Maangchi’s Cheese Buldak (Fire Chicken) Recipe (2024)

Here's the link to the video by the way since Sam "forgot" to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9uI1-6Ac6A

some of us enjoy spicy food and aren't hurt by it. it's no obsession, tho there are those that are just in it for the pain -trying to outdo one another on the scoville scale - but that's neither here nor there. this is not the first time sam has used the word "fiery" as a misplaced buzzword, including describing dishes containing only mustard or black pepper. to wit, gochujang ranks at only 1000 scoville units, one step above a bell pepper (and you can buy it even more mild). a jalapeno is 3500.

This was easy and great. The gochujang was even available at my regular grocery, but I could not find the Korean pepper flakes even at the Asian groceries near me so I used a tablespoon of red pepper flakes and it worked great. I know its kinda lame to leave a review if you've changed the recipe a bit, but this was so good over rice that I thought others should give it a go even if they can't find the gochugaru. Oh, and I didn't have ginger so I used ginger ale instead. Haha. Just kidding! :0)

Sadly made this for the first time on election night in 2016. It was delicious, but I can never eat it again.

This. Was. amazing. I don't leave comments very often, but this was thoroughly worth tracking down the red pepper ingredients. Smoke and spice, but not a lot of heat and really delightful. Served over both rice and blanched broccoli.

Loved this recipe. I only had the paste and not the flakes pepper so I substituted 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes. Turned out perfectly spicey...good heat but not painful. Paired with coconut rice and a cucumber salad. Will make again for sure.

We made this as written 2 days ago. I put in less of the pepper flakes than in the recipe. Overall we really liked the dish though I found the sauce a bit sweet. I just remade it using 1/3 pack tofu (what I had left in the fridge) and a cup or so of cut up cauliflower florets instead of the chicken. I reduced the sugar to one tablespoon. I thought the tofu and cauliflower worked very well in the dish.

Substituted gnocchi for the rice cakes. Wonderful.

Well, Mr. Sifton made such a compelling case to make this, even in the midst of a nasty summer bronchitis cold, I pushed through.Subs: Chicken tenders, straight Badia crushed redpepper, sambal oelek and chopped cucumber and Vidalia onion for the scallions.Wow...any semblence of congestion quickly disappeared, the dish was stunning with heat and the sweetness and cheese did balance it a little.The bonus was today cold for breakfast where everything tempered a bit...couldn't get enough. Thanks

I got the pepper products at Amazon and was excited to try this. First of all the dish is gorgeous...the brick red sauce with white slightly browned mozzarella in a well seasoned cast iron pan makes a very pretty, appetizing picture. I found this dish to be oddly tasteless. Sure it is hot. The heat is tempered with the sweetness of brown sugar and the creamy fattiness of the cheese. But sweet heat is not enough. This dish needs a savory, salty, umami element that I think is sadly absent.

When I ate this in Korea last year there were corn kernels mixed in with the chicken and sauce. When I made it at home I added half a bag of frozen corn, and it tasted just like it did in Korea.

everyone should watch this! sam did link it in the article but i agree it should be in the headnotes here as well. it actually addresses most of the questions in comments so far, as well as being a great visual aid. (reduce the pepper flakes if you want it less spicy, use shrimp or whatever you like instead of chicken, the cheese is optional, use rice syrup, etc.)

I took a reviewer's advice and made this with vegetables and no cheese. It was fabulous, quick, easy and only one pan to clean. The sauce was delicious; spicy enough and a little sweet. The chicken was juicy and tender. I used bok choy and diagonally sliced carrots, however I expect a wide variety of veggies would work. I'm not opposed to the cheese version, but glad that we tried it without.

