Dakdoritang (Spicy Korean Chicken Stew)

🍳 Why Make This Recipe

• Only takes 15 minutes to put together – No hours of simmering soup needed. Similar to my healthy soondubu recipe, dakdoritang is a simple yet flavorful soup recipe to put together.
• Flavorful and comforting – The umami flavors of the gochujang and soy-based stew with soaked root vegetables makes this the perfect comfort food
• Healthy and nutritious – Recipe adapted and tested by yours truly to be low-calorie and macro-friendly while still retaining the original delicious flavor

💭 What is Dakdoritang?

Dakdoritang, also known as Dakbokkeumtang , is a spicy Korean chicken stew consisting of juicy, braised chicken thigh with flavorful root vegetables simmered in a sweet and spicy braising sauce.

It's typically served with a side of rice, or with noodles mixed in. It's the perfect weeknight comfort meal.

🍎 Calories and Nutrition – How To Make It Healthy

Dakdoritang can be a very healthy dish given that it predominantly consists of protein from the chicken and is braised in a low calorie sauce.

A serving of dakdoritang is 430 calories, with 31 grams of protein, 19 grams of fat, and 48 grams of carbs.

By being mindful of the chicken type you use and portioning the braising liquid mindfully, it's easy to make this healthy. Here’s what I did to make this healthy:

• Chicken – Dakdoritang is often cooked with bone-in skin on chicken pieces, which has 240 calories and 19 grams of fat. I opt for skinless thighs to cut down on fat and calories.
• Braising liquid – The sauce can be very oily, but with careful portioning of sauce ingredients following the portions below, the sauce is only 70 calories 
• Vegetables – The vegetables are not going to add a significant amount of calories to the dish except for potatoes, which dakdoritang is traditionally served with. I omitted potatoes here and opted to use rice as my carb source.
• Carbs – Serve with a portioned side of rice or mix in noodles. Here I used a portion of rice at 150 calories

For a detailed breakdown of each ingredients, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of this dakdoritang recipe, you may refer to the table below:

📋 Ingredient Notes

Chicken – Dakdoritang is traditionally made with bone in skin on chicken pieces. Given that those are much higher in calories in fats from the skin, I opted to use skinless bone-in chicken here so that we can still get the flavor from the bone.

Dakdoritang Braising sauce – Consists of soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil (use sparingly cause its very fatty), gochugaru, and gochujang.

Vegetables – Carrots, onions, and garlic are delicious to simmer into the dish. Potatoes are also a popular choice in traditional recipes. For purposes of keeping calories low, I omitted potatoes.

Garnish – I used sesame seeds and green onions to garnish. Chili flakes would be delicious as well for an extra kick.

See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

📖 Substitutions and Variations

Make stove top – To make stovetop, follow the same instructions. Instead of pressure cooking, add 1 cup of water (instead of ⅓) and bring to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Make with noodles – Egg noodles and glass noodles are some good options.

Non-Spicy Version – Just omit the gochugaru. Still keep the gochujang - it is not spicy and is essential for the stew flavor.

🔪 Step by Step Instructions

Make the sauce – Start by mixing all the dakdoritang sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Prepare for braising – Prepare all the vegetables by mincing the onion and garlic, and slicing the daikon and carrot. Cut the excess fat off the chicken thigh, cut into bite sized pieces, and season with salt and pepper.

Sauté aromatics and chicken – Put the instant pot on sauté mode and add in minced garlic and onion along with the gochugaru. Toasting gochugaru will give it a great flavor. Refer to this guide on toasting spices for more info. Add in the chicken pieces and brown on each side, about 1 minute each side.

Turn on high pressure – Turn off sauté mode and add in the daikon and carrots. Pour in the dakdoritang sauce and about ¾ to 1 cup of water. Close the instant pot and set to high pressure for 8 minutes.

Garnish and serve – Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and serve with rice!

💡 Expert Tips

Sides to serve with – Since dakdoritang is very savory, it's best with a portioned amount of carbs or lightly seasoned veggies 

Use skinless bone-in chicken pieces if possible – This will allow us to get the nutrients and delicious flavor from the bone to make the broth without the additional fat of the chicken skin

Adjust gochugaru (chili flakes) to spice preference – Use more if you want it spicier, or less if you want it more mild. If you really want a strong kick, you can sauté a chopped Thai chili with the garlic. 

Add more water if needed – If the stock is not enough after pressure cooking, deglaze with water and sauté to mix everything together thoroughly

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