My Teriyaki Chicken

Would you like to take a bite?

TERIYAKI CHICKEN is a universal food.  Everybody loves it and have their own way of making it.

I bet Giada de Laurentiis or Paula Dean have their own version.

I do, too.  :) ... although I am not sure if can say it is authentic.

Traditionally Teriyaki is made with Sake (Japanese rice wine) marinade, but I use pineapple juice and you don't need to marinade.

The juice adds wonderful flavor to the chicken and get rid of the gammy smell of poultry. It also tenderize the meat and keep them so moist. Did I mention it can be done less than 30 minutes?

Korean Fried Chicken 2, the spicy version

I received a revelation (?).
"Thou shall make another KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), nevertheless it shall be spicy...".
It was a still small voice that came from my hungry stomach, ha ha ha!
I had posted a non-spicy version of KFC and this is a sequel episode.

Korean Fried Chicken, KFC vs KFC

I have a confession to make.
It is about C H I C K E N.
I did not eat chicken for nearly 10 years. I was not a vegetarian nor under any religious restriction but there was a reason.
Here is the story...

I think I was about 9 years old. I was just an innocent little girl living in a small town of Korea. I often visited my grandparents, who lived only a few blocks from us, to play with their dog after school. (My mother would never allowed me to have a dog)
My grandparents lived in a big traditional Korean style house with a large front courtyard with a garden and a common area. They also had several small houses attached to this courtyard for their tenants.
It was one of those ordinary day like any day. There, I saw a scene that I shouldn't have.., a murder scene! A man, whom I believe one of my grandparent's tenant, was killing a CHICKEN. I don't want to describe how he did it. It was graphic enough for my innocent 9 year old eyes. I also saw a large pot with water boiling on the portable stove near him. That was for to remove the feathers of the chicken. I still remember the disgusting smell that came out of the pot when he put the dead chicken in there. I had a very bad nightmare that night. Yes, the dead chicken appeared in my dream and chased me...
Ever since that moment I did not eat chicken. I just couldn't... until I was 18 years old. So, how did I get to eat chicken again? Well, it was the KFC, the Kentucky Fried Chicken!
I grew up, finished high school and went to college in Seoul. My friend took me to KFC for lunch. I never tasted KFC before (I was from a small town where western fast food was not existent at that time).
I, the first time in almost 10 years, tasted chicken. The first bite of those greasy, salty, and slightly crispy fried chicken? Well.., it was a moment of enlightenment. My, oh, my! What have I been missing all these years? I never imagined chicken could taste so good.
Of course my taste bud on chicken has been evolved over the years. (I hardly eat the KFC any more)
I finally overcame the nightmares of the deceased chasing chicken and regained my taste on them - in a deep fried form...

I am sharing with you a special recipe for KFC, not the Kentucky version. 

It is the other KFC, the Korean Fried Chicken.

If you ever travel in Korea you should try the famous Korean fried chicken franchise called "Gyochon Chicken". Their chicken is very popular among Koreans. When I visited NYC a few weeks ago I found the similar chicken restaurant called "Bonchon" near 7th ave and 38th street. Their chickens are very tasty as well.  Honestly if you ever try the Korean Fried Chicken, You won't like the Buffalo wings anymore.

Of course I can not hack the secret recipe for both restaurants, but tried to imitate the flavor. And guess what? I think I came quite close to match.

So, here is my version of Korean Fried Chicken in a non-spicy version. The spicy version will come later some other day when I receive the chicken revelation from up above...

*****

Introducing my A-Team!

Chicken wing drummettes, garlic, ginger, radish, onion, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch

I like to remove extra skin on the chicken. The skin adds nothing but fat.
It only takes extra 10 minutes of your life but it might prolong your life 10 days longer.

Combine chicken with rice wine, pureed ginger, salt and pepper. Let them chill for 30 minutes.
This will not only season the chicken but get rid of unpleasant poultry odor when frying.

Meanwhile, grate the radish. This is the key ingredient in the sauce, so do not skip.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pot

Bring the sauce to boil first and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, uncovered.
It will get thicken eventually.

Strain the sauce through a mesh. Press gently to get all the flavors out.

A beautiful glaze left behind.  It will thicken more as it cools.

Your chicken wings are cold without their coats. So, cover them with some corn starch in a bag.

Shake them, babe!  Shake, shake, shake!

Heat oil to 170ºC. Drop your wings without any mercy.

