1. Ingredients for Dakgalbi
- Primary ingredients: Chicken
- Secondary ingredients: Basic seasoning (Gochujang paste, soy sauce, sugar and garlic) and additional ingredients (cabbage, onion, carrot, sweet potato and rice cake)
2. Taste evaluation
-Spicy:★★★☆☆
-Salty: ★★☆☆☆
-Sweet: ★☆☆☆☆
-Sour: ☆☆☆☆☆
3. Introduction to Dakgalbi
Dakgalbi is very accessible from any downtown crowded with people. It’s popular especially because it is very cheap food that a few people can share and it’s delicious.
It
mostly consists of chicken and various vegetables like sweet
potatoes, cabbages, onions, rice cakes, carrots and welsh onions, and
it is seasoned with spicy Gochujang paste altogether.
Dakgalbi
is a local food of Chuncheon. It was invented in the 1960s by someone
named Kim Yeong-seok who used to sell Dwaeji Galbi in Chuncheon but
when he couldn’t get pork anymore he started to sell chicken
seasoned with spicy Gochujang paste and fried with charcoal fire.
It’s
named as Dakgalbi (chicken ribs) because the chicken was cut into
think pieces and barbecued like Dwaeji Galbi(pork ribs).
Chuncheon
became one of favorite travel sites for college students from the
1970s, and it became popular among young people including college
students and soldiers from army bases nearby. College students or soldiers who did not have much money looked for cheap, large amount food.
Chuncheon
had a lot of poultry farms, therefore cheap chickens, so that people
started to cook chicken with sweet potatoes, cabbages and rice cakes,
which is so-called Dakgalbi.
Canon EOS 550D | f/4.0 | iso 1250 | 2012:03:14 20:50:35 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 21mm
Dakgalbi
refers to boneless chicken meat seasoned with spicy sauce made from
Gochujang paste, soy sauce, garlic and ginger, and served with sweet
potatoes, cabbages, onions, rice cakes, carrots and welsh onions raw
on the table so that the customers should stir-fry it themselves.
You’ll
see a big steel plate with lots of ingredients and you will get spicy
first taste followed by sweet flavor from those vegetables including
cabbages, onions and carrots.
Dakgalbi
used to be famous among young people who couldn’t afford fancy food
so it’s rather for ordinary people.
And because of its amount, there will be leftovers for you to enjoy alcoholic drinks after the meal with it. So Dakgalbi is enjoyed as a nice chicken snack for drinks than as a meal.
You’ll
notice that Dakgalbi restaurant is rather simple and small-sized than
fancy.
Once you enter the restaurant, you’ll find that the tables are round and it is because the steel plate is round.
And
the table is small so that you have to sit close to your friends.
When
you’re sitting around a small table and sharing Dakgalbi on a steel
plate, you will find that it easily leads you to have one drink or
two.
If your hotel is in the downtown, you will find Dakgalbi restaurant easily.
The restaurant might be small and uncomfortable but I want you to feel this kind of night culture in Korea and you might order some Soju besides Dakgalbi with your travel buddy.
4. Kinds of Dakgalbi
Food
has its variations when it has a long history and should be enjoyed
in different regions.
Dakgalbi
has a small number of variations since it was originated in a small
city named Chuncheon a short time ago.
There
are two kinds of Dakgalbiㅡthe
original one is fried with charcoal fire and the other one is called
Chuncheon Dakgalbi that is well known for its various vegetables.
It
has a few variations but you could add different kinds of toppings on
it.
The
basic one would be chicken seasoned with Gochujang paste and fried
along with different vegetables, and you could add cheese, sweet
potatoes, noodles and Tteok (chopped rice cake) in it.
Dakgalbi
is not so spicy but if you are not a fan of spicy food, I say you
should try cheese topping.
Soft and flavory cheese would soften the strong spicy taste.
5. How to enjoy Dakgalbi even more
Koreans usually eat meat wrapped in leaves of lettuce or perilla. Dakgalbi is not an exception.
Leaves
of lettuce or perilla reduce the spicy flavor and add fresh flavor to
the meat so you’d have to try at least for once.
Now
once you got used to eating Ssam, try to add one piece of raw garlic
in it.
Korean
style spicy taste comes from red chili pepper combined with piquant
flavor of raw garlic.
BUT
you can’t kiss someone after you eat garlic.
Don’t
finish fried Dakgalbi on a pan, leave some sauce.
You
can’t forget Soju and fried rice when you eat Dakgalbi just like
you HAVE TO eat fried potato and coke when you order hamburger.
When
you order Bokkeumbap(fried rice), rice fried with leftover Dakgalbi
sauce and Gim (dried seaweed) will be served.
You
can scrape up ‘Nurungbap(crust of overcooked rice)’ on the pan.
I
bet you’ll love flavor and crunchy crust of overcooked rice flavory
on the steel plate.
Canon EOS 550D | f/4.0 | iso 1000 | 2012:03:14 21:14:33 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 20mm
