
-Cycle 1, Dinner 201-
25 July 2010
-Korean-
Dak Galbi
at Ong-Jang-Gol ^
Gapyeong
Gyeonggi-Do
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Despite the name, dak (닭) (chicken) galbi shares little in common with its pork or beef counterparts, which I've discussed in prior posts (see 1.001 Pork Galbi, 1.081 Pork Galbi, 1.091 Pork Galbi, 1.167 LA Galbi). First, chicken galbi has nothing to do with ribs, or even breast meat, really. Second, it's spicy, based on red chili paste or gochujang (고추장), as opposed to the sweet sesame-soy marinade. Third, the dish includes vegetables, typically onions and cabbage, and sometimes rice cakes or noodles. Fourth, it's usually cooked in a large iron skillet, where rice will be added at the end and fried in the remaining oil and tidbits to finish off the meal. Thus, chicken galbi is a completely different animal.
I tend to avoid chicken galbi. It's usually too spicy. It takes too long to cook the chicken through. During that time, constant stirring is required to prevent sticking and burning. In the event of ordering additional portions, the raw ingredients are thrown into the same skillet, resulting in a chaos of chicken pieces that are of varying degrees of doneness internally though indistinguishable from the outside. And I've never been a big fan of the fried rice thing; I never understood the attraction of eating rendered fat and blackened veggies.
That said, however, I'm willing to drive out of my way for the chicken galbi at this place, which I discovered during the course of my camping trips in the Gapyeong region of Gyeonggi-Do. It's located on a hillside about 5 kilometers from the highway. Each table, which comfortably seats 8, is essentially an immense brick oven with a stone cooking surface on top and a wood-burning furnace underneath. The wood comes directly from the surrounding land, which is owned by the proprietor. As for the food, the chicken is perfectly seasoned and balanced between spicy and sweet. Instead of the typical raw veggies, they use kimchi, which adds depth. To keep the flavors consistent throughout the meal, the table design allows for the oil and burned excess to be scraped off into a refuse gutter--nice. They do the fried rice thing, of course, but it's light and clean, seasoned on its own. If the food itself weren't enough, their own brand of "wine," which homemade from pine needles but, somehow, tastes like lemonade, is the perfect accompaniment to the spicy chicken. Awesome.