Spicy Korean Chicken and a Taco Bar


Wow, I finally did it - I made Korean food. I'm such a disgrace! I'm sure when Lobster married me he expected many Korean meals in his future. Little did he know the time had finally come for wifey to eat true American food. I'm talkin' chicken pot pie, meatloaf, cordon bleu - all those American-y things I'd only seen in the movies. My do I sound like a foreigner. I swear I was born in this country.


Since I literally ate Korean food for breakfast, lunch and dinner - all day, everyday my entire life, I really have no desire to cook it at home. Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone and just serve a traditional Korean meal with meat, some sort of soup and ban-chan. (side dishes) Nope, I had a fusion Korean bbq taco night. The inspiration came from a dinner we had at the Cindyro's and they were delicious. The tacos were equally well received amongst my friends and everyone enjoyed the new twist. Serve with guacamole and pico de gallo, "Taco Tuesdays" here we come!


*I've made Korean tacos before but I enjoyed this chicken recipe more but used the coleslaw from the old recipe which can be found here.



Spicy Korean Chicken

Recipe from Week of Menus

4 servings


Requires marination of at least 8 hours, overnight is better.
Serves 6-8

2-3 lbs boneless, skinless thighs OR BREASTS THAT ARE POUNDED ½” THEN CUT UP INTO 2” PIECES
1/4 cup Korean chili pepper paste (gochujahng)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons mirin (or sake if you can’t find mirin)
1/2 cup onion, pureed (done in a mini prep chopper is perfect)
3 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic


In a large bowl, mix all ingredients EXCEPT chicken together. Make sure that the sugar is well incorporatd in the marinade. Wearing gloves (disposable kitchen gloves are perfect for this), use your hand and mix all the chicken into the marinade. Make sure each chicken piece is thoroughly coated and well mixed with the marinade. Try and get the marinade into all the nooks and crannies of your chicken thigh. Cover and marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight.


Heat bbq. The chicken cooks better over lower heat than higher heat as the higher sugar content of the marinade lends itself to burning. Cook for about 7-9 minutes per side over lower heat.


*This does taste best on the bbq grill, but if you cannot grill outside, then use a roasting pan and broil it in your oven - BTW you cannot dry out chicken thighs you can only burn them.

2 comments:



Ally said...

Is this super spicy? I was thinking of making it for a dinner party but there'll be kids there too.

Thanks!

NuM NuM said...

Hi Ally -

This is not super spicy. It has a bit of lingering heat but not too fiery...it also has a bit of sweetness to it too. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!