Jjim Dak aka Dak Jjim aka Korean Garlic Ginger Soy Braised Chicken Recipe
This recipe uses one whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, or 10 pieces if you cut the breasts in half because you have a strange issue with large breasts like I do. You can also use an 8- to 10-piece colonel's combination of thighs and drumsticks, but a chicken made up of all thighs and drumsticks just doesn't seem all that natural, now does it?Serves 4 happy, social friends in one sitting, or a single girl who eats leftovers of a whole chicken for dinner in solitude 6 nights in a row. Not that I ever did that. Not even back in 2006.
Ingredients
- 1 whole 3 to 4 pound chicken cut into 8 (or 10) pieces, or 8-10 thighs and drumsticks
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
Braising Sauce
- 1 1-inch piece ginger smashed against the cutting board with broad side of large knife
- 3-4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- ¼ cup tamari or regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake or mirin
- 2 tablespoons date sugar or regular brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock to start up to 2 cups, if needed
Vegetables
- ½ large onion cut into ¼-inch thick slices
- 1 large carrot peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into ¾-inch wide half moons
- optional: 1 cup of mushrooms, 1 cup regular radishes or chopped daikon radish
Finish and Garnish
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 stalk green onion
- 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Season chicken pieces on all sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Heat about 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in large, deep pot over medium heat. Place chicken in pot skin side down and brown, about 7 minutes. Turn chicken over and brown flesh side, about 5 minutes.
- While chicken is browning, make braising sauce: Combine tamari, sake or mirin, sugar, and chicken stock in a small bowl (ig using date sugar, it will not dissolve).
- Remove browned chicken to a plate; I actually use the turned over lid of the pot I'm using. Pour off or wipe out the chicken fat from the pot and discard.
- Add another 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil to pot. Add garlic and ginger. Cook until garlic is fragrant and lightly toasted.
- Return chicken back to pot, placing pieces skin side up, along with any juices on the plate. Add cut vegetables to pot, pushing them in between the pieces of chicken. Pour the braising sauce over the chicken in the pot.
- Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low, cover the pot with a slight tilt to vent, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and cooked through. Every 10 minutes during cooking, check on the pot. Tilt the pot, grab some of the braising liquid, and pour over the top of the chicken so it doesn't dry out. If the braising liquid seems to be evaporating too much, add a little bit more chicken stock.
- Taste, and adjust seasoning with additional splashes of tamari, salt, and/or pepper. Stir sesame oil into braising liquid at the very end, just before serving. Garnish with fresh sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
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Notes
This actually taste better the second day after storing the entire pot in the refrigerator. Scrape off the congealed fat from the top, bring the dak jjim in the pot back up to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes until everything is heated through.