Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken)
Meat dishes
Diced chicken marinated in a spicy gochujang sauce and stir-fried with cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes — a specialty of Chuncheon.
Why this list cannot be complete
Many Korean restaurants are franchises whose recipes are not published, and shops create their own versions of the same dish. A menu name often does not tell you what is inside. This page covers the traditional recipe and the variations that have spread widely, not every shop.
When you are not sure what a shop puts in, show your card to say what you cannot eat, or show the list below and ask the staff to point to what is in theirs.
What usually goes in
이 음식에 아래 재료 중 들어가는 것이 있나요?
For the staff: does this dish contain any of the ingredients below?
Despite the word galbi (ribs) in the name, the dish is diced chicken, not ribs — chicken is the main ingredient.
The red marinade is built on gochujang, fermented from soybean powder, with soy sauce added to the seasoning.
The route for wheat is the gochujang in the marinade, since many commercial brands contain it; the rice cakes themselves are rice.
Gochujang is traditionally made with barley malt powder, which many brands still use, so the red sauce can carry barley.
Garlic is a basic seasoning mixed into the gochujang marinade with ginger, so it has already soaked into the marinated chicken.
Onion is stir-fried on the iron griddle with cabbage and the marinated chicken and soaks up the red sauce.
Cheese, rose and corn cheese dakgalbi add cheese or cream to the pan.
The corn cheese on corn cheese dakgalbi is made with mayonnaise, which contains egg yolk.
Some recipes put perilla oil in the sauce instead of sesame oil.
Some recipes add apple or apple juice to the sauce.
- Usually in it
- Most kitchens put this in. Assume it is there unless the staff tell you otherwise.
- Sometimes in it
- It depends on the recipe and the brand of sauce, so it is worth asking.
- Rarely in it
- The usual recipe does not call for it, but some kitchens still use it.
Checked 10 of the 33 ingredients this site covers. An ingredient that is not listed here has simply not been checked yet — that is not the same as it not being in the dish.
This page describes how the dish is usually made in Korea. Every kitchen works differently, so always show your card and ask the staff before you order.
Going on your card
- Chicken (닭고기)
- Soybean (대두)
- Wheat (밀)
- Barley and rye (보리 · 호밀)
- Garlic (마늘)
- Onion (양파)
- Milk (우유)
- Eggs (알류)
- Perilla seed (들깨 · 들기름)
- Apple (사과)
Common variations
If you see one of these names on a menu, expect the ingredients below on top of the basic dish. Shops differ, so check with the staff.
- 치즈닭갈비Cheese dakgalbi
Adds: Milk (우유)
Mozzarella cheese is melted over the stir-fried dakgalbi or around the edge of the pan and eaten together.
- 로제닭갈비Rose dakgalbi
Adds: Milk (우유)
Cream or milk is added to the spicy gochujang sauce to make a creamy rose sauce, sometimes topped with cheese.
- 콘치즈닭갈비Corn cheese dakgalbi
Adds: Milk (우유), Eggs (알류)
Dakgalbi comes with corn cheese made of corn, mayonnaise and cheese, and mayonnaise is made with egg yolk.
Diets
- VeganNot suitable
The dish is marinated chicken.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianNot suitable
The chicken is stir-fried together with the vegetables, so it cannot be picked out afterwards.
Other dishes with the same ingredients
- TteokbokkiWheat · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Eggs (poultry) · Barley & rye (gluten) · Milk · Perilla seed (incl. perilla oil and powder) — Sometimes in it
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Eggs (poultry) · Wheat · Milk · Perilla seed (incl. perilla oil and powder) — Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Wheat · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Milk — Sometimes in it
Read more
- Soy in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Gluten-free travel in KoreaWhere wheat hides in sauces and broths
- Vegan dining in KoreaWhere meat and seafood hide in Korean cooking
- Emergency allergy help in KoreaWhat to do and say if a reaction starts
- Halal food in KoreaWhere pork, alcohol, and non-halal meat hide in Korean cooking
- Temple food and Buddhist vegetarian dining in KoreaWhere garlic, green onion, and other pungent vegetables hide
Sources we checked
Each finding on this page lists the recipes and references it is based on. Source titles appear in their original language and are not translated, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
Show the 16 sources behind each finding
What usually goes in
Chicken · Usually in it
Soybean · Usually in it
- 위키백과, "닭갈비" — 토막 낸 닭고기를 고추장 양념에 재워 볶음; 양배추 · 고구마 · 떡; 고추장 · 간장 · 마늘 · 생강 (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Dak-galbi" — marinated diced chicken in a gochujang-based sauce with sweet potatoes, cabbage, perilla, spring onion, tteok; lettuce and perilla leaves as ssam (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Gochujang" — made with fermented soybean (meju) powder and barley malt powder; some recipes use rice or barley (opens in a new tab)
Wheat · Sometimes in it
- Celiac.com, "Is Gochujang Gluten-Free? What to Know Before You Buy" — many commercial versions contain wheat, barley malt or wheat-based soy sauce (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Dak-galbi" — marinated diced chicken in a gochujang-based sauce with sweet potatoes, cabbage, perilla, spring onion, tteok; lettuce and perilla leaves as ssam (opens in a new tab)
Barley and rye · Sometimes in it
- Celiac.com, "Is Gochujang Gluten-Free? What to Know Before You Buy" — many commercial versions contain wheat, barley malt or wheat-based soy sauce (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Gochujang" — made with fermented soybean (meju) powder and barley malt powder; some recipes use rice or barley (opens in a new tab)
Garlic · Usually in it
Onion · Usually in it
Milk · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Mayonnaise" — emulsion of oil, egg yolk and acid (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「치즈닭갈비 만드는 법, 닭갈비 양념 이 비율이 딱!」 — 모짜렐라 치즈 (opens in a new tab)
- 우리의식탁, 「치즈닭갈비」 — 모차렐라치즈 2컵 · 우유 1/2컵 (opens in a new tab)
- 유가네 닭갈비, 「메뉴」 — 치즈퐁듀 닭갈비 · 로제닭갈비 · 콘치즈닭갈비 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「로제닭갈비, 닭갈비를 로제로 즐기면 죄책감이 제로」 — 생크림 · 우유 · 모짜렐라 (opens in a new tab)
- 푸드짱요요, 「[미국에서 요리하기] - 콘치즈 닭갈비」 — 마요네즈 · 옥수수 · 모짜렐라치즈 (opens in a new tab)
Eggs · Sometimes in it
Perilla seed · Sometimes in it
Apple · Sometimes in it
Common variations
치즈닭갈비 · Cheese dakgalbi
로제닭갈비 · Rose dakgalbi
콘치즈닭갈비 · Corn cheese dakgalbi
Diets
Vegan · Not suitable
Lacto-ovo vegetarian · Not suitable
Each dish is researched by hand from the sources we checked, and nothing here is generated automatically. Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so always confirm with the staff before you order.