Dakgalbi is a local specialty in Chuncheon, Korea, in which chicken and vegetables are stir-fried with a spicy gochujang based sauce. The combination of the savory sauce and cheese makes the dish more delicious. Dakgalbi is also popular in Japan!
First, cut the chicken thigh into bite-size pieces, and then add the sake and chicken stock powder. Toss to coat and rub the seasoning into the chicken.
In a bowl, combine the gochujang, soy sauce, sake, sugar, grated ginger root, garlic clove and grated apple. Stir to mix.
Place the chicken into the bowl and completely cover it with the sauce.
Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, let's cut the ingredients. Make a cut in the core of the cabbage and detach the leaves. Cut the leaves into 2cm (0.8") strips.
Cut the garlic chives into 5cm (2") pieces, and separate the leaf part and firm stalk part.
Cut the kirimochi, square rice cake into 4 pieces lengthwise.
As for the sweet potato and carrot, cut them into 5mm (0.2") slices. Cut the onion into 1cm (0.4") slices across the grain, and separate the layers. Remove the tip of the root ends from the soy sprouts, and slice the long green onion into 1cm (0.4") slices diagonally.
Let's make the Cheese Dakgalbi. Heat a pan and add the sesame oil. Place the sweet potato and carrot slices.
Saute for about one and a half minutes, and then flip the slices over.
Add the cabbage leaves, onion, soy sprouts, long green onion and the firm stalk part of the garlic chives.
Place the chicken onto the vegetables, but save the remaining sauce for later use.
Cover with a lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Now, the moisture in the vegetables has been extracted, and the vegetables are soft. Add the saved gochujang sauce.
Flip the vegetables over and then push the chicken to the bottom. Occasionally flip the chicken over, and cook the meat completely without using a lid.
Arrange the mochi on top.
Distribute the garlic chives.
Make a long narrow space in the center of the vegetables, and place the pizza cheese into it.
Cover and cook for about 2 minutes until the mochi and cheese melt.
Recipe Notes
The vegetables contain a fairly large about of water so cooking the ingredients without using a lid will help reduce the moisture, making the dish more delicious.
When you almost finish the dish, you can add udon noodles to the sauce, or add rice to make fried rice. These are popular ways to enjoy the last drops of the savory gochujang sauce.