Dakgalbi (or dak-galbi) is a popular Korean chicken stir-fry dish made in a skillet on a stove top with chicken thighs, cabbage, rice cake, and sweet potato in a spicy gochujang-based sauce. The original recipe hails from the city of Chuncheon, which is famous for its dakgalbi.

Spicy Korean chicken stir-fry with rice cake and vegetables are cooked in a large skillet with spatulas.

“I’ve made it couple of times to the exact specifications and it taste great. This is one of those dishes that I can’t get as good as I’ve had it in Korea.”

Susie

What is Dakgalbi?

“Dak” means chicken and “galbi” means rib. Although dakgalbi has nothing to do with chicken ribs, it is named after how the chicken is prepared, which is grilled over an open flame, just like Korean beef ribs.

To make dakgalbi, chicken thighs are cut up and stir-fried with cabbage, rice cakes, sweet potato wedges, and perilla leaves (kkennip), along with a gochujang-based spicy sauce. Therefore, it is a Korean-style chicken stir-fry.

While it may sound similar to Korean BBQ chicken recipe, another popular chicken dish, the flavor and cooking method of dakgalbi are different. Dakgalbi is one of the most beloved and authentic Korean recipes and is popular among both local Koreans and foreigners. My cookbook, “Korean cooking favorites,” also features this recipe.

Chuncheon Dakgalbi

The original dakgalbi was introduced in the 1960s in the eastern South Korean city of Chuncheon, where chicken farming was a major local industry. This Korean chicken stir-fry dish became very popular among the locals on Chuncheon’s main street.

While there are several varieties of spicy chicken stir-fry dishes in Korea, in my opinion, the local specialty of Chuncheon dakgalbi recipe is the most outstanding.

A cast iron skillet is filled with chicken, rice cake, and vegetables, and topped with gochujang sauce.

How Dakgalbi is served in the restaurants

Dakgalbi is typically served in Korean restaurants on a cast iron pan, which is brought to the table with a hole in the middle to hold a charcoal or gas grill.

The pan is piled high with chicken and other ingredients, and once it is placed over the heat source, everything begins to sizzle and cook quickly. The server will toss the ingredients together right at the table until they are well cooked and tender.

Once the dak galbi is ready, it is served hot alongside rice and other side dishes, and diners can mix everything together to create a delicious and satisfying meal.

Cheese Dak-galbi:

Cheese dakgalbi has become a popular Korean food trend, with many restaurants adding mozzarella cheese to create a cheesy twist on the classic dish. While I personally prefer the traditional flavor and presentation of dakgalbi without cheese, it’s still worth trying if you’re curious.

To make cheese dakgalbi, simply add shredded mozzarella cheese at the end of cooking and let it melt into the dish. Keep in mind that this will alter the traditional taste and presentation of the dish, but it can be a fun and tasty variation to try.

What should you serve with?

When the chicken, rice cakes, and vegetables are fully cooked in the savory sauce, serve individual portions of dakgalbi on plates and enjoy. Scoop additional portions from the skillet onto your plate as you eat to keep the dish hot and fresh.

While there’s no need to serve dakgalbi with additional rice, some people like to wrap it in lettuce and perilla leaves with a little bit of ssamjang. This rich and flavorful Korean chicken stir-fry can be very filling and tempting to keep eating even when you’re full.

Leftover Dakgalbi turned into fried rice and topped with crumbled seaweed.

Dakgalbi Fried Rice

One of the highlights of eating dakgalbi is what comes after the meal. A popular way to use up any remaining ingredients and sauce in the skillet is to make dakgalbi fried rice.

Once most of the contents in the skillet are consumed, the server will bring a bowl of rice to make fried rice with the remaining sauce. As a final flourish, crumbled roasted seaweed is traditionally sprinkled over the rice.

If you have room in your stomach, be sure to try this delicious and satisfying fried rice.

Leftover Dakgalbi turned into fried rice and topped with crumbled seaweed.

Pro tips for preparation

  1. To prepare dakgalbi, it’s important to use a large skillet with enough room to stir-fry everything at once, ideally a cast iron skillet or carbon steel skillet that can retain heat well.
  2. Cooking dakgalbi right at the table allows people to enjoy the hot food immediately and adds to the fun experience, so consider using a portable burner on the table.
  3. If you decide to make fried rice at the end, try pressing down the rice in the skillet over medium heat after stir-frying to create a crispy rice layer (nurungji) on the bottom.

Ingredient list

Ingredients for Korean spicy chicken stir-fry (Dakgalbi)
  • chicken thigh — use boneless and skinless
  • vegetables — cabbage, onion, perilla leaves, and sweet potato
  • rice caketteokbokki rice cakes make the dish satisfying. Soak them in water for 10 minutes before using.
  • cooked rice (leftover rice) — if you are making dakgalbi fried rice at the end

For the sauce:

The condiments used in this dakgalbi recipe are the basic Korean pantry staples.

