South Korea : Can't Get Enough of Dukgalbi 닭갈비

23rd November 2012, 13th December 2012.
South Korea.

Ever Since I tried Chuncheon Dakgalbi at Gapyeong, it has become one my favourite Korean dishes. This pan-fried chicken dish mixed with leeks, rice cakes, gochujang, cabbage, scallions, onions and sweet potato complete with pan-fried rice at the end of it is amazingly delicious.

The Dakgalbi 닭갈비 is a speciality of Gangwan-do Province known for its scenic mountains and during winters, skiing and snowboarding. Thankfully, due to its popularity among students, we don’t have to travel all the way to Gangwan-do to enjoy this dish. There are a few restaurants located near our school serving dukgalbi.

One of them is named after the dish itself, Chuncheon Dakgalbi. For about 7500 KRW you get to enjoy tasty and tender morsels of chicken meat pan-fried with a yummylicious mix of vegetables and gochujang sauce. After waiting for the mixture to cook and simmer down, we start off with an appetizing tteok which are the first lot of ingredients to get cooked. This is followed by the chicken and vegetables.

After it simmered down to a thick gravy, rice with plenty of seaweed are added to the mix which the restaurant owner would personally stir-fry it for us, soaking the rice with the delicious gravy and infusing it with a smoky (wok-hei) aroma from the high heat of the huge pan. For people who prefer to eat rice along with the mains, you might not get used to eating the rice at the end of the meal but trust me, the patience will be well-rewarded with one of the tastiest fried rice you ever had.

We had the same dish again at a dakgalbi restaurant near Gohan Station after a tiring (and painful) skiing experience at High 1 Resort located in Gangwan-do Province. After a whole day exhausting exercise this was a real treat and it was really really good. The restaurant was run by a passionate body-builder who won many awards so if you could speak fluent Korean, maybe you would be interested to get some tips from him.

The dakgalbi (already a fantastic dish) at this restaurant was even awesome. It was spicier than usual but like a good Assam Fish, that spiciness was all worth it. The chicken here was very tender and the rice cakes cooked to perfection. Not to mention the portions was also fairly huge.

Unlike the restaurant back in Ansan, fresh, crunchy lettuce was provided along with some condiments to consume the dakgalbi in ssambap style.

Similarly, rice was added when the stew thickened to a gravy-like thickness with plentiful of seaweed. The end result was s smoky “teppanyaki”-style fried rice which was extremely tasty. The price tag for this dish was 10000 KRW for 250g.

Various restaurants in South Korea especially in Gangwan-do.