Have made this dish twice, as written, and we can’t get enough. It has every variation of sweet and hot and crunchy (thanks, rice cakes!) that one craves from guilty take-out. Here in Anchorage I live two blocks from a fresh rice cake bakery and am now addicted. The colors, flavors and mouth feel are crazy delicious. We read the cheese vs no cheese debate, and for us decided the mozzarella was a “go” after trying both ways. If undecided, just add to half :)

Korean red pepper flakes are milder than most others, so maybe just use less of whatever you have. Adjust to your own taste.I can't think of a good sub for gochugaru. Maybe a different Asian red chili paste, and then play with the spices to get a flavor you like. It won't be just like this, but if you like it, then it's good!

There are a lot of 5 star reviews here. I'm not sure why. This tastes ok - nothing great. If I'd ordered this in a restaurant I wouldn't send it back but I wouldn't order it again either.

My wife doesn't like spicey but we love this. The spice is very subtle and fades quickly. It has become our "goto". Quick and easy and just different enough to shake up the week.

This is an excellent recipe. Very easy to make, came together really quick and it’s absolutely delicious. I wanted to make it a littler spicier and added a bit of cayenne powder. Perfect for a weeknight dinner. I served it with rice and blanched broccoli like another note suggested.

Everyone gave it 5 stars, only change was adding half tsp Momof*cku chili crunch for extra heat. The rice cakes I found at a Korean rice cake store were fresh and less than a half inch diameter. I sliced them up thinking it could not work well... they had the look/texture of mini-marshmallows. They took longer than expected to brown, but came out perfect, crispy/chewy, definitely worth it. We were all skeptical of the cheese topping but again, all agreed it was perfect - browned nicely.

Fabulous, nice and spicy, bit more than that, delicious dish.

Maangchi forever!!!

This is a terrific dish, but we definitely prefer to skip the cheese and rice cakes, which weigh it down and don’t add much, if anything, to the flavor. We also use a little less oil. The gochugaru can be a bit spicy for some, but that’s easily adjustable. (I do understand that spiciness is one of the key points of this dish.)

Made the s for the second time and used half the pepper flakes and half the pepper paste. This made just the right kick for us. We also felt the cheese didn't add anything, so this time I instead served the chicken over rice with a drizzle of a yogurt sauce I made the other day. My husband claims this is now his favorite meal.

Very tasty, and easy. Followed recipe exactly, except served it with ramen noodles rather than rice cakes, and omitted pepper flakes as the gochujang I found was labelled "hot." (It was only mildly hot). The cheese is a nice addition. Will definitely make again.

I was able to find gochujang in my grocery store, but I wasn't prepared to pay $6 to use 2 tablespoons of it. So I subbed about 2 tbs of red curry paste with a generous squirt of Sriracha. I also used 1/2 tsp. of red chili flakes. This gave it the desired kick! Left out the rice cakes, and didn't feel like I missed them when served in a bed of rice. Not quite made to the letter, but still quite tasty and easy.

The cheese didn't add anything, and was really gross as leftovers. The underlying recipe is tasty and easy. I'll make it again, sans cheese.

I have had the luxury of being introduced to the Korean version of this at a small restaurant up in the mountains of Gangwon do and this recipe is legit! The Ganwondo restaurant added cabbage and corn so I tossed those in as well as some left over baked, Korean sweet potato. Served with rice, red leaf lettuce, and perilla leaves to wrap the buldak and eat as ssam. To the person who said gochujang is not spicy: you have obviously not tried the O Foods brand which delivers an intense back heat!

I made this without Korean rice cakes, rather served it over brown rice. When it came time to add the cheese I was reluctant to do so because it was absolutely delicious at that point and didn't want to ruin it. But I prepared the dish as written and the cheese was like a surprise guest at a party! Quick and easy for a mid-week supper!

Very good! I threw a little ginger beer in the sauce to help coat the chicken. Simmered until the mixture had a tar-like texture; makes for a good sweet heat. You shouldn’t add vegetables imho they don’t belong in this dish.

I haven’t made this yet but this is just a note for those unable to find gochugaru flakes. They can be found at Kalustyan’s in Manhattan. I ordered online and about a week later I received a one pound bag of it and it’s lasted me almost a year already even though I use it extensively. Worth every penny.