Slow-Cooker Dakdori Tang

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated Feb. 2, 2023

Slow-Cooker Dakdori Tang
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
5 hours and 10 minutes
Rating
4(538)
Comments
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Dakdori tang, sometimes called dakbokkeum-tang, is a homey Korean chicken stew that adapts beautifully to the slow cooker. Most traditional recipes combine the ingredients in a pot and let them bubble, with no sauté step — similar to a one-pot, slow-cooker braise. Here, the dish is cooked on high, and the heat caramelizes the gochujang, a fermented red chile paste. The use of skin-on chicken is customary, and results in a rich broth with a layer of very delicious spiced chicken fat. If you prefer a leaner broth, you can remove the skin from some or all of the chicken parts before starting.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 large potatoes), scrubbed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
  • 1pound carrots (about 4 large carrots), peeled and sliced into 1 to 1½-inch chunks 
  • 10garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
  • 1yellow or red onion, roughly chopped
  • 1long green Korean chile (cheong-gochu), stemmed and thickly sliced, (or 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and thickly sliced)
  • ½cup gochujang 
  • ¼cup soy sauce 
  • 3tablespoons gochugaru (see Tip)
  • 2tablespoons minced fresh ginger (from about 2 inches ginger root)
  • 2tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2teaspoons sesame oil 
  • 3¼pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks, thighs, or a combination (about 8 to 12 pieces)
  • Cooked rice, for serving
  • 4scallions, sliced
  • Sesame seeds, for topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

617 calories; 24 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 48 grams protein; 1719 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker combine the potatoes, carrots, garlic, onion, green chile, gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru, ginger, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well with a spatula to evenly distribute the seasoning on all ingredients. Add the chicken and mix to coat.

  2. Step 2

    Cook until the vegetables and chicken are tender, 4 to 5 hours on high. The stew will hold well on warm after the cook time has elapsed.

  3. Step 3

    Serve the stew in bowls over rice topped with scallions and sesame seeds.

Tip
  • Gochugaru is available at many East Asian groceries, as well as many supermarkets and online. If you don’t have it, substitute 1 tablespoon good-quality sweet paprika and 1 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
538 user ratings
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Comments

Beans20

Could I cook over a wood fire in a tin can?

Lisa

Could I use a a Dutch oven and simmer?

Prakash Nadkarni

RE: Instant Pot Many Instant-Pot knock-offs have a "Slow Cooker" setting. But if you want to use pressure, limit yourself to 5-6 minutes pressure with natural release. The mixture cooks during the warming up and the cooling down. (Chicken cooks very fast: I once made the mistake of using a 10-minute setting for a cacciatore, which cooked it to mush.)

Kat

I think that this would have been better with only one tbsp of sesame oil and one tbsp of sugar. I found it to be too oily and sweet. Other than that, I thought it was a great dish and I will make it again with the aforementioned modifications.

Susanne

Absolutely delicious! Great flavor. Used skinless boneless thighs. Cooked for 4 hrs on high and they were tender and broke easily into pieces, but not disintegrating. My slow cooker has a saute feature, so I let it simmer for about 10 mins to thicken. I have a low heat tolerance (Frank's is as hot as I can handle) and I found this way too hot for me. My husband looked online and it seems the gochuru that I purchased is quite spicy. I may just try it with paprika in its place next time.

Trina

I made this in the Instant Pot, and it was an unqualified disaster. I added all ingredients as written, noticing the mixture appeared rather dry but trusting that the recipe was sound. I set it on slow cooker for 5 hours and went to work. When I came home and opened it up, the top 1.5-2 inches of the mixture was dry, since the ingredients didn’t generate enough liquid to cover. As such, the whole top layer was undercooked and had been sitting at an unsafe temperature for multiple hours. I had to toss the whole thing and come up with a quick family dinner on the fly. A real bummer after a long day at work, and a big waste. I will try this recipe again, since it looks otherwise tasty and easy, but I’ll probably just use the pressure cooker settings, not slow cooker.

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