Chicken Bulgogi

If you've been within 20 feet of a Korean BBQ, you've probably heard of bulgogi.  Typically made with thinly-sliced beef, it's a popular entry point to Korean food for westerners, as it's a familiar protein in a sauce that's palatably sweet and salty yet different enough to be intriguing.

While the beef version is hard to top, I try to minimize the amount of red meat I use on a regular basis, so luckily other meats still taste really great in a bulgogi marinade.  I used chicken breast here, which soaked up the flavor well and stayed most and juicy even after reheating.

There are a lot of different ways to go about making a bulgogi marinade, but I've found that one of the biggest secrets to getting it right is using Korean soy sauce.  You might think soy sauce is a relatively standard ingredient, but visit any Asian grocery store and you'll likely see almost an entire aisle dedicated to the different kinds: light, dark, seasoned, etc. - each has its own place and is pretty indispensable in the dishes it appears in.  I don't know enough about what makes Korean soy sauce different from the more common varieties, but I do know that my Korean cooking started tasting a lot more "right" after I made the switch.

It's also very common to grate some apple, pear, or preferably, Asian pear into the marinade for some added sweetness and fruitiness - I didn't do so hear because I didn't have any on hand.  Another interesting trick I've tried is putting cola in the marinade, which is another source of sweetness with a little more dimension.  The recipe below is just one attempt at a bulgogi marinade - one that I'm likely to continue tweaking as I go.

Chicken Bulgogi
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into strips
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into strips
4 green onions, sliced into 1 inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
3/4 cup low sodium Korean soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Black and white sesame seeds (for garnish)

Add chicken, carrots, green and yellow onion, garlic, and ginger to a large ziploc bag.  Add soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and lemon juice, and seal bag shut.  Massage marinade around the chicken and vegetables, making sure sugar and liquid are thoroughly dispersed.  Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Before cooking, take chicken out of the refrigerator for 30 min to come to room temperature.  Working in batches, add a bit of vegetable oil to a heated wok or nonstick skillet, then add chicken and vegetables and stir fry until cooked.  In order to get good color on the chicken, you'll want to make sure you don't overfill the pan and don't add too much of the liquid.  I divided the meat into about 4-5 batches and used kitchen tongs to transfer the chicken from the marinade to the pan in order to avoid these issues.

When chicken is browned and cooked through, remove from pan and add to plate.  Top with black and white sesame seeds and serve immediately with rice.