I originally had this dish while stationed in Korea. It was served as a “drinking” dish in some of the Soju tents found on the streets of many Korean cities.  This became one of the more popular specials served at my former Korean Restaurant.

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless chicken thigh (4 to 6 thighs)
salt
pepper

Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup water or unsalted chicken broth
1/2 cup medium or fine ground red chili pepper
1 cup sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, or honey
2 fresh red chili or jalapeño peppers
1 small Asian pear*
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small white or yellow onion
1 inch ginger root, peeled
1 tablespoon pure sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Korean rice cooking wine, rice vinegar, or mirin
(* may substitute 1/2 kiwi or 1 semi-sweet apple)

Preparation

Chicken
Trim off any excess fat
Very lightly salt and pepper both sides of each thigh and let stand ten minutes.

Marinade
Slice onion, pear, peppers, and ginger root into small sections and place with garlic into blender, add water as needed and blend into a smooth paste.
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Add a small amount of water as needed to maintain a thick smooth paste.
Stir well and refrigerate until use.

Mix
Place chicken in a mixing bowl, cover with marinade, and mix well.
Cover and place in refrigerator and let stand 4 to 8 hours.
Unused marinade may be refrigerated for future use

Cooking

Place chicken on hot grill over high heat.
Cook each side until the marinade darkens and a light char appears (two to five minutes per side).

Cut chicken into short strips and transfer to a wok or stir fry pan. Add one or two tablespoons of the marinade. Stir-fry for about 3 to 5 minutes until marinade thickens and adheres to meat.

Serve hot with rice and Ban Chan.

Ingredients
1 pkg (12 ounces) buckwheat noodles
6 leaves Loose leaf lettuce
1/2 ea small carrot
1/2 ea small daikon radish
1/2 ea small cucumber
2 Tbs hand shredded kimchi
2 ea eggs
Sauce
2 Tbs gochujang
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs Korean sesame oil
1 Tbs roasted sesame seeds
Other possible ingredients
Shredded or julienned asian pear
pine nuts
pea or bean sprouts

Directions
1. Buckwheat noodles
1 For dried noodles, soak in lukewarm water until softened.
2 You can get packaged soft buckwheat noodles at most Korean stores. If you get the frozen, thaw them under running cold water. If they are refrigerated, rinse them in cold water.
3 Both kinds - Bring a pot of water to a full boil, add the noodles, and boil for two to five minutes (until desired tenderness - taste test after two minutes).
4 Remove from heat, drain, and rinse in cold water.
2. Eggs
1 Hard boil the eggs, peel, and cut in half from top to bottom.
3. Carrot
1 Slice, shred or julienne in thin stirps.
2 Rinse in cold water, immerse in boiling water for one to two minutes, rinse again in cold water.
4. Radish and Cucumber
1 Slice, shred or julienne in thin stirps.
5. Lettuce
1 Rinse well in cold water, then pat dry. Hand tear into thin strips.
6. Sauce
1 Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand 15 minutes.
7. Final Mix
1 Put everything except egg in a large bowl and mix well.
2 Place in refrigerator until well chilled.
3 Dish it out in individual bowls, making a small well in the center. Place one half boiled egg in the well.
4 Serve chilled.

Servings: 4

A note about making Kimchi: Making kimchi is not about precise measurements. It’s about taste.
Many things can influence the final result, like the taste of the unseasoned cabbage. Some heads of Napa are very sweet so you would add less sweetener (sugar/nashi pear), some are slightly bitter so you would add a little more salt, ginger, daikon, and sweetener to overcome the “bitter”. If you get a strong fish/shrimp paste, you would use less in the recipe. etc. For a stronger flavor, maybe you would add more garlic and use chives instead of green/spring onion.
Remember, it’s about taste so use this recipe as a beginning.

Ingredients
2 head napa cabbage (approximately 2 lbs)
1/2 cup salt (for brine)
1/4 small Daikon radish
8 ea spring or green onions
Seasoning paste
1 Tbs finely ground red chili powder
3 Tbs coarse ground red chili pepper
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 small nashi pear
2 oz fresh ginger, peeled
1 Tbs shrimp or anchovy paste*
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs salt
* If you do not like the somewhat fishy element of kimchi, you can omit this ingredient and increase salt by 1/2 tablespoon.

Directions
1. Prepare the Cabbage
1 Cut the cabbage in half from bottom to top.
2 Place the cabbage in a large pot or other container big enough to handle the cabbage cut side up. Carefully lift the leaves and salt between them using about 1/2 the salt.
3 Slowly add water until there is enough to submerge the cabbage.
4 Add the rest of the salt spread over the cabbage and let sit for at least 4 hours. (overnight is best)
5 After soaking discard brine then cut the cabbage sections in half from bottom to top and rinse in cold water.
6 Remove the solid mass at the root end. (A diagonal cut from the inner or heart top of the mass to bottom outer leaf works best)
7 Slice the cabbage into roughly 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Prepare the Daikon
1 Shred the daikon into a strainer or colander
2 Rinse 1 time in cold water and drain.
3 Place in a small bowl and lightly sprinkle with salt.
4 Set aside until time to mix.
3. Prepare seasoning paste
1 Slice the ginger and pear into small pieces and toss in blender.
2 Add garlic cloves and just enough water to blend into a thick paste.
3 Pour blended mix into a small mixing bowl, then add all other paste ingredients and mix well
4 Cut the green/spring onion into roughly 1 inch sections and add to paste, mixing until onion is completely covered.
5 Let stand about fifteen minutes.
4. Mix the Kimchi
1 Add the shredded Daikon to the Napa cabbage and lightly toss.
2 Add the seasoning paste and mix until well spread throughout the cabbage.
3 Place into glass mason jar(s), leaving room at the top of the jar to accommodate swelling, and refrigerate.
4 Depending on your “sour” level, the kimchi will be ready to serve in anywhere from one hour to several days.

Servings: 50