Tag: main course
Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich
Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich
There’s a big debate in this country I was born and raised in on who has the best fried chicken sandwich: Chick-Fil-A, KFC, Popeye’s, or McDonalds? And the answer is: Americans are idiots. The real answer is this spicy Korean fried chicken sandwich. Its twice the size and ultimately less expensive then these abominations to the word “sandwich.” It’s sort of a take on a Tennessee hot and spicy fried chicken, just with ingredients of Korean origin. This recipe takes a decent amount of prep work, all reasonably easy. Only 10 minutes of cooking time. But I can guarantee that this will be hands down the best chicken sandwich that you’ll ever eat.
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 brioche or onion rolls toasted
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- vegetable oil for frying
Korean Fried Chicken Flour
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp gochugaru pepper flakes or cayenne
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Korean Hot Sauce
- 4 tbsp gochugaru pepper flakes
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup chili oil
Slaw
- 12 oz purple or green cabbage shredded
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Mix all of the slaw ingredients together. Set in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk for at least 30 minutes; overnight is even better.
- Bring all of the Korean hot sauce ingredients to a boil in a small pot. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Set aside.
- Mix all of the Korean fried chicken flour ingredients together.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour on all sides. Shake off any excess flour. For extra crispy chicken, dip the chicken back in the buttermilk, then back into the flour.
- Heat up 1/2” of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Carefully lay the chicken into the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until crispy.
- Place the fried chicken into a bowl. Pour over the hot sauce to cover the chicken.
Sandwich Assembly
- Place a piece of chicken on the bottom half of a toasted roll. Top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
- Place a big scoop of the slaw on top of the sandwich.
Lapu Lapu (Steamed Whole Strawberry Grouper)
Lapu Lapu (Steamed Whole Strawberry Grouper)
Lapu Lapu is a Filipino-style steamed whole grouper with a lemon ginger sauce poured over. This dish is extremely simple to prepare and even better to eat. I recently found whole frozen strawberry grouper at my local Asian market; all for around $10-$12 each. They do come uncleaned an unscaled, so that is something you will have to do at home. The grouper gets salted, then stuffed with lemon slices and ginger. Then you wrap it in foil and steam for about 25 minutes. While the fish is steaming, dissolve sugar into lemon juice in a small pot. Add in water, ginger, and lemon zest. Reduce for 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Pour the sauce over the whole fish and garnish with cilantro. I served my fish with some asparagus that I threw in the steamer the last couple of minutes
Equipment
- bamboo steamer
- foil
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb strawberry grouper cleaned, scaled, and salted
- 3 slices lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp ginger julienned
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Stuff the fish cavity with lemon slices and 2 tbsp of julienned ginger.
- Wrap the fish in foil.
- Place the fish in a bamboo steamer.
- Steam for 25 minutes.
- While the fish is steaming, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice in a small pot over medium heat.
- Pour in the water, lemon zest, and 1 tbsp of julienned ginger. Bring to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes.
NY Strip Bulgogi
NY Strip Bulgogi
Want your bulgogi to be a little more extravagant? Try using a higher end cut like a NY strip steak. Trim off the fat cap (in any other cirmstances, I’d call this blasphemeat), then slice on a bias 1/4” pieces. You want the pieces thicker than the traditional paper thin slices used with regular bulgogi. The beef gets marinated for an hour. You can then either broil or sear the beef in a grill pan. The beef will take 5 minutes total time to cook. Serve the bulgogi with perilla leaves. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 lb strip loin steak
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp pineapple juice
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- perilla leaves for serving
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Trim all of the fat from the strip loin.
- Slice the strip loin on a bias into 1/4” thick slices.
- Mix together the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate the beef for 1 hour.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the beef on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes a side. Alternatively, you can sear the beef in a grill pan over high heat. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan.
