Spicy Korean Chicken with Cucumber Pickle

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
At our last festive get-together I planned a dazzling menu of international cuisine. I was planning on serving my new obsession: spicy, non-greasy, super crisy, not-even-messy, Korean wings. Then I thought about it, and realized the best way to eat them is from the fryer straight into your mouth and that would keep me in the kitchen the whole party. So I had a rethink and decided to use similar ingredients, but turn it into a chicken dish that could be eaten over rice or made into lettuce wraps. Korean food is complex and each bite has a great assortment of flavors. This marinade would also be fabulous on shrimp, chicken, beef ... you name it!



Ingredients for marinade
3 green onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup Gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 pound chicken (thighs, breasts, or thin strips of chicken)

Ingredients for pickle
2 Lebanese cucumber thinly sliced
1 long red chili pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

To serve
green onions, thinly sliced
sesame seeds, toasted
brown rice
butter lettuce leaves (if you want to make wraps)

Procedure
For the marinade, place the onions, garlic, soy sauce, hot pepper paste, sugar, honey, sesame oil and the rice wine vinegar in a small food processor. Blend until combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside. Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and add remaining marinade. Toss to coat and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the cucumber, chili papper, green onions, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade. Heat a lightly oiled, thick-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat and cook chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning regularly, or until cooked through. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with the green onion and sesame seeds.

Serve with the cucumber salad, brown rice, lettuce, and reserved marinade.