Jjimdak (Braised Chicken)

Ingredients

• Chicken · cut up, about 1kg1
• Potatoes · in chunks2
• Carrot0.5
• Onion1
• Green onion1 stalk
• Cabbage · optional0.25 head
• Glass noodles · soaked100 g
• Chilies · for heat, optional3
• Sauce
• Soy sauce0.5 cup
• Sugar · or corn syrup3 tbsp
• Minced garlic1 tbsp
• Minced ginger0.5 tsp
• Oyster sauce · optional1 tbsp
• Black pepper · a pinch
• Water3 cups
• Sesame oil & seeds · to finish

Steps

1. Blanch the chicken briefly in boiling water to remove fat and odor, then rinse. Soak the glass noodles in warm water.

   ⏲ 7 min

2. Cut the potato, carrot, onion, and cabbage into large chunks; slice the green onion and chilies.

   ⏲ 5 min

3. Mix the sauce (soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, pepper) with 3 cups water.

   ⏲ 1 min

4. Bring the chicken and sauce to a boil, then add the potato and carrot and braise over medium heat.

   ⏲ 15 min

5. Once the chicken and potato are tender, add onion, cabbage, green onion, and chilies and simmer until the liquid halves.

   ⏲ 7 min

6. Add the soaked glass noodles and braise 3-4 minutes until the sauce is scant — don't let them overcook.

   ⏲ 4 min

7. Finish with sesame oil and seeds. Serve with rice.

Tips & Variations

The basics behind this dish

• Browning and the Maillard ReactionMeat fails to brown for one of three reasons: it is wet, the pan is cool, or you put too much in at once. Plus how the brown film stuck to the pan becomes your sauce.
• Cooking Meat: Temperature, Resting, and Cutting Against the GrainDoneness is a core temperature, not a number of minutes. What resting actually does, how to handle a thick cut, and why the direction you slice changes the texture.
• Knife Skills: Grip, Cuts, and Why Size MattersHow you hold the knife matters more than how fast you cut. The pinch grip, the claw hand, and why uniform size is a cooking decision rather than a cosmetic one.