This is my recipe for dakbokkeumtang, or spicy braised chicken, also called dakdoritang. Many people have requested this dish over the years. It’s spicy, savory, and hearty.
This video was filmed in Amsterdam with Sarah Moore as part of my Gapshida project. She emailed me: “I really want to learn dak-doritang, Maangchi. When I lived in Korea when I was young, I always used to eat it at a Korean restaurant. I miss the taste and the smell.” The camera person is Sarah’s friend Rei Nilde, who’s an artist.
Sarah and I made dak-bokkeumtang for this video and also our potluck party later. The video shows how we served a large group, and everybody enjoyed it with rice, as well as the amazing side dishes that they brought. All of us became good friends even though most of us were meeting for the first time.
I was thrilled when I read a recent email from Sarah: “…Guess what? Seeing you pursue your dreams and travelling the world with your Gapshida project really inspired me to start making more art and putting it online. I opened a little Etsy shop and I want to start working on a design/art blog :) to share visual inspiration.”
This traditional-style recipe is made with chicken wings and thighs, but I also made an updated version using chicken breasts.
Ingredients (for 4 servings)
- 1 kg (about 2 pounds) of chicken wings or chicken thighs
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup of minced garlic
- ¼ cup hot pepper paste
- ¼ cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbs sugar
- 2 or 3 medium sized onions (2 cups’ worth), cut into chunks
- 3-4 large potatoes (about 600 grams or 1.5 pounds)
- 2 green onions
- 2 green chili peppers
Directions
Cooking time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Wash and drain.
- Make seasoning paste by mixing the soy sauce, minced garlic, hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, and sugar.
- Put the chicken and onion into the seasoning paste. Mix it with a spoon.
- Add 2 cups of water to the pot and mix it up.
- Cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat.
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes. Wash and drain them, then cut into large chunks 2 inches across. Set aside.
- Chop the green chili peppers and green onions into small pieces. Set aside.
- 20 minutes later, add the potato chunks and chopped green chili peppers to the pot. Stir with a spoon, then cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Open the lid and cook another 3-5 minutes. Keep the lid open to boil away some broth and thicken.
- Occasionally take some broth from the bottom of the pot and pour it over the top so everything gets some delicious broth.
- Transfer it to a large serving plate and sprinkle 2 chopped green onions over top. Serve.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
I just made this for dinner, and it was so delicious that I burned my mouth trying to eat it quickly! I will make this again when I have more chicken! thank you maangchi for making so many recipes so we can learn Korean cooking!!
Hi maangchi!
I’ve been following you for a while but this is the first time I’ve decided to comment. I wanted to tell you that i made this today and it was perfect! I have a Korean friend that makes it. Hers always turns out great but mine today was just as good thanks to you!
I did add some things like a little fish sauce, rice syrup, sweet corn and sesame oil at the end. Thank you thank you so much. This WAS perfect for the cold, winter weather (:
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I never imagined you could eat dakbokkeumtang with corn, but it looks so tasty! Congratulations!
NYE 닭볶음탕 was a huge success! Thank you Maangchi!
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Yes, it looks great! Happy cooking!
This is by far my favorite recipe I’ve learned to make thus far. It is so simple to make, but it is delicious and healthy. I make this all the time for dinner when my partner isn’t home. He can’t tolerate spicy foods lol. The only thing I would suggest is using a waxy potato. I tried once with russets, but they mostly melted away while cooking.
I love all your recipes I’ve tried so far. I made this for dinner today and my husband gave it exceptional praise. It was very spicy with the peppers. He’s a very picky eater so I was over the moon that I found a Korean dish he really enjoys. I served it with home made danmuji, though with a different recipe than yours since I didn’t want to wait a whole month. I made mine with a sugary rice vinegar brine with a bit of turmeric for color.
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Your husband loved your food made with love. When I hear this, I’m on the moon!
I made this dish using this recipe a couple years ago. Korean ahjumas always told me this was a really hard dish to make, but this recipe was so easy! And I am really bad with cooking. I used drumsticks instead of chicken thighs or wings because that’s what my mom always used. This recipe turned out amazing! My mom’s was always the best when I was a kid and when she passed away I never thought I’d taste it again, but this tastes just like hers. :) Thank you.
Hi Maangchi, I want to begin by letting you know that I love your website! Thank you for all of the awesome recipes. I have a question about making this dish vegetarian. If I were to make a vegetarian version, which protein would you recommend using? Perhaps tofu? Or if I were to just use vegetables in place of the chicken, which ones would you recommend? I think the sauce would be just great with lots of veggies, and I was thinking of adding zucchinis or mushrooms. Do you have any ideas of any other vegetables to add? Thank you so much!
I would use some mushrooms to give the dish some chewy texture like meat.
Hi Maangchi! I really want to make this dish for a Halloween pot luck at work, and the comments I’ve seen talking about how spicy it is just sealed the deal.
I’m wondering – could I bake the wings in the oven instead of cook them in water? Do you need the water to kind of meld all of the spice together evenly, or do you think it’d be OK to coat the wings, and then just cook them in a baking dish without the water?
