Fine Cooking Magazine - November/December 2020

Servings: 6

In traditional Korean barbecue fashion, these chicken thighs are doused in a spicy-sweet soy-sesame-chile marinade, then grilled and wrapped up in lettuce leaves to eat. Slicing the chicken thighs into strips helps them absorb the marinade’s flavors.

Ingredients

For the chicken

1/2 cup Asian sesame oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. mul yut (malt syrup) or light corn syrup
2 medium shallots, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
4 tsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
4 medium cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)
4 tsp. mirin
2 tsp. gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes) or crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut crosswise into 1-1/2-inch-thick strips Vegetable oil, for the grill

For the serving

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions, both white and green parts (about 2 medium)
Big pinch of Korean chile threads or 2 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh long red chiles
1 tsp. roasted sesame seeds
18 lettuce leaves (such as green or red leaf), washed and dried
4 cups cooked white rice, preferably short-grain
Ssamjang

Calories (kcal) : 490
Fat Calories (kcal): 160
Fat (g): 18
Saturated Fat (g): 3.5
Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 6
Monounsaturated Fat (g): 7
Cholesterol (mg): 140
Sodium (mg): 710
Carbohydrates (g): 46
Fiber (g): 3
Protein (g): 31

Preparation

Marinate the chicken

In a large bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, mul yut, shallots, ginger, garlic, mirin, and gochugaru with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chicken and, using your hands, massage the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 12 hours.

Grill the chicken

Prepare a hot (450°F) charcoal or gas grill fire. Clean and lightly oil the grill grate.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and let any excess drip off; discard the marinade. Grill, flipping once, until just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a serving platter.

To serve

Garnish the chicken with the scallions, chile threads, and sesame seeds. Serve with the lettuce, rice, and Ssamjang.
To eat, put a small spoonful of rice inside a lettuce leaf, dab it with some sauce, and top with a piece of the chicken. Wrap and eat.

Serve with your choice of banchan (side dishes), such as Korean Spinach (Sigeumchi Muchim), Lightly Pickled Radish (Mu Saengchae), Korean Bean Sprouts (Kong Namul), Spicy Scallion Salad, or Quick Cucumber Kimchi

(7 ratings) Read Reviews

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Sesame Oil
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Reviews

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Reviews (7 reviews)

chinamoon | 07/22/2017
This was delicious!! I would definitely make it again. I did marinate it for much longer than the 12 hours max that is listed in the recipe. cdwilliams is right, because it is thick it needs more marinating time. The chicken also came out super tender.
cdwilliams | 05/29/2017
When I opened my organic chicken thighs, they looked suspect...so I substituted some pork tenderloin. It was great although another time I would have butterflied it to maximize the amount of marinade soaking into the meat and cut the cooking time.

A note about marination time - I would have like to let it marinate longer. The marinade is relatively thick and a longer time with the garlic and shallot would have been great. Best if you can remove it from the fridge for the last hour.
Krispie | 04/10/2015
This was very tasty and different than we usually have. Will definstely make again.
winefan | 04/05/2015
Great flavors, but 12 hours isn't enough time to marinate the chicken for it to pick up much flavor. I'll go closer to 18 next time.

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