Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken) Recipe

hand pulling cheese buldak from cast iron skillet

5 from 1 vote

Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken) Recipe

Satisfy all your spicy cravings with Cheese Buldak or Korean Fire Chicken. This South Korean street dish will make your mouth burn. Rich, intensely spicy, and smothered in gooey cheese. Fiery Perfection.

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: Cheese, Cheese Buldak, chicken, Rice Cakes

Servings:

Calories: 888kcal

Author: Lis Lam

Equipment

10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet
Food processor (You can also grate the onion and Asian pear with a box grater)

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch long strips
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin (sweet cooking wine)
1 Tbsp honey (sugar also works)
1 Tbsp neutral oil (I use grapeseed oil)

Fire Sauce

4 garlic cloves peeled
1/2 large onion roughly chopped
1/2 large Asian pear peeled, cored, roughly chopped (can be subbed with Bosc pear, Bartlett pear, Fuji apple, Gala apple)
2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers *or to taste (use 1 pepper for a less spicy version)
3 Tbsp Gochukaru (Korean red chili flakes)
3 Tbsp Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sugar

Cheese pull

1 cup Rice Cakes (dduk)
2 cups grated mozzarella loosely packed (about 8 oz)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, add soy sauce, Mirin (sweet cooking wine), honey, and oil. Whisk to combine. Add chicken thighs that have been cut into 2-inch chunks. Mix until the chicken is fully coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.
Cook the chicken. Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1 Tbsp of oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken. Brown the chicken in batches, one layer at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. It's ok if the chicken is not fully cooked. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat process until all the chicken is cooked.
Make the "fire" sauce. In a food processor, add the onion, Asian pear, garlic cloves, gochujang, gochukaru, soy sauce, sugar, scotch bonnet peppers, and sesame oil. Whizz until pureed.
Add "fire sauce" to the chicken. Place all the browned chicken back into the skillet. Add the spicy sauce directly to the chicken in the pan. Mix around with a spatula or wooden spoon until the chicken is completely coated in sauce.
Cook chicken and "fire sauce" together. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce becomes dark red, thick, and reduced, about 12-15 minutes. The chicken and sauce should bubble somewhat vigorously. Lower heat, if needed. Feel free to add water if the sauce looks too dry (about 1 Tbsp at a time). Keep an eye on the sauce, mixing it from time to time.
Preheat oven. While the chicken cooks, preheat the oven to 350F/176C.
Melt cheese. Remove skillet from heat. Add rice cakes, if using, and scatter over the chicken and fire sauce mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the rice cakes and chicken. Make sure the top of the pan is evenly covered.Place skillet in oven until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. It should be a gentle melting. Watch carefully and make sure it doesn't overcook!
Serve. Remove from oven. Garnish with sliced green onion and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Serve immediately with rice and enjoy!

Notes

*If you don't own a cast iron skillet, you can also cook all the components in a stainless steel or non-stick skillet. If the skillet is oven safe, trasnfer directly to the oven to melt the cheese. If the skillet is NOT oven safe, transfer to a baking dish after the chicken has cooked in the sauce. Then, add the rice cakes (dduk) and cheese. Bake in the oven, as per usual.

**When browning the chicken, you may need to add more oil depending on your cast iron skillet. My cast iron skillet is well seasoned after years of use so 1 Tbsp was perfect.

Nutrition