Dakdoritang (Korean Spicy Chicken Stew)

Trust me! With a good recipe, the slow cooked food turns out tender and flavorful, not mushy and watery. Here, I am showing you how to make a slow cooker version of a classic Korean chicken dish. I’ve also provided the method for stove top cooking.

Dakdoritang (닭도리탕) is a chicken dish that’s cooked in a spicy red sauce along with vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions. It’s also called dakbokkeumtang (닭볶음탕) or dakmaeuntang (닭매운탕). It’s usually made by cutting up a whole chicken into small pieces, but here I used a combination of chicken thighs and wings I had in the freezer.

To make this dish on the stove, you need to add water because liquids evaporate quickly on the stove. That’s not the case with the slow cooker. The amount of sauce and other ingredients in this recipe yields sufficient liquid for slow cooking, leaving just enough sauce at the end. The result is succulent pieces of chicken packed with spicy and savory flavors!

Dakdoritang (Korean spicy chicken stew)

4.65 from 31 votes

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• 3 pounds bone-in chicken parts cut into small pieces (excess fat removed)
• 10 ounces potatoes cut into big chunks
• 2 carrots cut into big chunks
• 1/2 large onion cut into big chunks
• 4 - 5 plump garlic cloves
• 2 - 3 thinly sliced ginger pieces
• 2 scallions cut into 2-inch lengths

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons Korean red chili pepper flakes gochugaru
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 1 tablespoon honey or corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons Korean red chili pepper paste gochujang
• pinch pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

• Place the prepared chicken and vegetables (except the scallions) in the slow cooker. Add all the sauce ingredients (except the sesame oil and seeds). Stir well to coat the chicken and vegetables evenly.
  
• Turn the slow cooker on high heat. Cover, and cook for about 4 hours. (You can cook on low heat if you’ll be out longer, about 6 hours). Stir in the scallions, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Skim off excess fat before serving, if desired. Serve with a bowl of rice.
  

Notes

Stove top method: To make this dish on the stove, add 1-1/2 cups water to a large pot along with the chicken and the sauce (except the sesame oil and sesame seeds). Stir well. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vegetables (except the scallions). Cover, and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook, uncovered this time, until the chicken is tender and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the scallions, sesame oil and sesame seeds right before turning off the heat.

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