A Chicken Lover’s Guide to Korean Food – Seoulistic

A Chicken Lover’s Guide to Korean Food

source: Foodpeoplewant.com

source: Foodpeoplewant.com

Are you a fan of chicken based dishes? Well, Koreans love it too! Spicy or non spicy, fried or non fried, steamed, boiled, marinated, stewed, you name it, Korea offers some of the best and most delicious chicken based dishes!

Language Tip: dalk (닭) means chicken in Korean. (Pronounced dak.)

Dalkgalbi

Dakgalbi (닭갈비) is one of the most popular Korean dishes among travelers to Korea. This chicken dish is diced chicken cooked in a gochujang (red pepper) based sauce. It is usually mixed with chopped cabbages, onions, rice cakes, and cheese. Koreans like to wrap and eat dalkgalbi with lettuce just like they do with galbi. If you want brand name dalkgalbi, go to the city where it’s from, Chuncheon (춘천). They even have even have a festival dedicated to a day of chicken gluttony every fall, the Dalkgalbi Festival.

 

Dalkdoritang

Dalkdoritang (닭도리탕 – spicy chicken stew) is a dish with pieces of chicken cooked in a bright red spicy sauce along with vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions. Due to its devilish redness in color you may find it a little intimidating to try, but it is usually more flavorful than it is spicy. The chunks of vegetables are hearty, and the sauce is the stuff Koreans love to eat with a spoonful of rice. It’s anyone’s pick for soju or makgeolli as both Korean alcohols are great to pair. YUM!

Source: naverblog

Source: naver blog

 

Samgyetang

Samgyetang (삼계탕) is a bowl of hot broth with a whole chicken inside. It is stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng, jujube, ginkgo nut, and garlic.

Even though it is a hot dish, it is still considered a popular food for summer. Why? Well, during the hot Korean summers, people sweat a lot to cool down the body. However, by losing this internal heat, your appetite reduces and you become listless. By eating this extremely nutritious dish, it replenishes the lost internal warmth in the body, giving people an energy boost. There is a saying in Korea that by fighting the heat you must fight it with heat as well. This is called ‘yi yeol chi yeol’ (이열치열). Despite this information, it doesn’t stop me from eating it in the winters to keep me warm.

Samgyetang is usually eaten on the hottest days of summer: Chobok, Jungbok and Malbok (collectively known as Sambok).

source: naverblog

source: naver blog

 

Dalkhanmari

Feel like a cleaner and lighter meal? Then dalkhanmari will be perfect for you and two or three friends. Dalkhanmari (닭한마리) translates to ‘one chicken,’ and that’s exactly what it is. One chicken cooked in a broth of potatoes, kalguksu (noodles), and thinly sliced rice cakes, a perfect serving size for a small group of friends. Chicken purists may like to know that there is no sauce slathered on; there’s only a soy-based dipping sauce for maximum flavor control. For those looking for some famous dalkhanmari, check out the small dalkhanmari alley in Dongdaemun. It’s a back alley of Seoul specially dedicated to dalkhanmari. Check it out!

Source: happ-it.com

Source: happ-it.com

 

Buldalk

Buldalk (불닭) is chicken bits stir fried in one of Korea’s spiciest sauces. This anyone knows just from the name. Buldalk literally translates to ‘fire chicken’. And as the name suggests, it is one of the spiciest dishes in Korea. It is famously known to be a sort of ‘stress relief’ food as many Koreans reach for the reddest thing on the table when they’re stressed. In Korea, popular belief says the seeds from the chili pepper make the body produce more endorphins, expand blood vessels, speed up metabolism, and accelerate sweat production. All leading to a happy night full of spicy chicken.

For those that love spicy, but need to take breaks, Koreans usually recommend ordering nurungji (누릉지 – rice porridge) or gyeranjjim (계란찜 – steamed eggs) after a bite to calm down the spiciness in your mouth and stomach. Can you take the heat?

Find this on our list of Spiciest Foods to Try in Seoul!

souce: naverblog

souce: naver blog

 

Jjimdalk

Originating from the city of Andong, jjimdalk is chicken, boiled or steamed in a rich soy sauce marinade. It’s also served with various chunks of vegetable goodies and those always popular glass noodles. It is seen as a highly nutritious food due to its low ratios of oil content and high ratios of clean white protien. Jjimdalk is very popular amongst students due to the high portion to low cost ratio. A dish to serve four people costs around 20,000 won (about 20 USD). For a highly nutritious and tasty food? What a steal! 😀

 

DalkBal

Dalkbal (닭발) literally means ‘chicken feet’. Bizarre right? But you’ll be surprised as to how popular this dish is in Korea. Chicken feet is a dish served at Korean bars all over Korea. For some, it’s perfect to pair with a bottle of soju (although just as many prefer makgeolli). Even if you don’t mind having chicken talons scraping the inside of your mouth, you will still need some courage to eat this because it is one of the spiciest foods in Korea!

See this along with our list of Bizarre, Crazy and Weird Foods of Korea!