I like to deep fry them twice for crunchier texture and color. After 1st frying...

And after 2nd frying.
I sent one wing straight to heaven by putting into my mouth right away.
As good as it gets...

But with the sauce... What can I say more?
Brush the sauce all over the wings.

Sorry, camera shake!  It was so good that I was dancing with a joy.

No words!

.....

Oh!

You will need lots of napkins,

and cold soda to go with them.

And

Just in case...,

Pray before the bed time.

Your chicken may appear in your dream and ask for his lost wings.

"Give me back my wings!!!"

Enjoy!

Korean Fried Chicken

(Non-spicy version)

makes about 4 servings

3 lb (about 22-24 piece) chicken wing drummettes, preferably skin removed

2 Tbsp rice wine or Mirim

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp pureed fresh ginger

1/2 cup corn starch

Oil for frying

Sauce :

5 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

4-5 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup grated Korean radish or daikon radish

1/2 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 1/2 tsp corn starch

1/2 cup water

In a large bowl toss chicken pieces with rice wine, salt, pepper, and ginger. Chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile combine all the sauce ingredients in a small pot, bring to boil, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. 

Place a mesh strainer in a small bowl and strain the sauce pressing to get all the juices out. Discard the stuff in the mesh. Your sauce will look like a glaze and will get thicken more as you let it sit. Warm up the sauce when ready to use.

When ready to fry, Heat oil to 170ºC. Toss the chicken pieces in a plastic bag with corn starch to coat evenly. Shake off excess corn starch from the chicken. Drop chicken pieces in the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes until slightly golden (Do this in separate batches so you don't crowd the pan). When last batches are fried, drop first batches in the hot oil again for second frying, about 3 minutes until nicely golden brown. Continue the other batches and fry all the chickens pieces twice. This will help chicken very crisp.

Brush warm sauce over hot chicken and serve immediately.

Printable recipe

Note : I don't mind sharing my personal recipe with anyone but I would love to know whom I am sharing with.  Please, leave a comment if you are printing this recipe. Thank you.

Chicken Soojaebi and Radish Kimchee Salad, humble to fancy

I was contacted by Lisa from Korean American mommy blog and she invited me to post a dinner idea for her "Around the world dinner" on Korean food. Her blog is awesome, full of good healthy recipes for both Korean and other cuisines. I am happy to participate to show you the Korean version of chicken and dumpling.

Before I start I am going to show you something pretty.

These are juices from carrot, parsley, and beet. I just puree them in the blender with little bit of water. Aren't they pretty? 

Yup! I am going to add them to dumplings. The dish is called Soojaebi. Don't let the # of ingredients in the recipe discourage you. It is actually easy and simple to make. With addition of these super nature food you will be glad that you are feeding your loved ones with something healthy, pretty, and yummy at the same time. It is fun to make with kids, too. 

Oh, by the way, you can use any vegetables that are rich in colors... pumpkin, spinach, purple potatoes, red cabbage, kale, etc. They all work great.

Let people see the true colors of nature!

 Chicken split breast w/ bones, radish, onion, garlic, carrot, parsley, beet, potato, zucchini, flour, red chili flakes, Korean soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Whew! Did I include everything this time?

First of all, juice your chosen vegetables with some water, each separately.
FYI, I filtered the carrot puree in a coffee filter to get smoother juice. I didn't filter the others.

Prepare 3 mixing bowls. In each bowl, mix in 1 cup of flour, pinch salt, and the juice of one vegetable.

I added about 1/3 cup of juice and mix with fork, and then knead with a hand for 1 minute and form a ball shape dough.  No need to be exact consistency but do not make them too sticky (more like bread dough consistency).

♪♫ " I see your true colors shining through..." ♪♫ 
You can use right away but cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. It gives dumpling nicer texture.

Meanwhile, let's make stock.

"May I take your coat?" Politely ask chicken to get her skin off.

 Cut up radish, onion, garlic and have them bath with chicken. Nothing like a hot spring in winter... Don't you agree, Mrs. Hen?
BTW, don't skip the radish in the stock. It gives very nice flavor in the soup.

 After about 30 minutes she is well poached. Keep the stock, discard everything except Mrs. Hen.

 Shred her and set aside.

 Make sauce to go with Soojaebi. Just combine Korean soy sauce, Korean chili flakes, garlic, green onion, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Green chili is an optional.