How to make Dakgalbi

Step 1: Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of sauce if you are making fried rice at the end.

Step 2: Toss the chicken with 1/2 of the sauce in a mixing bowl and set aside to marinate.

Step 3: Soak the rice cakes in water for 10 minutes and drain. Dice the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Dice the cabbage and slice the onion and perilla leaves. For the sweet potatoes, try to cut them into thin wedges or matchsticks.

Chicken, vegetables, rice cakes, and sweet potatoes are stir-fried together in a large pan

Step 4: Drizzle 2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Arrange chicken, cabbage, rice cake, sweet potato wedges, onion, and half of the sliced perilla leaves in the skillet. Drizzle the sauce over the top and place the skillet on medium-high heat.

Korean chicken stir-fry is tossed together with spatulas in a spicy sauce .

Step 5: When it starts to make a loud sizzling sound, begin tossing everything to combine. Stir-fry until chicken is fully cooked, and the rice cake and sweet potato are tender, about 6-7 minutes. If your food seems to be sticking too much to the skillet, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to create steam to release the sauce on the skillet and to cook evenly.

Step 6: Add the remaining perilla leaves toward the end of stir-frying. Serve immediately when it is hot.

How to make Dakgalbi Fried Rice (Optional)

At the end or serving, rice is added to stir-fry with the remaining  pieces of dakgalbi.

Step 1: To make the fried rice, turn the heat back to medium and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into the skillet. Add the cooked rice and reserved dakgalbi sauce, then start stir-frying to coat the rice with the sauce residue remaining in the skillet. Finally, add soy sauce and mix well.

Rice is stir-fried with the remaining Korean stir-fry chicken pieces.

Step 2: Press the rice gently to the bottom of the skillet and let it crisp up for 1-2 minutes over low heat.

Crumbled seaweed is sprinkled on top of dakgalbi fried rice.

Step 3: Once the rice is golden and crispy, drizzle sesame oil, and sprinkle crumbled seaweed and sesame seeds. Toss everything together until well combined. Serve the dakgalbi fried rice immediately while it’s still hot and crispy.

Rice is added to make Korean spicy stir-fry chicken and rice and garnished with crumbled seaweed

This recipe was originally posted in June 2012. I’ve updated the recipe with minor changes, new photos, and more information.

Spicy Korean chicken stir-fry with rice cake and vegetables are cooked in a large skillet.

Homemade Dakgalbi (Spicy Korean Chicken Stir-Fry)

Dakgalbi is a spicy Korean chicken stir fry made with chicken thighs, cabbage, rice cake, and sweet potato in a gochujang-based sauce. The original recipe is from Chuncheon.
5 from 5 ratings

Ingredients

For dakgalbi

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thigh, diced
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 lb Korean rice cake sticks
  • 1/4-1/2 green cabbage, diced
  • 8-10 perilla leaves + more, sliced
  • 1/2 large onion, sliced
  • 1 medium sweet potato, sliced into 1/4-inch thick wedges
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2-4 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds , to garnish

For dakgalbi sauce

For optional fried rice

Instructions 

For the dakgalbi sauce

  • To make the dakgalbi sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of sauce if you are making fried rice at the end.

For stir-frying dakgalbi

  • Toss the chicken pieces with 1/2 the sauce in a mixing bowl and set aside.
  • Soak rice cakes in water for 10 minutes and drain.
  • Drizzle oil in a cast iron skillet, spread the chicken and top with vegetables (only 1/2 the amount of perilla leaves) and rice cakes. Drizzle the remaining sauce over and bring the skillet over med-high heat.
  • When it starts to make a loud sizzling sound, begin tossing everything to combine. Stir-fry until chicken is fully cooked, and the rice cakes and sweet potato are tender, about 6-7 minutes. If your food seems to be sticking too much to the skillet, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to create steam to release the sauce on the skillet and to cook evenly.
  • Add the remaining perilla leaves toward the end of stir-frying. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately when it is hot.

To make fried rice

  • After finishing dakgalbi, turn the heat back to medium and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into the skillet. Add the cooked rice and reserved dakgalbi sauce, then start stir-frying to coat the rice with the sauce residue remaining in the skillet. Finally, add soy sauce and mix well.
  • Press the rice gently to the bottom of the skillet and let it crisp up for 1-2 minutes over low heat.
  • When the rice sticks to the skillet and becomes golden and crispy, drizzle sesame oil over the top and sprinkle crumbled seaweed and toasted sesame seeds. Toss everything together until well combined. Serve the dakgalbi fried rice immediately while it's still hot and crispy.
Calories: 837kcal, Carbohydrates: 102g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Monounsaturated Fat: 17g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 108mg, Sodium: 988mg, Potassium: 997mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 9330IU, Vitamin C: 26mg, Calcium: 137mg, Iron: 5mg
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