Dak-galbi (닭갈비), or spicy stir-fried chicken, is a popular Korean dish made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang-based sauce with sweet potatoes, cabbage, perilla leaves, scallions, tteok (rice cake), and other ingredients.[2] In Korean, galbi means rib. But Dak-galbi is not actually chicken's rib. Many dak-galbi restaurants have round hot plates that are built into the tables. Lettuce and perilla leaves are served as ssam (wrap) vegetables.[3]
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Alternative names | Spicy stir-fried chicken |
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Type | Bokkeum |
Place of origin | Korea |
Associated national cuisine | Korean cuisine |
Serving temperature | Warm |
Main ingredients | Chicken |
Food energy (per 4 serving) | 788 kcal (3299 kJ)[1] |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 닭갈비 |
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Revised Romanization | dak-galbi |
McCune–Reischauer | tak-kalbi |
IPA | [tak̚.k͈al.bi] |
Although dak and galbi translate into "chicken" and "rib" respectively, the term dak-galbi does not refer to chicken ribs.
This dish was developed in the 1960s as grilled chicken-pieces, an inexpensive anju accompaniment to alcoholic drinks in small taverns on the outskirts of Chuncheon.[4] It replaced the comparatively expensive gui dishes which were grilled over charcoal.[4] Dak-galbi spread to Chuncheon's main districts, where the livestock industry was thriving and offered fresh ingredients with no need for refrigeration.[4] As a relatively cheap dish served in large portions, it gained popularity with soldiers and students on a budget and earned the nickname "commoners' galbi " or "university student's galbi " in the 1970s.[5]
The dish is a local specialty of Chuncheon, and is often referred to as Chuncheon-dak-galbi.[4] An annual festival dedicated to dak-galbi is held in Chuncheon, where there is also a dak-galbi alley with a large number of dak-galbi restaurants.[6]
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