Buldak (Fire Chicken)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch wide skillet or cast-iron pan
• •Mixing bowl
• •Tongs or a flat spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional but useful

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the chicken

   Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels, then season it with the salt and pepper. Let it sit 10 minutes while you mix the sauce. Dry chicken browns; wet chicken throws water into the pan and steals the sear before you even begin.

2. 2

   Mix the sauce

   Stir together the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, rice syrup, sugar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and water until smooth. Taste a fingertip of the sauce. It should be hot, salty, a little sweet, and garlicky, but not candy-sweet. The water is measured because the sauce has to loosen enough to coat before it reduces and clings.

   For a milder table, reduce the gochugaru to 1 tablespoon. Do not add more sugar to calm the heat; serve rice, pickled radish, or cucumber instead.
3. 3

   Sear in batches

   Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add half the chicken in one layer and leave it alone until the underside browns, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, then move it to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. The chicken does not need to cook through yet. It needs color.

4. 4

   Soften the onion

   Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion to the same pan and cook 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. The onion gives sweetness without making the sauce sugary, and it keeps the chili from tasting one-note.

5. 5

   Glaze the chicken

   Return the chicken and any juices to the pan. Pour in the sauce and stir until every piece is coated. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to drag a spoon through the pan without immediately flooding back. If it tightens before the chicken is done, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.

6. 6

   Finish the pan

   Stir in the scallion lengths and cook 30 seconds, just until they bend. Turn off the heat and scatter over the sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallion. If using cheese, pile the mozzarella over half the chicken, cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes off the heat, and let it melt into a soft pull. That is a modern drinking-table habit, not the old dish, but it has earned its place.

7. 7

   Serve with rice

   Serve at once with hot short-grain rice and something cold and crisp, such as danmuji (yellow pickled radish), cucumber sticks, or baek-kimchi (white kimchi). Buldak asks for heat, but the table still needs balance. Eat one piece with rice before you decide the sauce needs anything.

Chef Tips

• •Use chicken thighs. Breast meat can work if you cut it larger and cook it more gently, but thighs forgive the heat and stay juicy under a thick chili glaze.
• •Fine gochugaru gives the sauce body and color. Coarse flakes are better for kimchi, but here they can taste sandy unless you let the sauce sit for 15 minutes before cooking.
• •Do not crowd the pan during the first sear. If the chicken releases a puddle, stop adding more and let the liquid cook off before you continue. The sauce cannot fix pale chicken.
• •Cheese is optional and modern. If you use it, choose low-moisture mozzarella and melt it at the end. Boiling cheese into the sauce makes it greasy.
• •For game day, set the skillet on the table with rice, lettuce leaves, cucumber, and pickled radish. Let people build bites. 음식을 나누면서 정도 나눕니다. When we share food, we share affection.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir it before using, because the gochugaru thickens as it sits.
• •The chicken can be cut and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead, but salt it only 10 to 20 minutes before cooking so it does not purge too much liquid.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days refrigerated. Reheat in a covered skillet over low heat with 1 to 2 tablespoons water, stirring until the glaze loosens and coats again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 375g)