Cut potato and zucchini into 1/4" thick slices.

Bring the stock back to boil, add chicken, sliced potato, and zucchini slices.

 Take out the three gorgeous girls from the fridge and give them some squeeze.

 If you have little people at home, have them do the tearing job for you. They think it is play dough... They can even roll out the dough and cut out with cookie cutter if they want.
You know, if they make, they will eat. Kids are funny that way.

 Or just tear directly over the pot when the soup is boiling. They cook in no time, but you gotta work fast. Try to stretch out the dough thin and tear off.

Boil for 1-2 minutes, done! Serve the soup with sauce since the stock has no seasoning in it. If you need to serve this to young ones, just add Korean soy sauce with sesame oil and some green onions.

Cabbage kimchee or radish kimchee salad is perfect side dish (banchan) to serve with.

 

 Make sure you serve with the sauce. Just drizzle around the soup and mix.

My bonus post today! A side dish to go with Soojaebi...

 It is called 무우생채 (moowoo-sangchae), quick radish Kimchee salad. Very easy and quick to make.

The recipe will follow below.

Soojaebi once was a very humble food.

When rice was hard to harvest, meat was scarce right after the Korean war,

everyone had to eat plain Soojaebi.

My parents won't eat the plain one

because it reminded them the harsh days of their young life.

But I am changing the recipe to upgrade.

It is no longer humble, it is fancy now for the time of abundance.

A colorful meal that taught me the lesson,

"Abundance is, in large part, an attitude."

 Chicken Soojaebi

(닭 수제비, Korean chicken and dumpling)

makes 4 servings

For the stock

2 lb chicken split breast with bones, skin removed

4" piece Korean radish or daikon radish, cut up

1/2 large onion, cut up

3 garlic cloves

8 cup water

For the dumpling and soup

2 small carrot, peeled and juiced with 1/2 cup water, filtered if possible

1 bunch parsley, juiced with 1/2 cup water

1/2 beet, peeled and juice with 1/2 cup water

3 cups flour, divided

3 pinches salt, divided

1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4"

1 medium potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4"

For the sauce

4 Tbsp Korean soy sauce

1 Tbsp Korean chili flakes

1 tsp garlic chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

1-2 green onion chopped

1 green chili chopped (optional)

For the stock put all the ingredients in the pot, boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain the stock and reserve the chicken. Shred chicken and set aside.

Meanwhile make dumplings. In 3 medium mixing bowls, place each bowl with 1 cup of flour and pinch salt. Pour 1/3 cup of each vegetable juice into bowls seperatley. Mix with a folk until moistened and knead with hand for 1 minute in the bowl. Form a ball shape dough (you will get 3 different colored dough) and cover with plastic. Chill for 30 minutes if possible so the gluten can rest.

Make sauce with given ingredients and set aside.

Return the stock to the pot and let it boil over medium heat. Add the reserved chicken, potato and zucchini slices and let it boil. Stretch the dough thinly with hand and tear off into bite sizes and drop into the pot. You need to work fast on this part. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Ladle soojaebi into the individual bowls and drizzle the sauce over. Serve warm with radish Kimchee salad or cabbage Kimchee as side dish.

Note: You can tear the dough and place on a platter in advance before you boil the soup.

Printable Recipe

Radish Kimchee Salad

(무우생채, moowoo sangchae)

1 1/2 lb Korean radish or Daikon radish

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Anchovy sauce or 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp Korean chili flakes

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

2 tsp garlic chopped

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 green onion chopped 

Peel the radish and thinly slice them. Julienne the slices into 1/8"sticks. Place the radish into a bowl, toss with salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. You will see some water extracted from the radish. Rinse them with water and drain. 

Place the radish in a bowl again and add the rest of the ingredients. Toss well until they are well incorporated. Serve as side dish. They can be kept in the fridge for 1 week.

Printable recipe

Chicken Soup, for the soul and body

 Okay, It is November 8th and I am very happy to announce the winner of my first giveaway. It is Rebecca from Indecisive baker. Congratulations, Rebecca! and thanks to all of you who enter. I wish I could choose all of you as a winner...

It is quite cold outside these days. I hear my piano man coughing often. He has been sick for a few days with cold. Life is busy with lots things happening everyday and I felt bad that I didn't pay him much attention when he got sick.  For being a such a good wife (?) I decide to make him some good  soup from scratch. 

