Gochujang Chicken

Asian food has clearly become one of my favorite and frequent choices. I don't know if is the sauces or the amount of vegetables often included or if it's because I've collected a 

There's just such a huge amount of dynamic flavors, you really can't go wrong no matter what you land on.

Gochujang sauce has been on my list to make for some time. Gochujang is fermented pepper paste made from dried peppers, rice, soybeans, and salt. It's actually quite interesting. Often used in small amounts to add flavor and heat to a dish, this particular dish called for quite a bit of it.

After keeping this one in the back of my head for a while, I finally decided to give it a go one night. The paste reminds me a lot of miso, in texture, packaging, and even the fact that it includes fermented soybeans. It comes in a bright red bin and was a breeze to find at the local Asian shop.

I made the chicken the same way I'd done Kung Pao Chicken, marinating it for about 15 minutes in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch. I then cooked it in a skillet for 7-10 minutes, then set the chicken aside while I made the sauce.

The gochujang

I served the final product atop some rice and steamed veggies; an easy choice.

Spicy much? Yeah, this was a no joke kind of heat. It was flavorful, though, and quite good. I would scale back on both the gochujang and miso for round two to make a thinner sauce, but for a first go around, I can't speak poorly of this meal. The original recipe called for grilling the chicken, and I'm certain that would be a good move. I absolutely trust the quick marinade recipe I used, but would definitely try variations, such as scaling back on the miso and gochujang. I will say, however, that the recipe is a good starting point for testing your preferences.

The moral of today's story is that if you like heat, gochujang is your friend. Throw it in a marinade. Add some heat to a sauce. Burn your taste buds a bit, it's fun! In al seriousness, this was a super quick, throw together meal that worked great on a weeknight.

Gochujang Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

2 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the Gochujang sauce: 

1/4 cup gochujang paste 

1/4 cup miso ( I used red, but white is fine)

1 tablespoon mirin (or honey)

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic 

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 

1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Cut chicken into cubes, then add to a bowl with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch. Marinate for at least 15 minutes, then add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and cook chicken for 7-10 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the pan. Add the gochujang paste, miso, mirin, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, ginger, and water into the skillet and heat over medium for 3-5 minutes. Add chicken and toss in sauce. Serve with rice or vegetables.

adapted from gochujang chicken