This dakgalbi recipe is a spicy, cheesy delight featuring tender marinated chicken, sweet potato, cabbage, and rice cakes stir-fried in a bold gochujang-based sauce. Topped with melty mozzarella and fragrant perilla leaves, it offers a rich, savory-sweet balance with a fiery kick. Perfect for sharing, it’s the ultimate comfort food.

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams chicken thighs
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1/6 head cabbage
  • 1 green chile pepper
  • 1 red chile pepper
  • 1/2 stalk green onion
  • 5 perilla leaves (kkaennip)
  • 1/2 cup rice cakes (tteokbokki tteok)
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk

Marinade ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
  • 2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
  • 2 tablespoons cooking wine
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon ginger juice
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • black pepper
  • sesame seeds

(serves 3 to 4)

Instructions:

Remove the skin from the chicken and soak it in milk for about 30 minutes. Rinse, then cut into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, mix all marinade ingredients, add the chicken and let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Slice the onion, and cut the sweet potato, cabbage and perilla leaves into bite-sized pieces. Slice the green onion, green chile pepper and red chile pepper diagonally.

Heat a pan with a bit of oil, add the marinated chicken and sweet potato, and stir-fry until the sweet potato starts to soften. Add the onion, cabbage, and rice cakes, and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.

Add the green onion, green chile pepper, red chile pepper and perilla leaves, and stir-fry for another minute. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top, cover the pan and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts.

[Source: W Table]

(cheese dakgalbi, spicy cheese stir-fried chicken, cheese marinated chicken stir-fry)