PProvenance
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Cooking in
Penticton · the Okanagan
Nearest city · Kelowna Change
Dakgalbi
Korean · Chuncheon

Dakgalbi

Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) is Chuncheon's most famous dish — thinly sliced chicken thighs marinated in a gochujang-based sauce, stir-fried with sweet potato, cabbage, rice cakes (tteok), and green onion in a wide, flat pan at the table. The sauce caramelises in the hot pan and coats every element — the sweet potato softens, the cabbage wilts and sweetens, and the rice cakes become chewy and sauce-saturated. Finished by frying rice directly in the remaining sauce (bokkeum bap).

‹Swipe for the next dish›
Serves4
Total35 min
Within reach6of 10 in Penticton

Six in town · three elsewhere in British Columbia · one not yet within reach.

How the 10 are reached
In town
6 · soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, fresh ginger, korean sweet potato (goguma), scallion (white and light green)
Elsewhere in British Columbia
3 · gochujang (Korean red chili paste), cashew nuts, vegetable oil
Not yet within reach
1 · sesame seeds (white
Cook
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

700g
chicken thigh
cut into 3cm pieces
Your own market
150g
20ml
sesame oil
Your own market
20g
brown sugar
Your own market
3g
fresh ginger
minced
200g
Korean sweet potato (goguma)
julienned
150g
scallion (white and light green)
cut into 5cm pieces
3g
Tellicherry black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
15g
sesame seeds (white
toasted)
Not yet within reach of Penticton · each reach is counted

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

The larder of Penticton →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Combine gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger in a bowl; set aside.
From the canon — Gochujang is one of the great fermented condiments of the world — a thick, brick-red Korean paste made from gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes), fermented s… Gochujang (Korean Fermented Chilli Paste — Ratio and Use) →
2
Heat vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet or wok over high heat until wisps of smoke appear.
3
Add chicken pieces, sear 4 minutes without stirring until caramelized on one side, then toss and cook 3 minutes more until cooked through (internal temp 72°C).
4
Pour gochujang sauce over chicken, toss to coat evenly, add sweet potato and scallion, and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently until potatoes are tender-crisp and sauce clings to ingredients.
5
Season with black pepper, plate in a cast-iron stone bowl (dolsot) or on a platter, top with toasted cashews and sesame seeds, serve immediately with steamed rice.
III

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where dakgalbi lives or dies is the sauce caramelisation — as the dish cooks, the gochujang and sugar in the marinade begin to caramelise against the hot pan. You should see dark, sticky patches beginning to form around the edges of the pan. Toss the ingredients through these caramelised patches rather than trying to avoid them. The caramelised gochujang is the depth in the final dish — it is the equivalent of the Maillard reaction for this preparation.
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V

What to Pour

Pouring for British Columbia · ·

The pairing
SOV Wheated Rye Whisky
Sons of Vancouver Distillery · Metro Vancouver
Sons of Vancouver Distillery · North Vancouver →
Whisky
From British Columbia
1897 Amber Ale
Stanley Park Brewing · Metro Vancouver
Stanley Park Brewing · Vancouver →
Beer
Without alcohol
Americano — Burundi Kayanza (Gatukuza Women Group)
Gatukuza Women Group
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Coffee

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VI
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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