| Dak-galbi | |
| Alternate Name: | Spicy stir-fried chicken |
| Country: | South Korea |
| National Cuisine: | South Korean cuisine |
| Type: | Bokkeum |
| Served: | Warm |
| Main Ingredient: | Chicken |
| Serving Size: | 4 |
| Calories: | 788 |
| Calories Ref: | [1] |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | Korean: 닭갈비 |
| Hanja: | none |
| Rr: | dak-galbi |
| Mr: | tak-kalbi |
| Koreanipa: | pronounced as /ko/ |
Dak-galbi, or spicy stir-fried chicken, is a popular South 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, and usually refers to braised or grilled short ribs. Dak-galbi is not made with chicken ribs, however, and the dish gained this nickname during the post-War era when chicken was used as a substitute for pork ribs. 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]
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. It replaced the comparatively expensive gui dishes which were grilled over charcoal. Dak-galbi spread to Chuncheon's main districts, where the livestock industry was thriving and offered fresh ingredients with no need for refrigeration. 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.[4]
The dish is a local specialty of Chuncheon and is often referred to as Chuncheon-dak-galbi.[5] 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]
There is a dak-galbi street (닭갈비 거리) in Myeong-dong, Seoul, and there are dozens of restaurants there.[7]