Chijeu-buldak (Fire Chicken with Cheese)

I will admit that this is my absolute favorite recipe so far! I think the cheese maybe the reason why. Cheese is one of my favorite ingredients and I happen to think it makes everything taste better. That must be the American inside me talking. I also really enjoy sauces, but I get that from my dad. He puts some sort of sauce on everything. Not having access to certain sauces, like ranch dressing, was the hardest part of living in England for me. I probably failed to mention this but I lived in England for year during college. It was the most amazing experience and I highly recommend studying abroad to everyone! If I was still in college now I would definitely study abroad in South Korea. I think living their would be so much fun! I'm slightly jealous that they can get food delivered 24/7 in Seoul. Come one California, we need to step up our food game!
This week my playlist will be all about EXO. This is in large part due to the fact that I spent most of yesterday at their concert in Los Angeles. It was so much fun and I will write a post for you about it later this week. I'm going to share with you 3 songs. These songs don't have music videos but the live performances are some of my favorites. The first song is Transformer. This song has a really great beat and is more focused on the rapping as opposed to singing in most of their songs. It has a more hip hop vibe and I love it. The next song is Playboy. This is one of their sexier songs. I think it's their dance moves to this that makes it my favorite and the leather pants don't hurt either. Check them out for yourself and let me know what you think. The last song is Heart Attack. This is one of my all time favorite songs from them. It is so fun, I love the beat and I really enjoy the style in which they perform it. It's a music video within a concert. Check it out here.
Now it's on to the recipe. If you like chicken, cheese and spicy things, then this my friends is the recipe for you! I got this recipe from Maangchi.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of chicken breast, cut into 3/4 or 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup hot pepper flakes (I used 1/4 to make it less spicy)

2 to 3 tablespoons gochujang (hot pepper paste)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup rice syrup (or corn syrup, sugar, honey)

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

1 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces

1 cup of sliced rice cake

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 cup water

Step 1.

Combine hot pepper flakes, gochujang, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, black pepper, rice syrup, garlic and ginger together in a bowl. 

Step 2.

Add the chicken and mix well. 

Step 3.

In a skillet heat up 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the rice cakes and fry them for a few minutes. Turning occasionally (I find that tongs are the easiest way to do this) cooking until they are crispy and light golden brown. 

Step 4.

Place the chicken into a heavy pan, preferably cast iron. (I used a regular frying pan) Use the water to rinse the bowl and get any remaining sauce into the pan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. If you used a regular frying pan like me it will take about 7 to 8 minutes. 

Step 5.

Uncover and stir the chicken with a wooden spoon. Add the rice cakes to the top of the chicken. Turn the heat to low. Cover and cook the chicken and rice cakes for another 10 minutes or until the chick is fully cooked. If you are using cheese turn on the oven broiler to pre-heat while the chicken cooks. (I was overly excited and forgot to get photo evidence of these steps)

Step 6.

If you used a cast iron skillet you can place the cheese directly on top of the chicken and place in the oven. Since my pan has a plastic handle I transferred my chicken to an oven safe dish and covered with the pieces of mozzarella. 

Step 7.

Place the chicken in the oven and let cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Step 8.

Remove and sprinkle with green onion. Then it's ready to serve.

I ate this with rice and it was amazing. I think the cheese and rice cakes add nice flavor and texture to the dish. I'm so glad I didn't put a 1/2 cup of red pepper flakes because then it would have been too hot for me. This was just the right amount of spice for me. I also shared this dish with a few friends and they loved it. I think this may be my biggest culinary success yet! Thank you Maangchi for the recipe. 

I hope you all enjoyed this weeks adventure. Keep your eyes peeled for my EXO post later this week. Do you have any recipes you think I should try? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great week!

XOXO,

Rachel