Korean Soy Braised Chicken Chunks
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Dakganjang-jjim is a Korean soy-braised chicken dish where bone-in thigh pieces are combined with potatoes, carrots, and onion in a seasoned soy sauce base and simmered over low heat until the liquid reduces and the flavors concentrate.
Read more
As the braising liquid cooks down, the salinity and umami of the soy sauce penetrate through the chicken skin and into the meat, seasoning it throughout rather than just coating the surface. The thigh cut is intentional - the fat and collagen in bone-in thighs keep the meat moist through the extended cooking time, preventing it from drying out the way leaner cuts would. The vegetables absorb the rendered chicken fat and soy-based cooking liquid as they soften, taking on a deep savory-sweet flavor that requires no additional seasoning. Because the dish contains no chili paste or gochugaru, it is mild in heat and broadly accessible, working equally well as a weeknight dinner main, a side dish over rice, or packed into a lunch box where the flavors continue to develop. The ratio of soy sauce to sugar in the braising liquid can be adjusted to suit individual taste - leaning toward saltier or sweeter without fundamentally changing the character of the dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Finish
Cut 700 g chicken thigh into 5 cm pieces and trim off some skin if a lighter finish is preferred.
Cut 220 g potato and 120 g carrot into 3 cm chunks, then slice 120 g onion into thick strips.
- 2Control
Put the chicken and 450 ml water in a pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Once it starts boiling, skim the foam for 2 to 3 minutes so the braising liquid stays cleaner and less cloudy.
- 3Control
Add 5 tablespoons soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic, then reduce to medium heat.
Stir until the sugar dissolves, and simmer for 10 minutes so the chicken begins taking on soy color.
- 4Control
Add the potato and carrot, pressing them down so they sit in the braising liquid, and cook over medium heat for 12 more minutes.
Turn the contents gently once or twice to prevent sticking without breaking the vegetables.
- 5Control
When a chopstick goes halfway into the carrot with slight resistance, add the onion and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Continue until the onion turns translucent and the liquid reduces to a shallow, saucy level.
- 6Control
Turn off the heat when the chicken and vegetables are evenly glazed and a shallow glossy sauce remains.
Remove the pot before the sauce reduces too far.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Thigh pieces simmered with potatoes and carrots in a deep, savory soy sauce reduction.
- Finish cue
- Turn off the heat when the chicken and vegetables are evenly glazed and a shallow glossy sauce remains.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
45min, 8 ingredients
Category median
45min, 8 ingredients
Based on 183 recipes
Use-up ingredient planner
Turn these ingredients into two more meals
The overlap excludes basic seasonings. Open the next recipe and your selected dishes will stay with you.
Chicken Curry Rice
chicken thigh, potato
Chicken Curry
chicken thigh, potato
Japanese Curry Rice
potato, carrot