Lou's Most Excellent Korean Chicken

Classically, Korean's grill chicken in an almost "terryaki" type glaze with the resulting dish called dak-gui. It's quite tasty but works best if you've got a real fire to cook it on. My grill is still buried in 1.5 feet of snow.

I had some chicken breasts and after an Asian-fusion dinner the evening before at The Source, I was wanting to keep those flavors alive. Also, I wanted something more on the healthy side too. This did it.

It's a take on bul-go-ki, the marinated and super delicious beef dish that Korean cuisine is known for. The trick with chicken is keeping it tender while getting flavor into it. I did some pretty unconventional things to achieve this.

[This has a marinating time of about 4 hours so plan accordingly.]

2 whole, bone-in chicken breasts, split, skin removed
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 TBS sugar
¼ cup olive oil (yes, olive oil)
1 TSP chili oil
1 TSP sesame oil
2 TSP freshly toasted sesame seeds
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, coarsely chopped (green & white parts)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 TSP minced ginger
2 Seranno peppers, coarsely chopped
1 daikon radish, peeled and cut into french-fry sized strips
Red or green whole lettuce leaves, washed and gently dried
Kimchi
Sticky rice, prep'd to directions

Take each breast and along the outside of each slice about a 1½ " deep slit down to create a small pocket.

Dissolve the sugar in 1.5 cups of cold water. Add the soy sauce and oils; mix vigorously to create a loose emulsion. Add the sesame seeds to the brew and mix. Pour into a large bowl. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and peppers and mix well. Put the chicken into the bowl, setting the pieces in a way that they're butterflied. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a 9x9 pan, add the chicken breasts - bone side down - and then ½ cover with the marinade. You do not want them fully slathered. Cover the pan with foil and set in the oven. Immediately set the oven temperature to 275. Bake for one hour.

Check the internal temp of the breasts - they should be at least 160 and bigger breasts (ha ha...bigger breasts....heh heh heh) will take longer to cook.

Remove the chicken and "pull" with a fork and knife. The chicken should be tender but not fall-apart tender. Cut/pull into thick strips and put into a bowl with about ½ of the cooked marinade.

Everyone can make tacos using lettuce as a wrap, a small layer of rice, some chicken, kimchi, and a few daikon strips. Get lot's of napkins and try not to bite your fingers while eating.