Thanks!
-jason
I don’t think baking is a good idea for making delicious dakbokkeumtang. It should be braised so that you can get delicious and juicy broth which makes the chicken more tasty while it’s being cooked.
Ok, sounds good! :)
You could try baking it with the broth. Cover the top with aluminium foil.
Maangchi, do you use starchy potatoes for this, like Idahos, or waxy ones, like red potatoes? I thought Idahos might fall apart.
Janet
I made 안동 찜닭 (Andong JjimDak) yesterday (which is one special version of this dish) and used “Marabel”. That’s starchy-waxy and turned out perfect.
Bye, Sanne.
My favorite is Idaho potatoes. I love the fluffy texture.
Thank you for the recipe Mangchi! My dad was proud of me that I can make this dish!!
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thank you so much for this recipe and all your recipes! you have been a big blessing to my family and to many. thank you for sharing korean food recipes in a thoughtful way that is easy to follow for anyone and for your enjoyable cooking videos, God bless!
I first tried made this recipe a couple of months ago with my husband, and it was good but so spicy it hurt to eat it. Now I’m visiting my parents in the US after having lived in Korea the past year, and I made this recipe for them, but I reduced the red pepper and left out the green chili. Both my parents said it was good and even my super picky brother ate some. Thank you for all your excellent recipes!
You made your family happy with your dakbokkeumtang! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Maangchi,
I can’t seem to find the Korean green chili pepper, is there some other pepper that I can substitute it for, like Serrano pepper? Please advise, thank you.
yes, serrano pepper sounds great to me!
Hi Maangchi,
I tried making this a couple of days ago with 1 very small serrano pepper and took all the seeds out. Even though the pepper was so small it turned out to be quite spicy but not too spicy, I think it was about just the right amount of heat. It turned out to be very delicious and tasty! Can’t wait to cook this for friends. Thank you so much for this recipe Maangchi!!
This is one of my favorite Korean recipes aside from your jjajangmyun. Sometimes I make it with sweet potatoes and skinless chicken thighs, depending on what I have. I’ve been waiting for the weather to cool down to really enjoy it. I make it almost weekly in the winter and everyone loves it. Thanks for the excellent recipe^^
Great. Dakbokkeumtang is very easy to make. I’m glad you make this often.
Hi Maangchi ! i’m in love with your recipes but can i put normal sugar instead brown sugar because i don’t have !
Wow! I’m vietnamese but love korean food. Have been exploring your korean recipes and I love this one especially !!!
Same here :D
Maangchi,
I think this dish will be a hit with my family! I made it last night and received the best compliment ever from my wife. She said ‘mmmm’ after each of her first five bites! I must thank you because you are making me look so good in the kitchen with your awesome recipes!
감사합니다 망치 선생님 (with big bow),
Dave 학생
yay! I’m so happy to hear that your family loved your spicy braised chicken! Reading your post reminds me of my Gapshida trip in the Netherlands. I made a huge batch of dakbokkeumtang when I did a meetup in Amsterdam a few years ago. Many people came to the meetup and we had a great potluck party. All of them loved the dakbokkeumtang. I miss them now. : )
https://www.maangchi.com/blog/gapshida-amsterdam
Hi Maangchi,
I made this yesterday for a Korean/English Christmas party and it was great! The chicken was so delicious and I managed to make it spicy enough without being painful hehe.
I just wondered about one thing though. There seemed to be really a lot of oil on top once it was cooked. Is that usual? Is there a way to reduce it? Thanks!
oh you made dakbokkeumtang for a large group of people just like I did in this video! “There seemed to be really a lot of oil on top..” it’s only natural. Scoop it out if it bothers you. Happy cooking!
MissKay,
You could also try making it with chicken breast (it’s all we had). The one I made with those had almost no oil on the surface but it still came out totally delicious!
Cheers!
Dave
조리법은 완벽했다! It was so good! I’m making it again today. Reminds me of when I lived in Seoul!
Can we substitute hot pepper flakes with anything else? Cayenne pepper maybe? or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crushed_red_pepper ?
If you use cayenne pepper flakes, it will turn out too spicy.
hi maangchi…
can we use other type of pepper paste?
hi maangchi! i’m a student hir at the Philippines..
we’re going to cook Korean food.. and i saw your recipe on youtube..
it looks delicious so i want to try it.. but i haven’t see any hot pepper paste in the groceries near me.. is it ok without it or is there any other substitute for that?
thank you!
gel_khj06,
I was in the Philippines last year in December and saw quite a few Korean restaurants as well as Korean Markets (mostly mini) (Don’t ask what city and area etc etc, as I was there to visit a friend in the general Manila area – I have no idea where I was at any given time). When you go in, ask if they have go-choo-jang. If they do not carry it, they will surely know where to obtain them, as Koreans do not live without hot pepper paste. Trust me.
As for substitutes, probably not.
