Korean Cheesy Buldak
This satisfying spicy Korean chicken recipe is a great weeknight dinner recipe that can be enjoyed year-round. Chicken breasts are cooked in a spicy gochujang sauce with onions, cabbage, and rice cakes before being topped with lots of mozzarella cheese. A garnish of chopped scallion really pulls this recipe together!
What is Buldak?
Not to be confused with the Samyang brand name Buldak ramen noodles or Buldak hot sauce, this Korean Cheesy Buldak is filled with chicken, rice cakes, vegetables, and cheese. ‘Buldak’ means “fire chicken” in Korean (bul= fire and dak= chicken), which truly reflects the spiciness of this chicken dish!
This recipe has become fairly popular a few years ago in Korea, and now I am seeing it more and more in restaurants in Canada. After watching tons of YouTube videos and reading recipes on how to make it at home, I came up with my own version that has great authentic flavours…and isn’t too spicy!
Spice Up Your Weeknight Dinners!
I love this recipe not only for it’s flavours, but that this Korean Cheesy Buldak comes together in just 30 minutes! Plus, this is a great stick-to-your-ribs recipe that has a good balance of protein, carbs, and vegetables.
I use chicken breast in this Korean Cheesy Buldak recipe as it is lean and quite tender once it is stewed with the other recipe ingredients. A boost of carbs comes from a few handfuls of Korean rice cakes and onion and cabbage give the recipe some needed nutrition and fibre.
A fun (and spicy!) addition to this recipe is the Samyang brand Buldak Hot Sauce. You can find this sauce in Korean and Asian grocery stores to add a great spicy chicken flavour to this recipe. It is essentially artificial chicken flavoured sauce but it’s loaded with chili extract. While I love hot sauces and spicy food, I can tell you that this sauce is SPICY, so a little goes a long way!
Cooking Korean Rice Cakes
When cooking with rice cakes, it is always best to pre-soak them in water before adding them to your recipe. Pre-soaking removes a bit of the starch from the rice cakes and also helps to soften them, as they are quite firm straight out of the package. I typically soak rice cakes for 15 minutes in cool water.
Once soaked, the rice cakes will still be firm, but once heat and liquid is added, they soften up nicely. They only take about 10 minutes to fully soften and become chewy and delicious!
Get the Recipe!
Korean Cheesy Buldak
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 1 large chicken breast cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru Korean chili flake
- ¼ cup gochujang
- 3 cups napa cabbage cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups Korean rice cake soaked
- 2 teaspoons Samyang Buldak Sauce optional
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 scallions finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the grapeseed oil and chicken breast. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the chicken is golden brown on all sides and is almost fully cooked.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to soften. Next, add the garlic and gochugaru and cook for 30 seconds before adding the gochujang. Mix the gochujang through to fully coat the chicken and onions.
- Add the napa cabbage, soaked rice cakes, Samynag Buldak Sauce (if using), and the water. Mix to combine then lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
- Once the rice cakes have softened, the Korean Cheesy Buldak is fully cooked. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and cover with a lid to let it melt. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
@seasonserveblog 🍗🔥This spicy Korean Cheesy Buldak is the first recipe in my Asian Dinner Series! Chicken breast is cooked in a spicy gochujang sauce with onions, cabbage, rice cakes, and Samyang Buldak sauce. Topped with lots of mozzarella cheese and chopped scallion, this Korean Cheesy Buldak is a satisfying and delicious weeknight dinner recipe! 🍗🔥 Get the full recipe with directions and measurements on the blog! Stay tuned for a new recipe coming next week!🍗🔥 #SeasonServeBlog #Buldak #YVR #AsianDinnerSeries #WeeknightMeals
♬ That Couch Potato Again – Prod. By Rose
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