Hello food lovers! Today I’m bringing you a recipe for Jjimdak (Korean Braised Chicken), a fantastic sweet and savoury dish the whole family will adore. It’s truly the ultimate home-cooked meal!
Unlike the spicier Dakdoritang (spicy chicken stew), Jjimdak is traditionally made with a soy sauce base, making it incredibly versatile and enjoyable for everyone, from little ones to grown-ups. If you have family members who are sensitive to heat, like children, you can simply omit the dried chillies entirely. Alternatively, cook the dish as written, remove the children’s portions just before the end, and then add the chillies back in for a final subtle hint of heat.
Personally, my favourite part of Jjimdak is the sweet potato soaked in that gorgeous, rich sauce. The natural sweetness of the potato combined with the sauce’s delightful sweet-and-salty balance is utterly delicious.
While many recipes online involve adding extra ingredients for a darker colour, home cooking shouldn’t be overly complicated, should it? I’ve achieved a deep, appetising colour and maximised flavour simply by simmering the chicken first with dark brown sugar and soy sauce.
If you do desire a richer, deeper black colour, you can certainly add about 1 tablespoon of Dark Soy Sauce (Nooduyu) to adjust the shade.
Just follow my step-by-step instructions, and you’ll achieve a perfect, fail-proof Jjimdak every time. Happy cooking!
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Korean Braised Chicken | Jjimdak
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken cleaned and prepared
- 450 g Potato cut 1.2cm thick
- 200 g Sweet Potato with skin, cut 1.2cm thick
- 200 g Carrot cut 1.2cm thick
- 250 g Onion
- 100 g Glass Noodles soaked for at least 30 minutes
- 5 Shiitake Mushrooms Optional
✦ Sauce Ingredients
- 100 ml Soy Sauce
- 200 ml Rice Wine Cheongju
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp Liquid Chicken Stock
- 1 handful Dried Chili Peppers substitute with 5 dried chili flakes/peperoncini
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 800 ml Water total 500ml for 1st boil, 300ml for 2nd boil
Garnish
- 1 stalk Green Onion green part, sliced diagonally
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
Instructions
Cooking
- Clean the chicken and remove any blood. Poke the chicken deeply with a knife or fork so the sauce penetrates well.
- Chop the potato, sweet potato, and carrot into approximately 1.2cm thick pieces. Slice the onion coarsely. (Slice the shiitake mushrooms or leave them whole.) Slice the green part of the scallion diagonally and set aside for garnish. Soak the glass noodles in lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a pan and quickly stir-fry the chicken for about 30 seconds to 1 minute to sear the surface.
- Add the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, ground ginger, and minced garlic. To draw out the sweetness, add the onion first, then braise the chicken over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens.
- Add the oyster sauce and chicken stock and stir briefly.
- Add the dried chili peppers and mix.
- Since the carrots take a long time to cook, add them in first.
- Add 500ml water and black pepper. Once it boils, add the sliced sweet potato, potato, and shiitake mushrooms, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
- When there are 5 minutes remaining in the simmering time, add the soaked glass noodles and cook until tender.
- In the last 2 minutes, top with the diagonal slices of green onion and drizzle with sesame oil, then cook for the remaining time to finish.
- Transfer the finished Jjimdak to a serving dish and garnish by sprinkling with toasted sesame seeds.
Tips
- Sugar Adjustment: Do not add all the brown sugar at once; start with about 2 tbsp and adjust the sweetness to taste towards the end of cooking, as the vegetables (onions, sweet potatoes) will release natural sugars.
Video
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