Sweet & Crispy Scallion Chicken Stir-fry
A sweet and savory, crispy, and subtly sweet green onion chicken stir-fry.
📝 Editor's Notes
Kongdak, or Bean Sprout Chicken Stew, is a classic Korean home-cooked dish with a superb spicy and refreshing flavor.
The tender chicken and crispy bean sprouts create a harmonious texture, making it perfect as a meal or an accompanying dish with drinks.
A major advantage of this recipe is its use of broth coins to create a deep flavor while simplifying the cooking process.
Its spicy and clean taste makes it an ideal dish for a rainy day or when you've lost your appetite.
It's also suitable for beginner cooks, as it allows you to create a delicious braised chicken without complex steps.
🛒 Ingredient Tips
It's best to prepare fresh, domestically sourced chicken for dakbokkeumtang (닭볶음탕) for this recipe.
Choose chicken that has a bright pink color and firm flesh.
For bean sprouts, select ones with heads and tails that aren't too long, plump stems, and no broken parts for freshness.
After purchase, clean them immediately and store them in the refrigerator, then wash and drain just before cooking to maintain their crisp texture.
For onions, choose those with firm, shiny skins that feel heavy.
For green onions (scallions), bright green tops and long, plump white parts indicate good flavor.
Utilizing seasonal ingredients will allow you to enjoy an even richer taste.
🔄 Substitution Guide
Instead of chicken, you can use pork neck or front leg meat (shoulder butt).
Using pork will result in a richer and more savory flavor; the cooking method remains the same—blanching the meat first.
If bean sprouts are unavailable, mung bean sprouts (sukjunamul) can be used for a similar crunchy texture, but the unique refreshing taste of bean sprouts might be less prominent.
If new potatoes are not available, regular potatoes can be used; pre-cooking them in the microwave can shorten the cooking time.
If you don't have 'Haetongnyeong Yuksuhanal KalKalhan Mat' (a specific spicy broth coin), you can finely chop 1-2 cheongyang chili peppers (청양고추) or make your own broth with kelp and anchovies for a deeper flavor.
🥘 Ingredients
👨🍳 Cooking Points
There are three key cooking points for this Kongdak (Bean Sprout Chicken Stew) recipe.
First, blanch the chicken once in water to remove any gamey smell and impurities.
This step ensures a cleaner and more tender chicken, so please don't skip it.
Second, prepare the seasoning sauce in advance and stir-fry it with the ingredients.
Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes over medium heat to allow the sauce to thoroughly penetrate the chicken.
Third, it's important to add the bean sprouts last and stir-fry only until they are just wilted.
Stir-frying them for too long will make them soggy and lose their crispy texture, so stir-fry quickly over high heat for 2-3 minutes.
👨🍳 Directions
Score the chicken drumsticks to allow the seasoning to penetrate well.
Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce to the chicken and mix.
Pour 1 cup of Korean frying mix (Twigim Garu) and coat the chicken drumsticks evenly.
Heat a sufficient amount of cooking oil in a hot frying pan. Fry the chicken drumsticks until the surface is cooked and crispy. (Start with high heat until the oil is hot, then reduce to medium heat for frying.)
Cut the thicker parts of the chicken with scissors to ensure they cook through.
Drain or remove excess oil from the pan. Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 3 tbsp of mirin, and 1 tbsp of corn syrup, then mix.
Add 1/2 stalk of green onion and stir-fry over high heat until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.
Finally, add a generous amount of sesame seeds for extra nuttiness.
Transfer the finished chicken stir-fry to a serving dish.
💡 Tips
Green onions can be spicy for children, but when cooked this way, even kids will love them! (This is from personal experience, as I've always included plenty of green onions in my cooking since they were young.)
It's even more delicious right after cooking; I had a hard time resisting eating it all immediately!
📦 Storage & Reuse
The finished Kongdak (Bean Sprout Chicken Stew) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
For longer storage, portion it out and freeze.
It can be kept frozen for up to about 2 weeks.
After thawing, reheat it in a microwave or a pot.
When reheating, if the broth is insufficient, add a little water or stock and gently warm over low heat to allow the seasoning to soak in.
The leftover sauce is also delicious mixed with rice, or you can boil somyeon (thin wheat noodles) and add them for a bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) style dish.
🥢 Who This Is For
This spicy Kongdak (Bean Sprout Chicken Stew) is a great dish for the whole family to enjoy.
Those who love spicy and refreshing flavors will be especially satisfied.
It's excellent as a dinner side dish or as an accompaniment to makgeolli (막걸리) or soju (소주).
Recommended side dishes include refreshing bean sprout soup, crispy cucumber salad, and warm white rice.
Mixing the leftover stew sauce with rice is truly a 'bap-doduk' (밥도둑, 'rice thief,' meaning so delicious it makes you eat a lot of rice), so be sure to try it.
🔥 Nutrition Info
This Kongdak (Bean Sprout Chicken Stew) recipe can be estimated for approximately 4 servings.
With 600g (about 1.3 lbs) of chicken as the main ingredient, approximately 350-400 kcal per serving can be expected.
Protein is abundant thanks to the chicken, providing about 30-35g.
Fat varies depending on the chicken cut, but is estimated at 15-20g.
Carbohydrates from onions, green onions, soy sauce, mirin, etc., are estimated at 20-25g.
Bean sprouts are rich in Vitamin C and aspartic acid, which help with fatigue recovery, while chicken is rich in essential amino acids and zinc, beneficial for boosting immunity.
Overall, its high protein content makes it a satisfying meal.
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