Here is a list of Korean grocery stores submitted by my readers. I’m sure you can get Korean cooking ingredients there. Good luck! : ) https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/philippines
Maagchi! Thank you for this great recipe! I made it tonight for dinner, and it’s delicious! I have a question though, it is supposed to taste sweet? I used sweet potatoes instead of potatoes (I’m trying to eat less white carbs), maybe that could have made it sweeter than it should be? Next time I’ll make it with regular potatoes to see if it tastes any different.
yes, use potatoes instead of sweet potatoes in this recipe. Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hi MaangChi,
I recently start watching your cooking from Youtube. I just tried spicy braised chicken. It is really delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.
Great news! Spicy braised chicken is called dakjjim in Korean. Happy cooking! https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dakjjim
Maangchi: love ur youtube vids & this site!
Do u have a recipe for korean marinated bbq chicken?
I usually use spicy seasonings when I bbq chicken. I am going to post the recipe someday. Meanwhile, check out the marinade recipes in my bulgogi and spicy pork. You can replace the meat with chicken.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dwaejibulgogi
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bulgogi
Maangchi! I’m in love with your recipes! I got the chicken on boil now with the spice paste! I’m very excited for this meal. I can smell the heat in the air!
Gamsi hamnida!
I can imagine the smell while you cooked the chicken and vegetables. yummy!
I made this again, but this time with chicken thighs and less spicy.
I left out the potatoes (low carb diet) and I added some ginger.
I have been craving ginger but I don’t like ginger on it’s own, I prefer when it is mixed with garlic and hot pepper paste or flakes.
It was delicious!
Hey Maangchi, thank you so much for sharing this great recipe!! I took chicken breast instead of chicken wings / thighs and thought it’s going to come out a bit dry with that meat but I was wrong – it was really delicious and very tender!!
hello maangchi! thanks for the great recipe! I just made it and it’s great! But I had some problems during cooking.
First, after 20 minutes boiling chicken, I found out my pot’s base got burned. I think it’s due to the spice inside the broth. Do I suppose to stir it constantly during that 20 minutes?
Second, my broth looked darker than yours and a bit salty for me. was it possibly because too much soy sauce? I feel like I followed your recipes quite okay… or maybe because I didn’t use korean soy sauce? I used kikkoman soy sauce since you said it’s okay and korean soy sauce is more expensive here than other japanese or chinese soy sauces (about 2 or 3 times).
Is there any way to fix it? I’m planning to try your other recipes, so if it’s really the soy sauce’s problem, i’ll get the korean soy sauce instead.
Use a thick bottomed pot, then the bottom won’t burn. Or stir it occasionally while it’s being cooked. “my broth looked darker than yours” Check out your hot pepper flakes to see if they are bright red. And if it turns out too salty for you, use less soy sauce. I use Korean soy sauce, so I can’t compare the saltiness of Kikkoman and Korean soy sauce. Modify the recipe to your taste.
Happy cooking!
I’m making this tonight :D I see from a few comments that people have made this with chicken breasts. Won’t the breast meat dry out cooking it for 40mins?
I’m using thigh meat tonight since that’s what I have, but we usually only have breast meat and if this is tasty, well then, I just want to be sure that it’s going to be just as juicy and tasty with breast meat cooking for that length.
Alrighty, I didn’t have all of the ingredients unfortunatly. No chili pepper.
I also used about half the amount of pepper flakes, and instead of potatoes, I used carrots instead.
Used thigh meat and it was AWESOME!!! Super tasty and just delicious!
My husband wants me to make it again for his friends next week :) I’ll def get the peppers then, but think I’ll still use carrots again instead of potato :)
Thank you for sharing how you modify the recipe to your taste! It sounds interesting!
The original recipe of “1/4 cup of chilli powder flake” was WAYY TOO spicy for me. I had to tone down the chili powder to maybe maximum of 2 tbsp. :)
Now this dish is officially my favourite food, it’s so easy to make and tastes to hearty with the stew soups.
What kind of veggies that go well in the stew? Can i add green peppers?
“I had to tone down the chili powder to maybe maximum of 2 tbsp” great! : ) You could add cabbage, carrot, or chinese broccoli. It will turn out tasty.
Hi!
I don’t have gochugaru :(, but I love lots of gochujang!
Would it be better to just use more gochujang?
Or add chili pepper or cayenne pepper?
Thank you!
hi maangchi, what type of soy sauce can i use? i have kikkoman soy sauce and dark soy sauce, which one is better?
Oh you are going to make this dish! kikkoman soy sauce will work well. Check this out please if you want to know about Korean soy sauce that I use. : https://www.maangchi.com/guide/essential-ingredients
Hi! I was wondering if you could substitute chicken legs instead of chicken wings? If I did, how would i modify the recipe? Should I slit the chicken legs so they would cook faster?
yes, chicken legs will work perfectly, too! But you may cook longer maybe?
hi! I’m a little confused with step 3. do we mix the chicken with the paste and onions into a pot before adding water?
yes, mix the chicken, onion, and the paste well, and then add water.