Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken)

Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken)

Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken)

If you were to try this without anybody telling you what it was, you wouldn’t guess that this was Korean. You’d think that it was some type of Italian chicken pizza hotdish. I must say that I was surprised how “normal” tasting this dish is. You don’t think of cheese working with any type of Asian cuisine, except for Korean. Somehow adding the mozzarella balances out all of the flavors happening in the skillet. This dish is so good that you won’t want to share it. Then you end up eating a pound of chicken and a cup of cheese all at once. Maybe smoke a bowl after instead of before?
The sauce is really just the typical mix of gochugaru and gochujang, hence the “fire” in the name. The sauce is mixed with the chicken. You can use either breast or thigh for the chicken.
Using a cast iron pan is the best option for making the cheese buldak, since you need to broil the top. First, sauté the rice cakes for a couple of minutes. Remove them from the pan. Add the chicken and water to the pan. Cover and cook for 6 minutes, giving it a few stirs. Add the rice cakes, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese and broil for no more than 2 minutes. You can serve this as is with either bread or steamed rice to soak up the sauce.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time17 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: Chicken, East Asian, Korean, main course
Servings: 2
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • cast iron pan

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1” pieces
  • 1 cup mochi rice cakes
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup gochugaru pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp gochujang
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp ginger minced
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Mix together the sauce ingredients.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Add the sauce to the chicken; making sure that all of the pieces are evenly coated.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add in the rice cakes and sauté for 4 minutes. Remove from the pan.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Add the chicken to the pan along with salt and water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes, giving the chicken an occasional stir.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Add in the rice cakes. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the rack to the middle of the oven. Top the chicken with mozzarella cheese. Place under the broiler.
    Korean, main course, chicken
  • Broil for just 2 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
    Korean, main course, chicken
Korean, main course, chicken
Serve with bread or steamed rice to soak up the sauce.