 

Dalkddongjib

Fried, boneless, skinless chicken is so popular nowadays that many people will find dalkddongjib (닭똥집) a little grotesque. You think chicken feet is strange? Well, dalkddongjib is often incorrectly translated as chicken anus. Yum. But in actuality, it is a dish of fried chicken gizzards. It has a very chewy texture that some people might find “tough.” That’s why it’s marinated with some sweet spicy sauce to keep your mouth entertain while you continue to chew. What do you think? Yay or nay?

source: naverblog

Source: naver blog

 

Fried chicken

If you’re going to eat like a Korean local, you’ve got to get some fried chicken delivered to your picnic spot near the Han River. This top Korean delivery food is one of the most famous night snacks to have brought to you. It’s also a complimentary food to have whilst watching a baseball game or having a beer. There are generally 2 types of fried chicken: Yangnyeom (양념 – mixed with sweet spicy sauce) fried chicken and nude fried chicken. Either choice is great with some beer and gossip. Chicken and beer is so popular it even has its very own festival in Korea in Daegu.

source: blogspot

Source: Blogspot

 

Chicken Cutlet

Not a big fan of donkkasseu, fried pork cutlets? No biggie. There is a chicken version of dontaktsu, the popular Japanese dish served in restaurants all over Korea. Although Japanese in origin, it’s become a very popular and common fast food all around Korea. And Koreans have localized it to add their own unique twists, one of which includes food for chicken lovers. For the chicken version, just order dalkkkaseu, available in some of these specialty shops. Similar to the pork cutlet dish, chicken cutlet is usually served with a side of rice, salad and that signature donkkaseu sauce.

 

Dalkalguksu

Dalkalguksu is a hot broth of chicken and noodles! ‘Kalguksu’ literally ‘knife noodles’ and it refers to noodles being cut by a knife rather than a spoon. Dalkalguksu is a noodle dish usually served with slices of zucchinis and hand-ripped pieces of chicken in a bowl of green onions drenched in a special vinegar sauce. It may not look refreshing, but eating a piece of chicken sandwiched between vinegar dipped green onions make you cool down a lot after from the heat as well as give you warmth from the cold. Give it a try! 😉

 

So here you have it! Koreans really do have a special love for chicken whether it’s a chicken breast, leg, feet or stomach. What special chicken based dishes are famous in your country? Let us know in the comments below! ^^

Words by Ken Lee (Lifestyle photography blogger of Seoul State of Mind. Follow him here on Facebook!)

Ken Lee
Ken Lee
Born and raised in London UK, and currently residing in Korea, Ken Lum Lee is currently an English Teacher at a middle school in Gwangju and the blogger and photographer behind the Korean lifestyle blog Seoul State of Mind. Ken enjoys travelling around Korea, aiming to capture the unique beauties, discover stories and secret hideouts of Korea. Ken can usually be seen with his camera, which is currently the love of his life, and pigging out in Korean BBQ restaurants. Check out his awesome blog: www.seoulstateofmind.com For regular updates, follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

11 Comments

  1. AD says:

    Nice article – one thing though, the chicken festival is in Daegu not Daejeon

  2. Jeanne says:

    Another helpful post! And hope this comment could be more helpful. In Korea, word Dalk-do-ri-tang is commonly used but the standard is Dalk-bo-kkum-tang (닭볶음탕). Since the word ‘do-ri (鳥:to-ri)’ means bird in Japanese, most of Koreans are trying to use Dalk-bo-kkum-tang instead of Dalk-do-ri-tang. So when you read the menu, don’t be confused! Those are meaning the same menu! 😀

  3. Chan Chan says:

    I love chicken~ (I’m known as the Chicken Maniac where I live xD) The “fire chicken” looks so good. As I am in love with Korean Culture (especially the food) I have made it my personal goal to read every single article in on here :3 …. After mid-terms of course! keke Gotta study :3

    ~Chan Chan <3

  4. Winnie K. says:

    I love this guide. Thanks~~~ ;))

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  6. Just a random Korean University Student says:

    Ah, 불닭.
    I strongly recommend some super-sweet juice, or some ice cold milk.

    • Just a random Korean University Student says:

      No, wait
      Actually, ice creams are the best. They’re hard to keep until you need them tho.

  7. Laura says:

    I am spanish girl and i am so happy because you blog its amazing.
    I am very grateful because you share all this culture with others.
    my husband travels a lot to seul for work and I believe that I will not hesitate to go more times with him and discover in person the places so wonderful that you expose in that perfect way.
    Manuel thanks for your blog, i can not get enought ocupa saying that it is wonderful good job.
    And as it would be said in Spain: OLE OLE AND OLE
    Good job

  8. Tobi says:

    Fist of alle, thank you so much for all this valuable information on this site. Which restaurants/ places can you recommend for a good chicken dish in Seoul?

  9. Angela says:

    I am looking for the chicken you get from a small restaurant usually right outside military installations. You got this non spicy chicken and rice dish. I think it was grilled. Really craving this flavor. Can anyone help ?

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