Korean spicy chicken stew

This stew is so easy to make. One of those recipes I have repeated time after time when I crave for a warm hearty stew but could not be bother or too tired to hang around long in the kitchen. All I have to do is cut the vegetables and chicken, then just add water and boil till just about tender then add spicy sauce. That is it. Couldn't be simpler, grease free cooking. It does look good with a bight red soupy sauce, lovely strong peppery flavoured but doesn't blow your head off.

The essential ingredients for this stew are Korean chilli powder and Korean fermented chilli paste called gochujang.

Korean chilli powder does look very red but it's quite mild - medim hot. Essential ingredient for making kimchi. I can find it easily at most oriental supermarkets.

Gochujang is a mild - medium hot sticky fermented chilli paste, quite sweet. It is  is available in most oriental supermarkets, usually in a rectangular red plastic box, like this

For this chicken stew here is what I did.

Ingredients:
about 650 - 800g chicken with bone (or 500g boneless chicken), leg or breast or any part of chicken
few potatoes, around 400g
2 - 3 medium carrot
about 300g daikon or mooli (I usually put this but this time I don't have any)
1 large onion around 180g peeled

Chicken marinate
1 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp Korean wine or Japanese cooking wine or sake
1 - 2 tsp sesame oil
** If I am too lazy I will leave out the marinate, just add plain chicken to the stew.

Sauce
2 - 5 tbsp Korean chilli paste, much as you dare/ I normally use about 3 - 4 tbsp
1/2 to 2 tbsp Korean chilli powder, much as you dare. I normally use about 1 tbsp
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 - 3 tsp sugar
2 tbsp light soy


Chopped spring onion for garnish
salt if needed


Method:

• Cut chicken into chunks. Mix with marinate and leave for about 15 - 20 minutes
• Peel and cut vegetable into bite size or chunks.
• Mix all the sauce ingredients together
• Put vegetables in a pot, add about 1.5 -2 cups of water. Boil/simmer till vegetables are almost tender. 
• Stir in the chicken. Simmer for few minutes then add sauce. Continue simmering till chicken is cooked. For boneless chicken in small chunks this will take about 10 - 15 minutes after adding the chicken. Chicken with  bone with take longer, from 15 - 25 minutes depending on size.    
• When chicken is cooked. taste to see if you need more chilli paste, chilli powder, salt or soy to taste. 
• Its now ready to eat, If you are not in a hurry and the sauce is a bit too runny leave it for a while the potato will absorb some of the liquid. I find the stew actually tastes better sitting around for a while, potato and chicken will absorb the flavour much better. 
• Before serving sprinkle on some chopped spring onion. 
• Serve with rice. 

For a change, you can add tofu pieces and kimchi, just as nice. This will make it more like a chigae or jiigae.