When you think of making a soup for your loved ones, what ingredients comes to your mind first?
For me, it is this guy...

The headless whole chicken!

Finally...

Having lived in Hong Kong for 3 years,

where many chickens came with head and feet as a whole set,
I am so happy to see the headless chicken.

Ahhhhh...

Look at this beauty!

I can hear him singing,

♪♪♪ I believe I can fly... ♪♪♪

Making chicken soup from scratch is not difficult but takes some time.

So make the chicken stock ahead of time.
Then,

You can put the soup together 30 minutes before serving.

To make home-made chicken stock;

 whole HEADLESS chicken, celery, garlic, leak (or onion),

and the whole peppercorn.

 Clean your chicken inside out first.

Let him bath in a big pot of water with other ingredients.

Boil and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hour.

 When his bath time is over, 

you will see his legs are nearly falling off.

 Take him out and let him cool off.

Oh, no!  He lost his wings...

♪♪♪ I believe I can't fly... ♪♪♪

 Drain the stock, reserving the liquid.

Discard all the other stuff.

 You will see a layer of fat floating on top. 

I don't think you want that.

I usually let the stock to cool down and put it in the fridge

 Shred your chicken into bite size.  

I keep them in the fridge until ready to use.

 After a few hours later the fat layer has been hardened in the fridge.

It scoops off easily with a spoon.

 Here is the beautiful homemade chicken stock.

Now, let's get down to business.

 These are what I used to make the soup.

frozen corn nibblers, frozen collard greens, onion, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, limes, cilantro,

and of course, the chicken pieces.

 Slice, dice, chop the vegetables.

 In a pot with a little bit of olive oil over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, and carrot for 2 minutes.
Add stock and let them boil and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add corn,

chicken,

and collard green to the pot. 

Simmer until all the vegetables are tender to taste, about 10-15 minutes.

Add some salt and pepper (Remember the stock had no salt in it).

You soup is almost ready to eat. 

But at this stage, it is tad boring without any spice. 

So I like to add my personal touch.

 I like to add fresh toppings on my soup.

Chop some tomatoes and cilantro,

cut some limes, and green chili or whatever chili you have.

I put them in a serving platter so people can add what they like.
You can add fresh avocado, chili flakes, green onions, etc on the soup.
Spice up with some cumin or nutmeg, or fresh herbs if you wish.
Be creative with flavor.

You can serve with a crusty bread but in my house...

I serve on top of hot rice, just a little bit.

Pour the soup over rice.
Garnish with whatever topping you like.

This is hearty and 100% home-made.

Just what your body needs.

Need a chicken soup for your soul?

I have one for you.

"What we do for ourselves dies with us.

What we do for others and the world remains, and is immortal"

by Albert pine

Make a batch of chicken soup this week,

and share with someone who needs...

Chicken Soup

makes 6-8 servings

For the chicken stock

3 1/2-4 lb whole chicken cleaned

1 large leek or 1 large onion cut up

2-3 celery cut up

1 head garlic break apart

1 Tbsp whole peppercorn

10 C water 

For the soup

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion chopped

1 carrot sliced

2 garlic cloves chopped

6-8 frozen corn nibbler

3/4 lb frozen chopped collard green

reserved shredded chicken pieces

salt and pepper to season

4 C hot rice

For the Toppings (choose from)

Tomato, cilantro, green or red chili, chili flakes, lime, green onion, avocado, cumin, nutmeg, parsley, dill, oregano, etc.

To make stock, combine all ingredients in a big pot over high heat. Add water, cover the lid, and let it boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for at least 1 hr until the chicken legs are falling off from the body. Take the chicken out, let it rest.  Shred chicken into bite size. Drain the stock in a mesh to reserve, and discard all the vegetables. Let the stock to cool down and chill for couple of hours. You can easily remove the fat floating on top with a spoon when chilled.

To make the soup, saute onion, garlic, and carrot with olive oil in a big pot for 2 minutes over medium high heat. Add the chicken stock, let it boil and reduce he heat to medium-low. Add corn, chicken and collard green. Let it boil first and reduce the heat to low, cover the lid and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Season with some salt and pepper.

To serve, place some hot cooked rice (about 1/2 cup or less for each serving) in a serving bowl, pour the hot soup over rice. Top with some tomatoes, cilantro, lime wedge, chili, fresh herbs etc. Serve immediately. 

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