A hearty, spicy, savory braised chicken stew with tender potatoes, carrots and onions ready in 30 minutes. This quick and easy dakbokkeumtang is made with simple ingredients and best served as a main or meal with steamed rice.
Dakbokkeumtang (ėė³¶ģķ) is a savory Korean chicken stew featuring tender chicken thighs simmered in a spicy gochujang sauce with carrots, potatoes, green and white onions.
This stew is also known as dakdoritang (ėėė¦¬ķ). I love enjoying this spicy chicken stew in the colder months with a hot bowl of rice, when I want to warm my body up! The spice in the gochujang does a great job at that.
You'll often find this dish served at select Korean restaurants and every restaurant or Korean household has a version of their own.
The best part about dakkbokkeumtang is it's made with minimal ingredients in one-pot making for easy cleanup!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Boneless Chicken Thighs: skin-on or skinless chicken thighs work. Or substitute with bone-in chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks. Cooked chicken will have an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer.
- Onion
- Carrot
- Yellow russet potatoes: or substitute with yukon gold potatoes.
- Chicken stock: or substitute with water.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Green onion
Sauce
- Gochujang paste: a thick, spicy, sweet Korean red chili paste made of red chili flakes, fermented soybean paste, glutinous rice and salt. Sold at many Korean grocery stores in a red rectangular tub varying from mild to hot.
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with cane sugar or honey.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If youāre gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Garlic
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor. If you're allergic, omit completely.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs that don't have an odor. If you smell a very gamey odor coming through the packaging at the grocery store, put it back and get a fresher one.
- Chop the carrots or potatoes into large chunks, so they don't melt into the stew.
- Prepare the sauce in advance because you'll need to quickly add it in after adding the stock.
- Simmer the stew on low-medium heat covered so the sauce has time to reduce and become concentrated with flavor.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make dakbokkeumtang:
- First in a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add onions and fry until translucent. Then add chicken thighs and brown them on both sides.
- Then add potatoes, carrots to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Next stir in chicken stock with the sauce. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Then reduce to low-medium heat for a rolling simmer.
- Then simmer for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Lastly garnish with green onions and enjoy with rice!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pot on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag after cooling down and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pot.
Pairing Suggestions
Dakbokkeumtang serves well with:
- Steamed white rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice
- kimchi
- Korean cucumber salad
- beansprout salad
- zucchini fritters
- Korean spinach
FAQ
Dakbokkeumtang can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for a few minutes or reheat in a pot on medium heat until hot.
The chicken can be substituted with boneless pork shoulder with some fat marbling through it.
The carrots and potatoes can be substituted with another root vegetable, such as parsnips or sweet potatoes.
Other recipes you may like
š Recipe
Easy Dakbokkeumtang (Korean Chicken Stew)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs chopped into quarters
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 carrot chopped
- 4 small russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into quarters
- 3 cups chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 green onion chopped into 1-inch long pieces
Sauce
- 3 tablespoon gochujang
- 3 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add onions and fry until translucent. Then add chicken thighs and brown them on both sides.
- To the pot, add potatoes, carrots and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken stock with the sauce. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Then reduce to low-medium heat for a rolling simmer.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with green onions and enjoy with rice!
Camael
This is soo great and you made it so easy to understand. Thank you!! Iām making it again after eating the leftovers ^^
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for sharing your positive review and experience! I am so glad you enjoyed it and found it easy to understand š
Angel
What a wonderful meal i love asian and korean food and living in france its very hard to find already made things i wad lucky to find the things i need at a local chinese store it was a great meal and for the spicy lovers a little bit of chinese pepper sauce will spice or bowl up. Thanks for sharing
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe and glad you enjoyed it!
Minty
Delicious recipe! thanks!
christieathome
Thank you so much Minty for your kind comment! I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe!
Vivienne
Very nice, I will definitely make again.
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe Vivienne! Glad you enjoyed it!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is such a perfect savory stew to help kick off the Fall. I LOVE all the flavors! š
Rebecca Dillon
Such a rich and hearty recipe. This is perfect for fall!
Molly
OMG I made this and it was sooo yummy! Thank you for sharing this!
Rosemary Squires
Mmmm this is the ultimate cozy dish! I was just planning a bunch of recipes using pantry staples in case we get stuck inside, so I am saving this idea!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
This dish looks so comforting Christie! I also love how quickly it comes together!