Chef Jeong-sun
Andong-jjimdak (Andong Braised Chicken)
A generous Andong market braise of chicken, potatoes, chilies, and glass noodles in glossy soy sauce, cooked in the right order so the noodles soak up flavor without turning heavy.
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Jorimdak (Andong Rice-Cake Braised Chicken)
Created by
Andong's darker, chewier braised chicken, cooked down with rice cakes instead of glass noodles until the soy, chile, and garlic sauce coats the chicken like it means to stay.
Main Dishes
Korean
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Jorimdak lives or dies by reduction. Not the chicken first, not the rice cakes first, the sauce. If it sits in the pot like soup, you made jjimdak's wetter cousin. If it boils down until it clings to the chicken skin and stains the rice cakes dark, now you are close.
People know Andong for jjimdak, the market chicken with glass noodles, but locals know there is another pleasure in the same family: chewy garaetteok (rice cakes) drinking in a soy-dark braise. The rice cakes make it heavier, more direct, and better for a table where people are reaching in with chopsticks while the rice waits. You need a wide pot, steady heat, and the patience to let the liquid reduce without scorching. That is the whole bargain.
Cut the vegetables large enough to survive the braise. Soak the rice cakes if they are firm. Taste before you add more sugar, because sweetness should round the soy and chile, not turn the dish sticky like candy. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Andong's famous jjimdak is tied to the Dak-golmok chicken alley of Andong Gu Market, where soy-braised chicken with vegetables and glass noodles became widely known in the late twentieth century as a generous market dish. Jorimdak belongs to the same Andong braised-chicken family, but the word jorim points to the method: simmering down until the seasoning liquid reduces and coats. The rice-cake version is a local, practical variation, valued for chew and for a darker, tighter sauce rather than for any palace lineage.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in chicken pieces
Quantity
1.2kg
cut for braising
garaetteok or tteokbokki rice cakes
Quantity
300g
potato
Quantity
1 medium, about 200g
cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
carrot
Quantity
1 medium, about 150g
cut into thick diagonal pieces
onion
Quantity
1 medium
cut into 8 wedges
scallions
Quantity
2
cut into 2-inch lengths
dried red chiles
Quantity
4
cut in half, seeds shaken out for less heat
garlic
Quantity
8 cloves
thinly sliced
ginger
Quantity
1 thumb-size piece
sliced
water
Quantity
1 1/4 cups
soy sauce
Quantity
1/2 cup
rice syrup or corn syrup
Quantity
3 tablespoons
sugar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
mirin or rice wine
Quantity
2 tablespoons
oyster sauce (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 tablespoon
cooked short-grain rice (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in chicken piecescut for braising | 1.2kg |
| garaetteok or tteokbokki rice cakes | 300g |
| potatocut into 1 1/2-inch chunks | 1 medium, about 200g |
| carrotcut into thick diagonal pieces | 1 medium, about 150g |
| onioncut into 8 wedges | 1 medium |
| scallionscut into 2-inch lengths | 2 |
| dried red chilescut in half, seeds shaken out for less heat | 4 |
| garlicthinly sliced | 8 cloves |
| gingersliced | 1 thumb-size piece |
| water | 1 1/4 cups |
| soy sauce | 1/2 cup |
| rice syrup or corn syrup | 3 tablespoons |
| sugar | 1 tablespoon |
| mirin or rice wine | 2 tablespoons |
| oyster sauce (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| toasted sesame oil | 1 tablespoon |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1/2 teaspoon |
| toasted sesame seeds | 1 tablespoon |
| cooked short-grain rice (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide 12-inch braising pan or shallow heavy pot with lid
- •Slotted spoon
- •Heatproof spoon for basting
Instructions
- 1
Soak the rice cakes
If the rice cakes are fresh and soft, rinse them and set them aside. If they are refrigerated or firm, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes until they bend without cracking. Rice cakes go in late, but they must be ready early, because a hard center will not soften evenly once the sauce has reduced.
- 2
Blanch the chicken
Put the chicken in a pot, cover with water, and bring it to a boil for 3 minutes. Drain, rinse the pieces under warm water, and wipe out the pot. This is not fussing. It removes blood foam and loose bone bits so the final sauce tastes clean and looks dark, not muddy.
Use bone-in chicken if you can. Boneless cooks faster, but it gives a thinner sauce and less depth. If using boneless thighs, reduce the first covered simmer by 10 minutes. - 3
Mix the braise
In the cleaned pot, combine the water, soy sauce, rice syrup, sugar, mirin, oyster sauce if using, dried chiles, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and black pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste the liquid now. It should be salty, lightly sweet, and sharp with pepper and chile, because the chicken and vegetables will soften it.
- 4
Start the chicken
Add the blanched chicken to the sauce and bring it to a strong simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and cook 15 minutes, turning the pieces once. This first covered cooking gets the meat done near the bone before the sauce reduces; if you reduce too early, the outside gets salty while the inside is still plain.
- 5
Add sturdy vegetables
Add the potato, carrot, and onion. Cover again and simmer 10 minutes, until the potato edges begin to soften but the pieces still hold their shape. Cut them large. Small pieces break down and thicken the sauce before the chicken has had its time.
- 6
Reduce uncovered
Uncover the pot and raise the heat enough to keep the sauce bubbling steadily, not violently. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, spooning sauce over the chicken every few minutes. Watch the sides of the pot: when the liquid drops to about one third of its starting depth and turns glossy, you are entering jorim territory. This is the step that makes the dish.
- 7
Add rice cakes
Drain the rice cakes and add them to the pot with the scallions. Stir gently so they settle into the sauce without tearing the softened vegetables. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, uncovered, until the rice cakes are chewy all the way through and stained brown. If the sauce tightens before the rice cakes soften, add 2 tablespoons water, no more, and keep reducing.
- 8
Finish and serve
Turn off the heat when the sauce coats the chicken and rice cakes in a shiny layer, with only a few spoonfuls pooling at the bottom. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds. Rest 5 minutes before serving, because the rice cakes continue to drink in the sauce and the chicken settles. Bring rice to the table. Someone will want the last dark spoonful.
Chef Tips
- •A wide shallow pot is better than a tall pot. Reduction is the character of jorimdak, and a wide surface lets the sauce thicken before the chicken overcooks.
- •Do not replace all the dried chiles with gochujang. This is a soy-dark braise, not a red paste dish. If you want more heat, add 1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), but let the soy, garlic, and pepper stay in charge.
- •Rice cakes turn firm after refrigeration. Leftovers are still good, but reheat them gently with 2 to 3 tablespoons water in a covered pan, then uncover briefly to tighten the sauce again.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken can be cut and blanched up to 1 day ahead, then refrigerated covered. Bring it close to room temperature for 20 minutes before braising so it cooks evenly.
- •The sauce can be mixed 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Do not soak the rice cakes overnight unless they are very hard; 20 to 30 minutes in warm water is enough for most refrigerated rice cakes.
- •For a dinner party, finish the braise up to the point before adding rice cakes, hold it warm for 20 minutes, then add the rice cakes and reduce just before serving. That keeps their chew.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 590g)
Calories
765 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
155 mg
Sodium
2110 mg
Total Carbohydrates
105 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
18 g
Protein
45 g
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