About the Recipe
This is probably one of my favourite Korean recipes. It is incredibly comforting and absolutely delicious.
There was also the one time I went to bed without any dinner as a form of punishment, and my mum made me this as a reconciliating dish for breakfast and I had two bowls…
Ingredients
For the broth
1 onion, cut in half
1 carrot, cut in half
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 spring onions, cut in half but only the white portion (save the green for the chicken topping)
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Either: bone of 4 chicken thighs or 1 stock pot/cube
Pinch of salt
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, cut into thin slices
For the chicken topping
Meat from the 4 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Thinly sliced spring onion (green part)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
3 chillis, chopped (more or less depending on personal preference)
1 tablespoon chilli powder (ideally Korean but any will do)
For the courgette topping
2 courgettes, cut however you like (I recommend either matsticks or in slices for presentation)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 clove garlic finely sliced/crushed/grated/minced
For the chicken skin garnish
4 chicken thighs worth of skin
Pinch of salt
Tablespoon of oil
Noodles cooked according to package instructions (2-3 portions of any noodles you like, I suggest you start with udon if you’re unsure)
Preparation
Debone your chicken: use skin on and bone in chicken thighs. Try your best to work your knife around the bone starting at the middle to take away the underside of the bone. You can just rip the skin off. The skin will be used as a garnish, the bones in the broth and the meat as another garnish.
For the skin
Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each piece then leave for 30 mins to dry them out. Then spread a tiny amount of oil (this allows them to start crisping up before they release their own fat) and place in an oven preheated at 200C for roughly 8 minutes (watch them carefully as they can burn in an instant)
For the broth:
Fry the chicken bones until the develop some colour in a pot then add the rest of the ingredients and cover with water. Leave to boil/simmer. After 30 mins add your chicken thighs.
For the chicken garnish
Once the chicken thighs are cooked, remove them then use two forks to shred. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
For the courgette
Fry the garlic around 30 seconds before adding your courgettes and the rest of your ingredients. Fry until courgette is cooked.
To plate
Place a portion of noodles then add broth. On top of those noodles place the other ingredients as this prevents them from sinking.