Korean Chicken & Vegetable Stew (Dak Jorim)

by MK
(St. Louis)

Servings: 4 to 6
Yield: about 5 servings with leftovers
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Ready in 3 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients for this recipe
3 pounds of chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, with skin off & bone-in
1 tablespoon mirin, or rice wine
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pepper
2 large potatoes
1 yellow onion
2 large carrots
1 turnip
3-4 green onions
¼ pound brussel sprouts
2 red chili’s
5 tablespoons Korean chili paste (gochujang)
5 tablespoons Korean chili powder (gochogaru)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tsp honey
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Cooked brown rice on the side (optional)

Directions:
1. Wash chicken well, using cold water. If you want to curb some more fat in this dish, you can choose to trim any visible fat in addition to the skin. Drain well and dab excess water. In a large bowl, combine the salt, pepper and rice wine. Add chicken and coat well. Let marinade for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Cut the potatoes, carrots, and turnip into big chunks, 1 to 1 ½ pieces. Cut the onion into 4 quarters. Cut the green onions into 1 ½ pieces.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients together (Korean chili paste and powder, soy sauce, honey, and minced garlic). Pour over the chicken and coat well together. Put chicken into the crock pot and cook on high for one and a half to two hours.
4. Put in the potatoes, onions, carrots, chili, and brussel sprouts. Cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. Mix well once so that the ingredients get turned around. Then top with the green onions and cook for another 20 minutes. Enjoy over hot brown rice and a cold beer. Serve 4 to 6 people.

Tips for this recipe
- For Korean chili paste and pepper, you can find them at most Asian and/or Korean markets. Korean chili paste is a fermented paste made from Korean chili pepper, soy beans and salt. The paste is thick, red, very strong, and a common ingredient in Korean dishes.
- Korean chili powder is different from what Americans normally use. It has no seeds and is made from crushing the dried flesh of red chili peppers. This is also a common ingredient found in Korean dishes, most famously in kim-chee.


Note:
This recipe is a childhood favorite of mine. My mother used to make it during the weekends when the family spends the day enjoying each other’s company. It was probably because it is one of the most delicious comfort foods without being too labor intensive. All you do is know when to put the ingredients into the pot and just step away. At the end of the day, we get soul-satisfying food that tastes like she’s been slaving over the stove all day. It’s spicy, hearty, and just the thing on a cold day. I also hear that it’s especially good for hangovers.