A Flavor for Life

Gracie came to visit awhile ago and due to a fortuitous snow storm in D.C., I got to keep her with me for over a week! So for quite some time, I got to enjoy having someone waiting for me at home after a long day at work. In typical older sister fashion, Grace was convinced that I was not taking care of myself properly or eating well. So in typical Gracie fashion, she trekked over to the local supermarket where they were having a special on chicken breast, and she lugged home 5 lbs of it. Just for me.

That’s love, I know. But what is a small asian girl to do with 5 lbs of chicken?

I did the only thing I could think of; I portioned all 5 lbs out into small, individual portions and stacked all the packages in the freezer, ordering each to not spoil until I could make use of it. Slowly but steadily, I am working my way through my stock pile. And I am happy to announce: there are only 1.5 lbs left!

Given this windfall of chicken breast, I have been experimenting with a variety of ethnic chicken recipes. Given how bland … err, I mean … delicious chicken breast is, it takes on strong ethnic flavors relatively well. One of my favorite chicken recipes so far has been dakdoritang. Drawing from my Korean heritage and memories of my mother and her bubbling pots of savory goodness, I put together a recipe that was reminiscent of my mother’s cooking, with a healthier twist. This cooking style allows the flavors to seep deep into the chicken breast, flavoring it throughout. And the technique makes the chicken breast surprisingly moist. My favorite part of the dish, though, is the onion that imparts a sweetness to the dish as it caramelizes in the pot.

Dakdoritang

1 tbspn red pepper paste
1 tbspn honey
1 tbspn sesame oil
1 tbspn red pepper flakes (found at your local asian/korean supermarket)
2 tbspn mirin
2 tbspn soy sauce
1 tbspn minced garlic
1/2 tbspn fresh ground ginger
3 peppers

1 chicken breast, quartered
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 russet potato, cleaned, peeled, and roughly chopped

1 cup water or broth

1. Mix together the red pepper paste, honey, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, mirin, soy sauce, and ground ginger.
2. In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, drizzle a bit of oil just until the bottom of the pan is lightly coated (I like to use an onion infused olive oil that I always have on hand. It’s easy to make by gently frying a quartered onion in 2 cups of oil just until the oil is flavored with the onion. Discard the onion and reserve the oil in an air tight container for later use.)
3. Add the minced garlic to the oil as well as the peppers. This will flavor the oil even more, making a nice garlic chili oil. Saute for 1 minute or so.
4. Add the chicken breast and cook for 1 minute on each side.
5. Pour half of the sauce mix over the chicken and coat each piece thoroughly.
6. Add the onion and potato. Pour the rest of the sauce on and mix thoroughly until everything is coated.
7. Add 1 cup of water or broth. Bring to a boil. Then cover and lower the temperature to low heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked throughout but still tender.

You can serve this in the traditional way with a side of rice. I like to serve with steamed cabbage: Quarter a cabbage and steam. Let cool. When serving, peel the leaves of the steamed cabbage off and allow guests to wrap bits of the chicken within the cabbage wraps. They are refreshing and a great contrast to the spicy chicken. Plus, food just tastes better when you eat it with your hands.