Instant Pot Dakdori Tang

Instant Pot Dakdori Tang
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(852)
Notes
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Dakdori tang, sometimes called dakbokkeum-tang, is an easy-to-make Korean braised chicken stew. It gets its deeply savory flavor and brick-red color from gochugaru, Korean red-pepper flakes, and gochujang, the spicy, pungent and sweet fermented red chile paste. Most traditional recipes call for braising bone-in, skin-on chicken parts without browning them first, resulting in a rich dish with a layer of very delicious chicken fat on top. If you prefer a leaner broth, you can remove the skin from half the chicken parts before starting, or simply ladle some of the fat off the top before serving.

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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 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 of ginger root)
  • 1tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more to taste
  • 2teaspoons sesame oil
  • pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks, thighs, or a combination (about 8 to 12 pieces)
  • 4scallions, sliced
  • Sesame seeds, for topping
  • Cooked rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

609 calories; 24 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 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 electric pressure cooker, combine the potatoes, carrots, garlic, onion, green chile, gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru, ginger, sugar, sesame oil and 1½ cups water. Mix well with a spatula to evenly distribute the seasoning with all ingredients. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Close the lid and twist the steam valve to the sealed position. Set to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Turn the pressure cooker off, then do a quick release of the pressure by carefully twisting the steam valve to vent. If you’d like to reduce the liquid, remove the chicken to serving bowls with tongs, then let the stew bubble for a few minutes on the simmer setting. Taste, and add a little more sugar (up to 1 more tablespoon) to round the flavor out to your preference. Serve the stew in bowls topped with scallions and sesame seeds, with rice.

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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
852 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This looks spicily delicious, and I have all the ingredients except the chicken and fresh pepper - both now on my shopping list. But as a long time instant pot cook - please never *ever* do an 'instant release' of any kind of meat! It will instantly turn that tenderized meat tough. Do what's known as a 'natural release' - from 10 to 30 minutes depending on how long it's been under pressure, and how full the pot. This recipe will work at 15 minutes - and you can reduce cooking time to 6/7 min.

I make chicken thighs once a week and do a quick release every time and I've never had the meat get tough. Same with pork roast or beef stew meat. Broken down connective tissue and muscle fibers won't magically reform with a fast drop in pressure. Natural release time has nothing to do with how long it's been at pressure, but the volume does affect it.

I made this last night and it was delicious - will definitely be part of my regular cold weather rotation. I decreased the water to 1/2 cup and bumped up the cook time to 15 min. I also left out the pepper bc I knew my gochujang was already pretty fiery. The potatoes soaked in the sauce are my favorite part!!!

Your insta pot should have come with 2 plastic spoons. The end of the spoon has a hole that fits the vent to move it safely.

I added a half pound of tteokbokki to the pot and next time will throw in the full package. I love the textural contrast it added and my kids did, too.

Slow Cooker Version: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022864-slow-cooker-dakdori-tang?campaign_id=58&emc=edit_ck_20220110&instance_id=49766&nl=cooking®i_id=147616107&segment_id=79189&te=1&user_id=0594bdaadc618ef47d248fcc2bc41aa5

I would add an extra minute to the pressure cook. Or add some time before releasing the pressure.

There is going to be some sugar content, because that is part of the flavor profile, so it is just going to be a question of the source and amount. Most commercial versions are going to have corn syrup in varying degrees. You might take a look at Mother-in-Law's, which uses malt syrup rather than corn syrup. It is certainly more expensive than most of the larger and more readily available commercial brands, but has fewer and better ingredients.

Craisin -- see the introductory page to today's "Cooking." Links are provided for Instant Pot, slow cooker, and stove top versions of the recipe.

I made this last night and it’s a keeper. I used the ‘instant release’ and the chicken was succulent and juicy. Next time I’m only going to cook it for 5 mins not 8 mins because the carrots and potatoes - even though they were delicious - were over cooked and soft. I love the spice profile of Korean food - this didn’t disappoint!

