The word for chicken in Korean is very easy to learn.
Let’s start of with the word ‘닭’ (dak). This is mainly used to describe the animal itself and certain dishes that are chicken based.
So for example if you actually saw a live chicken, you would use this word.
For dishes, here are some common Korean dishes that are chicken based and use the word 닭.
닭갈비 (dak-gal-bi) = This is a chicken dish that is grilled right in front of you. Veggies like green onions, sesame leaves, sweet potatoes, and kimchi are usually added. This is my favorite dish in Korea.
닭도리탕 (dak-do-ri-tang) = This is a spicy chicken stew that features chicken, onions, potatoes, and carrots.
닭발 (dak-bal) = Chicken feet. You can order with or without the bones in the feet. They are also spicy.
불닭 (bul-dak) = This literally means fire chicken and is chicken served up with heavy spices that will turn your mouth into hell. Pretty good, but not for the faint of heart. Also make sure you are free the next morning as you will probably make a few trips to the toilet.
찜닭 (jjim-dak) = This is braised chicken that features noodles, potatoes, and sometimes hot peppers.
통닭 (tong-dak) = This is basically a whole chicken that has been fried. This was really popular back in the day and most places will call it 엣날통닭 which roughly translates to the chicken from the past/a long time ago.
For the next word, 치킨, this will usually refer to fried chicken in Korea. Fried chicken is very popular in Korea and is usually eaten with beer and other side dishes like fermented radishes (called 치킨무).
Occasionally, you may hear this word used to describe the actual animal itself as well.
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