Bokkeum (stir-fried)

닭갈비 Dakgalbi

Chicken marinated in spicy chili paste, stir-fried with cabbage and rice cakes on a hot pan at the table.

Spicy Stir-fried Chicken
Spice: Medium

Dakgalbi cooking on a round iron pan, seen from above — AI-generated image

At a glance

Fact	Details
Main ingredients	Chicken, chili paste (gochujang), cabbage, sweet potato, rice cakes
How it's served	Stir-fried on a large iron pan in the middle of the table, with lettuce and side dishes
Spice level	Medium — Clearly spicy. You'll want water nearby.
Allergens	Soy · Wheat · Sesame
Ask about	Cheese is a common add-on; the rice cakes may be wheat or rice.
On the menu	닭갈비 (Dakgalbi)
Also called	dak galbi · dakkalbi
Region	Nationwide · Chuncheon

Based on the usual recipe. Restaurants vary, so always tell the staff.

How to eat Spicy Stir-fried Chicken

Wait until the chicken is cooked
Staff often stir the pan for you. Start eating once the chicken is cooked through.
Wrap it in lettuce
Put chicken and cabbage on a lettuce or perilla leaf, then eat it in one bite.
Finish with fried rice
Many people order rice near the end. It is stir-fried in the same pan with the leftover sauce.

How to order it

Order it as 닭갈비. It is sold by the serving, and many places ask for at least two servings, since everyone shares one pan.

On the menu: 닭갈비
Usually sold: Often 2 servings minimum

Where it comes from

It began in Chuncheon in the late 1960s as a charcoal-grilled drinking snack. A grilled-pork seller is said to have marinated chicken like pork ribs and sold it as dakbulgogi. The name later became Chuncheon dakgalbi. In the 1970s, soldiers on leave and university students ate it as a cheap, filling meal. It grew there because poultry farming was common.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (encykorea.aks.ac.kr)