This was so delicious and legit. I have made many Dakdori Tangs in my life and tried different recipes and this probably would be my go-to recipe for now. I was not a fan of cooking Korean 'Tang' (usually means meat stew) in Instant Pot because the flavor of meats somehow was bland always unless you sauté for long time or saute meats before pressure cook. So I had a little doubt making this in Instant Pot but I am so glad I did. It was super easy and delicious. I did natural release after 20 min

J Boyce -- on the introductory page of today's "Cooking," a link is posted for the stove-top version.

Great recipe! I left out the sugar and added tube shaped rice cakes based on a review below. Great idea! I did get a burn warning on the IP (maybe because of the rice cakes?) but it resolved. I cooked it for 8 mins with 10 min natural release. Potatoes and carrots were perfect at that point but got mushier as I kept it on ‘warm’ mode while I made banchan. Served it with rice and cucumber, spinach, and kimchi banchans.

No jalapeños at the store today but otherwise followed recipe exactly. Used Sempio Gochujang. Results: enjoyable medium spicy not torture spicy. Used high pressure high heat. About 15 minutes to get up to pressure in the Duo Plus. Quick released at 8 minutes and glad I did - chicken cooked through, carrots and potatoes right on the brink of disintegration. Black & white sesame seeds and scallions completed the dish with more flavor and style. Perfect stew for a rainy cold January night!

Very tasty. Followed as written instructions and worked great. Only add was to include some purple top turnips cut into chunks.

This was delicious—but the texture of the chicken skin was unappealing. Next time i would either brown the chicken first or use boneless/skinless chicken thighs. This would be great with Tofu too.

So flavorful and spicy! I left skin on the chicken but ended up skimming off much of the fat from the finished stew (which I used to roast potatoes). I agree about natural release, my chicken was a bit undercooked at first and I had to simmer for a while longer. Minor issue: the potatoes soaked up all the broth and fell apart so the leftovers were more like a thick soup than a stew.

This was amazingly delicious! I browned the meat in batches and then browned the onions in the chicken fat using the sauté function in the instant pot. After that, I followed the recipe exactly.

Tasty. Family enjoyed. Given all the liquid, however, I'm surprised that the chicken is a bit dry. My thigh pieces were rather large and I didn't have any drumsticks, so next time I'll try just drumsticks and much smaller thighs. I appreciated more the vegetables soaked in the sauce. Maybe I'll do this again with less meat and more veggies - including more types of vegetables. Maybe cauliflower would be nice here? Throw in frozen peas at the end and let them cook in the hot sauce?

Made per recipe except pressure cooked for 10 mins instead of 8. Spicy and delicious. Too spicy for kids, so if eating with children plan for that.

Worried about burn warnings?: Make sure the water's hot and dissolve the gochujang down in it before adding the rest of the ingredients. I think the thick, sugary paste tends to glob on to the bottom of the pot otherwise. I also add a little extra water (no more than 1/4 cup, it can be boiled off at the end) and skip the sugar. I got the burn warning with the dump-and-stir method (as written) the first time, but not after I tried the above. And I've made it many times since! (:

Pretty basic recipe. Tastes ok but it’s nothing special. Not particularly authentic even though it uses Korean ingredients. There’s just something missing that makes it tastes like a real Korean home-cooked meal.

Too dry and too hot. Add 1.5 cups more water, and cut Korean chili flakes (gochujang) and jalapeno in half.

Add an extra cup of water. On first try, I got burn warning from Instant Pot.

love this. prefer to use boneless thighs. last night cooked some rice cakes in the broth at the end. served it over fresh baby spinach.

This is so delicious and rather unique among the Instant Pot recipes I usually happen across. Thank G-d gochujang and gochugaru are becoming more available in American supermarkets. (I used Mother In Law's brand, and it was pretty good.) I haven't seen a Korean chili yet but I'm on the lookout. Serve it with rice and have yourself a good evening.

Very good and very easy. Mixed the gochujang, soy, sesame oil, sugar, and water before putting it in the Instant Pot-that might help avoid a BURN warning. Made as directed except didn't add gochugaru or green chile because our gochujang was spicy enough for me. Added one turnip. Cooked 8 minutes with natural release.

Why no moo radish kimchi in this dakdori tang? the other version of dakdori tang has it.

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