Cheesy Chicken Dakgalbi
We absolutely love cheese dakgalbi, every time we go to our favourite Korean restaurant nearby that`s the one dish that we have to order. Whether we order it with squid, chicken or shrimp, we clean up the plate every time. Easily made in one pot, quick, beautiful and deliciously spicy, this is a recipe made to impress.
Gochujang, if you`re not familiar with it, is a savoury and spicy Korean red pepper paste that you can find in most Asian grocery stores and online (even Amazon sells it). There are many different types of Gochujang but you will learn which one is your favourite with time, but in the meantime, whichever one you find will be perfect for this recipe.
Start by making the sauce in a bowl. Whisk 4 tablespoons of Gochujang, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce or 1 ½ of light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of Sake (optional), 4 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, 3 grated garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds. It should have a very dark red hue. If you want to make it less spicy, use less gochujang in the mixture. Separate 1/3 of the mix into a different bowl.
Cut the chicken into 2-cm cubes and clean your fresh or fully thawed shrimp (peel and devein). Marinate the shrimp in the bowl with 1/3 of the sauce and the chicken in the larger one.
Cut a Nappa cabbage in half (long way), then cut that in half again (short way). Split this part in 4 slices and cut them in half. This way you will have larger pieces of cabbage even after cooked and they won`t fall apart in the pot. Separate a bunch of enoki mushrooms into smaller bits and slice rice cakes into thin slices. Peel 1 carrot and 1 sweet potato and chop both into small pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook both the sweet potato and the carrots until tender, until you can easily poke it with a fork. Strain, discard the water and reserve.
In the same pot (or a large skillet), add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and warm it up on medium heat for a few minutes, until the pot and oil are warm. Sauté marinated chicken and mushrooms, keep the sauce in the bowl, and cook for about 7 minutes. Add shrimp, keep the sauce in the bowl as well, and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the cut cabbage, cooked carrot and sweet potato, sliced rice cakes, bean sprouts and the remaining sauce, mix and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until you see the sauce starting to boil. Transfer to your serving dish and top it with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese while still warm so the cheese can melt. Spread one bunch of chopped green onion and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds on top and serve with sushi rice. You can also melt the cheese separately and serve it on the side if you prefer.
Cheesy Chicken Dakgalbi
Servings 4
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 Chicken Breasts (or 3 Chicken Thighs)
4-8 Shrimps – thawed (optional)
¼ Large Nappa Cabbage
1 Sweet Potato
1 Carrot
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 Cup Bean Sprouts
½ Cup Green Onions
1 Bunch Enoki Mushrooms
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
100g Rice Cakes
Sauce
3-4 Tbsp Gochujang, depending on your love of spice
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Sake (optional)
4 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Fresh Grated Ginger
3 Grated Garlic Cloves
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Sesame Seeds
Step-by Step
1. Mix all ingredients for the sauce, separate the marinade 1/3 in one bowl and 2/3 in another.
2. Cube chicken into 2 cm cubes and marinate with the 2/3 of sauce. Peel and devein the shrimps and marinate with the other 1/3 of the sauce. Boil cubed sweet potato and carrot until tender, strain and reserve.
3. In a large pot or a skillet, sauté marinated chicken pieces and mushroom with sesame oil on medium heat for 7 minutes, add shrimp and cook for another 3 minutes. Reserve the leftover marinade.
4. Add chopped cabbage pieces, cooked sweet potato and carrot, bean sprouts, sliced rice cakes and add the rest of the sauce; stir and cook for about 5-10 more minutes. Transfer to your serving dish and top with shredded cheese while still hot so the cheese melts on top of it. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve with sushi rice.
