Did you know that the global spicy food market is projected to reach a staggering $1.5 trillion by 2026? This insatiable appetite for heat is fueling the rise of Korean cuisine, with one particular dish capturing the hearts (and taste buds) of food enthusiasts worldwide: the legendary Korean style fire chicken buldak with cheese.
The fire (bul) of buldak starts with its sauce, which uses a number of Korean pantry staples to build layers of nuanced heat. This heat is tempered by sweet and savory ingredients, as well as fresh aromatics, to make a sticky, spicy glaze that acts as a marinade as well as a sauce. Gochujang and gochugaru chile powder form the base layer of heat for the sauce, with gochujang lending its characteristic fermented funk and gochugaru providing floral and smoky notes.
Grilling chicken thighs whole before cutting them into bite-size pieces keeps them from drying out. The fat on the skin will begin to render, and the sauce will drip down onto the coals, producing aromatic compounds that vaporize and are deposited back into the chicken as it cooks. Covering the chicken with a layer of melty cheese tempers the spiciness of the dish, creating a balance of fire and dairy alchemy.
Fiery Korean Fire Chicken Buldak: A Spicy Delight
The fire (bul) of buldak starts with its sauce, which uses a number of Korean pantry staples to build layers of nuanced heat. We’ll explore how the key ingredients, gochujang and gochugaru chile powder, form the base layer of heat, as well as how the sauce balances that spiciness with sweet, savory, and fresh elements.
Building Layers of Nuanced Heat
Gochujang, a Korean fermented red chili paste, lends its characteristic funky, umami-rich flavor to the buldak sauce. Meanwhile, gochugaru, a coarsely ground Korean red chili powder, provides floral and smoky notes that add complexity to the heat profile.
Gochujang and Gochugaru: The Flavor Foundations
These two Korean ingredients work in tandem to create a dynamic, multi-dimensional heat that is the hallmark of korean style fire chicken buldak with cheese. The sauce combines this spicy foundation with other flavors like soy sauce, chicken stock, toasted sesame oil, and korean rice syrup to achieve a sticky, spicy glaze that acts as both a marinade and a sauce.
Balancing Flavors: Sweet, Savory, and Fresh Pops of Heat
To further enhance the layers of flavor, we add aromatic ingredients like minced garlic and grated ginger, as well as fresh chiles, which provide additional pops of heat and complexity to the spicy korean chicken dish. The result is a cheese buldak that is a harmonious balance of fire and flavor, with the sweet, savory, and fresh elements tempering the intensity of the korean fire chicken recipe.
korean style fire chicken buldak with cheese
When it comes to creating the perfect korean style fire chicken buldak with cheese, grilling the chicken thighs whole before cutting them into bite-size pieces is key. This ensures the juicy spicy korean chicken remains moist and flavorful, with the fat on the skin rendering down and infusing the meat with its rich, savory essence.
Grilling Juicy Chicken Thighs for Buldak
As the buldak chicken sizzles over the hot grates, the buldak sauce will drip down onto the coals, producing aromatic compounds that vaporize and are redeposited back into the chicken. This process adds an extra layer of depth and complexity to the korean fire chicken recipe, ensuring every bite is packed with bold, concentrated flavors.
Cheese Topping: Fire-Extinguishing Dairy Alchemy
To balance the fiery heat of the korean cheese chicken, we top the grilled buldak with cheese topping. The melty mozzarella cheese creates a cooling effect, tempering the spiciness and bringing a creamy, indulgent element to the fire chicken cheese dish. As the gooey cheese melds with the juicy, charred chicken, it forms a heavenly union of buldak with cheese topping that satisfies both the heat-seekers and the dairy lovers.
Cooking Methods: Grilling or Broiling for Authentic Flavor
For the best korean style fire chicken buldak with cheese, we recommend using a charcoal grill. Our tasters unanimously preferred the flavor of the buldak cooked over charcoal compared to gas. As the fire chicken sizzles on the grill, the fat on the skin will begin to render, and the savory buldak sauce will drip down onto the coals, producing aromatic compounds that vaporize and are deposited back into the korean cheese chicken as it cooks.
If grilling is not an option, a broiler method can also work well, though it may not achieve the same depth of flavor as the charcoal-grilled version. In the broiler method, we arrange the buldak chicken on a rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and broil until charred. Then, we toss the korean fire chicken with the remaining buldak sauce and broil again until the chicken is fully cooked through before topping with the melted cheese.
Regardless of whether you choose to grill or broil, the key is to create that authentic korean spicy chicken stir fry flavor that makes buldak with cheese topping such a beloved dish in Korean cuisine. With a little effort and the right cooking method, you can bring the fire chicken cheese of Korea right to your own kitchen.