Jjimdak (Korean Braised Chicken)
Here’s how to make a hearty, flavorful Korean braised chicken dish, jjimdak! It's very easy to make at home with a few basic ingredients! Simply omit the chili peppers for a mild version.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized chicken, cut up (2.5 to 3 pounds of cut pieces)
- 3 ounces sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon, 당면)
- 2 medium white or yukon gold potatoes (about 10 ounces)
- 1 medium carrot
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3 - 4 mushroom caps (rehydrated dried shiitake or fresh shiitake, white, or baby bella)
- 2 scallions
- 2 - 3 dried whole red chili peppers (4 to 5 small ones)
- 1 - 2 fresh chili peppers or jalapenos (optional)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
Braising liquid:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (If unavailable, use more soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons rice wine (mirim or mirin)
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (if unavailable, use regular sugar )
- 3 to 4 tablespoons corn syrup, Korean jocheong (rice syrup), Oligodang (oligo syrup), or 2 to 3 tablespoons honey Adjust to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Soak the starch noodles in warm water for about 30 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Drain well before using.
- Clean the chicken and cut into small pieces. Trim off excess fat.
- Cut the potatoes in chunks (about 1-1/2 inch) and soak them in water while preparing the other vegetables. Cut the carrot, mushrooms, and onion into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chicken pieces to a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over the chicken. (You should reduce the amount of water if not using the noodles.) Add the sauce ingredients except sesame oil and seeds. Bring it to a boil over high heat, uncovered, and continue to boil for about 10 minutes. Skim off the foam.
- Add the potatoes, carrot, mushrooms, onion, dried whole red chili peppers if using, garlic and ginger. Cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. You may see that there still is a lot of liquid, but the potatoes and starch noodles will soak up a lot of the liquid.
- Gently mix in the green chili peppers (or jalapenos), scallions and starch noodles, and continue to cook, uncovered this time, for an additional 3 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil. Garnish with the sesame seeds to serve.
Notes
You can prepare ahead of time up to step 5. When ready to serve, bring it to a boil and do the final step.