakes? If so, how much?
Dear Maangchi,
I’m 18, and I figured it was finally time to start cooking dinners for my family. I made this last night, and it was fantastic! It was the first time I’ve ever made a full meal by myself. My sisters are picky eaters when it comes to meat, but they ate it all, and even had seconds! I’ve been trying to find recipes that have veggies and lean meats because my Dad is a diabetic heart patient. This was perfect because the rice made him get full faster, and chicken is a lean meat. And the veggies were very good for him! Thank you so much! Hopefully he will let me cook more often :D (he loves cooking!)
Rachel
Rachel,
I’m sure he will let you cook more often because your food is delicious. : )
Thank you for sharing your story! I used to cook for my siblings, too. Happy cooking!
I love how your directions are easy to follow yet the taste is complex and full of flavor! This was another hit!
awesome!
Hello Maangchi,
I’d like to cook this for my boyfriend but he’s allergic to both seafood and mushrooms. Is there any substitute for Oyster Sauce ? Can I simply take it out of the recipe ? What about the mushrooms ?
Yes, skip the mushrooms and use soy sauce instead of oyster sauce. I was told that some people use black bean paste instead of oyster sauce, too. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/black-bean-paste
Thank you very much, we just tried it and loved it :)
Will try more recipes :3
hi maangchi! can i ask something for this dish called dakjjim… thats one of my favorites and i love to eat! :D can i make a seafood version of that??? and what should i use if its a seafood version???
This recipe is so useful! It feeds even a large number of people easily. Starch noodles are very hard to find here, but even without them it’s so delicious! There are never any leftovers when I make this. Thank you Maangchi for this recipe! :D
awesome!
I made this and it is great. Thank you for another delicious recipe!! The only problem with this recipe, is that it is too good and too hard to stop eating. Thank you, thank you!
Happy cooking!
hi maangchi,
i discovered your blogsite while surfing in youtube…. the moment i watched some of your recipes whooaaa ive totally fall in love with korean dishes….
watching koreanovela is one of my obssession and each time i see korean food on tv im wondering how does it taste… ive tried this awesome dish of yours last night and guess what? my husband and i luv it…… my little boy cant eat it because its spicy so i also tried your sweet and crispy chicken… he luvs it too….
thank you for sharing korean food with us….
GOD BLESS and keep safe^^,
I wish you continued success in Korean cooking! Cheers! : )
I made this dish tonight and WOW . . . I love it. Next time I make this I will make sure I have all the ingredients, I was missing the green onion and the chili peppers. My mum likes it not too hot so she liked this dish, but next time I will make sure to spice it up. I do have one question, is there supposed to be broth in this dish? I did not have any “broth” in the end. Thanks again for all your recipes, I just love you and your site.
I’m glad to hear that yours turned out good! “I did not have any “broth” in the end” no problem. If you want it juicier, cook it for a shorter time, then you will get some broth. It’s delicious when you mix it with rice.
I made this tonight and it was a huge success! One of my new favourite recipes!
yay! Congratulations!
can I freeze this dish
I wouldn’t freeze this because the texture of each ingredient will turn soggy.
Hi is it possible to freeze this dish if yes please how
dear maangchi, I cannot find any corn syrup or rice syrup at my place so what can I use to substitute it? thank you..:)
sugar .. just sayin’
hi I don’t have brown sugar what can I substitute？
Use white sugar or honey.
maangchi! i made this for dinner tonight and it was really yummy :) my husband and i can’t wait to eat leftovers for dinner tomorrow. i hope you post a recipe for daktoritang soon! our favorite restaurant in college made the best daktoritang and it never tastes as good when i try making it at home. i bet your recipe would be really good!
hooray! lol, awesome news! daktoritang is called dakbokkeumtang these days. I filmed it during my Gapshida tour with Sarah Moore in Amsterdam. It will be edited and posted later. You must love chicken dish. : ) https://www.maangchi.com/blog/gapshida-amsterdam
Hi Maangchi, I love your recipes! Your cooking videos really help me get the hang of efficient cooking techniques too! I saw this chicken recipe a while ago. But have been hesitating to try because I have a 3-yr old who can’t take spicy food too well. Would the dish lose its beauty if I skip the dried red pepper, the green and red chilli peppers? How about replacing with red and green bell peppers which are non-spicy?
Hi Maangchi,
I just discovered your blog yesterday and I’m blown away by your dishes. Korean cuisine is sadly underrepresented in my part of the world. I’m going to try this one tonight! Looks delicious.
Maangchi
I left you a message wondering if you missed it. I accidentally replied below someone elses’s comment. Could you please let me know what your thoughts are and why my dish turned out this way when following your directions? I must be doing something wrong.
Yes, as you said, cook it over medium heat or cut the potatoes into larger, or c add the potato chunks a little later. Your next batch will turn out good!
