Korean Cheese Buldak
“Buldak” translates into English as “fire chicken.” On first tasting Buldak, CNN travel writer Rob McGovern described the dish as “a violent torrent of invisible fire” in his esophagus that he can’t wait to eat again. I’ve taken the spice level down a notch in this version, but if you ever eat it in Korea, expect to cry a little bit. Buldak is typically made with a whole chicken, but skinless, boneless thighs work well if you want to make a smaller batch.
Ingredients
MARINADE
- 3 tablespoons sake or, even better, Korean rice wine, cheong ju
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 scallion chopped (optional)
- Toasted sesame seeds to taste (optional)
FIRE SAUCE
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- ½ large onion chopped
- ½ large Asian pear peeled, cored, and chopped
- 2 –3 tablespoons chili powder ideally, the Korean chili powder called kochukaru
- 1 –3 Thai or bird’s eye chilies
- 2 tablespoons spicy red pepper paste like kochujan or sriracha
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon hot yellow mustard if using a sweet variety, reduce sugar or honey
- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes optional
ASSEMBLY
- Olive oil for frying
- 6-8 ounces mozzarella grated
Instructions
CHICKEN
- Break chicken down, and chop into 2-inch pieces.
MARINADE
- Combine all ingredients for marinade, and toss with the chicken to coat. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally overnight.
FIRE SAUCE
- In the meantime, combine all the fire sauce ingredients in a blender. Start with lesser amounts of all the hot stuff, then taste and adjust heat upward if desired. If not using within the hour, store in the refrigerator.
ASSEMBLY
- Once chicken is marinated, heat olive oil over medium heat in an ovenproof skillet. Shallow-fry the chicken in small batches, turning until well browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot your pan is. Drain thoroughly on paper, and set aside. Remove excess oil from the pan, add chicken back in, and add fire sauce. Cook over low heat until sauce begins to bubble, then raise heat and cook for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, turning chicken frequently, until sauce has thickened and slightly caramelized and coats chicken completely.
- Top with grated mozzarella, and place skillet under broiler until cheese melts. Serve with cold beer or soju (a Korean distilled rice liquor) and Korean pickled radishes or cabbage.
Heather Kapplow
Heather Kapplow is a freelance writer, editor, researcher, project manager and multimedia content producer. Her main areas of interest are experimental art and film, but she’ll rarely turn down an opportunity to travel, or to think, eat, or write about food. Ms. Kapplow has spent more of her life in Boston than anywhere else in the world, but loves Finland most. She was once nominated for an Emmy.
