South Korea - 닭갈비 Dalk Kalbi - Spicy Chicken

Hi All, 

닭갈비 Dalk Kalbi

This week I decided to tackle something a little easier than haggis as the haggis was a lot of work if I am honest. Having lived and worked in Jeju Island South Korea and having a crazy passion for all things Korea I decided that this would be my next stop on this culinary adventure. 

Almost all Korean food is delicious in my mind (with the odd freaky dish I'd rather not have) but Korea is probably most famous for its Barbecued meats and so I had to have a recipe that was meaty. One of my best Korean friends, Christine, who I met in Beijing sent me the recipe for 닭갈비Chicken Kalbi - basically marinated grilled pieces of chicken.

This is the recipe that I am going to post below but last night I invited a few friends over for dinner and rather than just serve up the 닭갈비 Chicken Kalbi I decided to make a Korean feast and serve up a bunch of dishes. We had 떡볶이 ddoekbokki,   김치찌개 kimchi jigae, 불고기 bulgogi as well as the chicken. Each dish is linked to a great site where you can find further recipes to make them yourself as I dont want this post to be lots and lots of dishes. 

Today as I am writing this I am eating leftovers and I am so glad that I made so much food.

불고기 bulgogi

Ingredients:

Diced boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast. I used 4 breasts roughly chopped into bite size chunks.
Half of a savoy cabbage washed and roughly chopped, again into bite sized chunks.
1 onion roughly sliced 
1 carrot sliced into pieces about £1 coin thickness so that they cook quickly when stir-fried.
1tbsp sesame seeds (used for garnish)

The Sauce/marinade:
Into bowl large enough to fit the chicken pieces first put

불고기 bulgogi & 떡볶이 ddoekbokki

3 tbsp Gochujang (red chilli paste) 
2 tbsp light soy sauce 
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp sugar or honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
4 or 5 cloves minced garlic 

this sauce/marinade mixture can be used with other meats, seafood and vegetables.

Combine all of these ingredients and give them a good stir and thanks to the red pepper paste it will look like a bloody red sticky gloopy sauce. Add in your chopped chicken pieces and mix around. Leave to one side to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Traditionally Kalbi is cooked on a barbecue grill over hot coals but I dont have a barbecue and so for quickness I simply stir-fried the Kalbi in a wok but you could equally use a frying pan.

When you are ready to cook put a little oil (I used sesame oil) in a pan then spread the chicken and top with vegetables. Give everything a good stir around so that all the vegetables and chicken get coated in the marinade. Cook for 2 minutes adding a drizzle of water if needed. Continue to cook and stir in the wok until the chicken is cooked through. Move it onto a serving plate and garnish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds then tuck in.

When eating Kalbi in Korea normally people will take the cooked meat and place it in the middle of a salad leaf, wrap the leaf round the meat and then stuff it into their mouths and they enjoy. It can also be eaten with a bowl of steamed rice. Its up to you how to make it. Really fast, really tasty and it has a bit of a spicy kick to it! Get your Korean feast on and let me know how it all goes.