I made this dish for my boyfriend on a whim because we had many of the ingredients laying around. He was in love with it, saying it was one of the best!!! I found your blog recently and have been busy making the recipes. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to making so many more
ahh, great news! “I found your blog recently and have been busy making the recipes.” Happy cooking! If you want to share your food photos with me and my readers, upload them here. https://www.maangchi.com/photos/upload
This dish with noodles and chicken sounds really delicious. I am going to have to try this one out for sure :) Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Let me know how yours turns out! Happy cooking!
Maangchi,
I made this last night, turned out yummy but something went wrong somewhere. I followed your directions exactly and my potatoes became too soggy and mashed which in turn made my veggies a lol too “juk” like. I cooked on high pretty much all the way thru. Taste was good but maybe I need to cook on medium instead?!
As much as I love food, (and I REALLY love food!) I didn’t think there was a food to die for until tonight when I made this. It may just be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever cooked! Love your site – I’ve tried dozens of your recipes and have developed an obsession for Korean food because of you. Thank you! 감사합니다!!
“It may just be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever cooked!”
wow, I like to taste yours!
“I’ve tried dozens of your recipes and have developed an obsession for Korean food because of you” awesome! If we meet someday face to face, we will probably have so many things regarding cooking to talk about.
thanks for this recipe! :)
i made some for the family here and we loved it! we live in japan so we don’t have the same ingredients. i substituted a few of them! im sure the original tastes better!!
thanks again!
xx, zhing
Awesome! Yours looks very tasty too! Let me tweet about the photo! Happy cooking!
I cooked this Dakjjim last week and it was yummy-licious! Love it! It’s easy and healthy as there were lotsa vegies in it. Thanks for the recipe, Maangchi!
yummy-licious! lol
Made this tonight for my husband’s birthday. I don’t think either of us had ever had it before. It was delicious! A little spicy for the kids, otherwise they would have loved it too. Next time I will put less pepper in it. This is the first dish I have ever made with cooked cucumber. I found it to be similar to cooked zucchini. I think this will be a great dish to make for company. I like it as much as chapchae and I think it seems easier to prepare.
I’m glad to hear that your family enjoyed your dakjjim! Yes, cucumber gives this dish a good kick! : )
Hi Maangchi!!!
I’m back! Oh my it’s been like forever. I had to reset my password because I already forgot my account info for your website. Lately because my baby is already 5 months old, I’ve been able to watch your online recipe show to catch up on what I’ve missed after being pregnant last year. I also made kimchi today!!!! Imagine, I was carrying my baby on a sling while putting on the kimchi paste into my cabbage.. hahaha…. anyway – i will try this new dish. I miss you and congratulations with all your success….
Welcome Joyce! : )
I made it today. It is really TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!! Very very YUMILICIOUS!!!!!
yay! you made it so fast! : )
Yay! I went to the Korean grocery store today and I’m going to make this for dinner! Someone remind me to take a picture of it to submit before I eat it all hahaha.
Sure, I’m looking forward to seeing the photo of your dakjjim you made! : )
seems like a good fall recipe — i can’t wait to try it (with the extra touch of black bean paste!).
Hi Maangchi,
Is soaking the chicken in cold water for a few minutes necessary if the chicken is fresh & not frozen like the one you used ?
You don’t have to do it, if you don’t have time, or if the chicken is very fresh. I do it to remove any blood left in the chicken.
Thanks a lot Maangchi :)
What a delectable photo! I am definitely going to try it as I like chicken. :)
I learnt a secret additional ingredient for this amazing dish that is used in a famous restaurant in Insadong: add one tablespoon of uncooked black bean paste. I can’t wait to try this recipe maangchi!
I usually don’t like dark dakjjim, but I’m going to try this next time I make it and compare.
Thanks for sharing the secret!
Very colorful and yummy looking. Can’t wait to try this!
sounds quite delicious, maangchi. But, as I’ve always been doing with your recipes, I must try the veggie version of it. But it will definitely be as delicious as the original version, right?! :D
Why don’t you try a variety of mushrooms for a veggie version – white mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, etc. Use less water than I use in the recipe, because the mushrooms have water in them.
You have any other ideas for a vegetarian version? Let us know what you come up with!
Oh wow! This is my kind of meal, I will make sure to cook this up soon.
Where did you get your new (new to me, at least I dont remember it?) wok pan thingy? And does it have a special name? It looks really good compared to my cheap flat bottomed wok.
My mom gave me that pan a long time ago, but I never used it. It was really expensive. Even though I never used it, I always brought it with me wherever I moved. I usually prefer to use light and cheap pans.
I can’t believe you noticed lol. I should use it more.
omg, maangchi… so cute. “sesame oilieee!” :D
maybe you can post a makeup video one of these days… some of us koreans are really bad at eye makeup… or maybe it’s just me. >_>