Asia:
South Korea:
South Korean Chicken Thigh Jjimdak (Braised Chicken)
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE SAUCE:
5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cooking wine
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
FOR THE CHICKEN:
2 pounds chicken thighs
1 tablespoon butter
2 ½ cups water
5 ounces cellophane noodles
1 medium potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium white onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 dried red chile pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 stalks green onion, sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine soy sauce, cooking wine, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, black pepper, and ginger for sauce in a bowl; set aside.
Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add chicken thighs to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, drain water, and set chicken aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, skin-side down, in the melted butter. Pour reserved sauce and 2 1/2 cups water over top. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat slightly once it starts boiling, remove lid, and flip chicken. Allow to cook for 15 minutes, turning chicken again halfway through.
Meanwhile, soak cellophane noodles in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes. Strain and set noodles aside.
Add potato, onion, carrots, and chile pepper to the skillet. Cook until all ingredients are almost cooked through, about 10 minutes, stirring everything after 5 minutes and flipping chicken again. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until sauce has desired consistency, 5 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the sauce and turning the chicken every 2 minutes so it doesn’t burn. At the final flip, make sure the chicken is skin-side up.
Once sauce is almost the desired consistency, mix in drained noodles and green onion. Make sure the chicken is on top of all the ingredients. Cook for 3 more minutes and then turn off the heat. Mix once more and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
NOTES:
You can make the sauce twice, once for the marinade and once for the sauce for cooking. If you choose to marinate the chicken, a good time is 2 to 6 hours, turning the chicken once halfway through. Discard the marinade and start fresh for the sauce though.
You can use up to 5 dried red hot peppers, depending on how spicy you want your chicken. Any bone-in chicken with skin can be used instead of chicken thighs. Water can be substituted for the cooking wine.
