Chicken Breast Banchan. Koreans rarely use chicken breast in traditional Korean banchans. It's usually pork, beef or seafood. But today, let's go against tradition and get creative with chicken breast. After all, it's cheap and approachable to everybody. We will first boil them to get them juicy and tender. Then toss in a variety of Korean spices.
In this recipe, I wanted to flavor chicken breast in drastically different ways. You know, something different to teriyaki chicken and what you see in most Asian restaurants. So I was quite happy with the results. Each of these banchans tasted unique!
Here's a quick summary:
The stir-fry was savory. The key ingredient was fish sauce, which added a layer of saltiness and umami. Our chopsticks kept coming back - for the next bite. (In fact, Katie finished the whole bowl during our shoot 😋)
The muchim was spicy. Well, I guess spicy is relative. It tasted slightly-less spicy than Korean Shin Ramen. Overall, the flavor of the muchim is bold. I think it works beautifully with a bowl of hot rice on the side.
The salad tasted light and springy. The first thing you will taste is a sweet tanginess from the honey and vinegar. Then a slight hint of wasabi from the hot mustard paste. A subtle balance between the flavors.
Which one are you craving? Try one and give us some feedback 😉
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Note: These banchan recipes were inspired by... Naver blog: Kyss7700, Naver blog: A-la-la-la & E-kklim Store (이끌림)
3 Chicken Breast Banchan Recipes
Ingredients
Chicken Breast Cabbage Stir-Fry
- Chicken breast - 1
- Cabbage - 300 grams or about 3 fistfuls
- Chili Peppers - 2 Use a red and green pepper
- Green onion - 1 stalk fore-arm length
Stir-fry Sauce
- Soy sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Fish sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 1 Tablespoon
- Mirim - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
Shredded Chicken Muchim
- Chicken breast - 2
- Spring onion or green onion - 1 stalk (forearm piece)
- Oyster mushrooms - 2 bundles each the size of your palm
Seasoning Sauce
- Korean red chili flakes Gochugaru - 2 Tablespoons
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 1 Tablespoon
- Soy sauce - 2 Tablespoons
- Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame seeds - 1 Tablespoon
- Black pepper - few shakes
Korean Chicken & Chives Salad
- Chicken breast - 1 or use 1 can
- Asian chives - 12 stalks
- Red bell pepper - ¼ a whole
- Cucumber - ½ a whole
- Onion - ½ a whole
- Carrot - 3 inches or length of pointer finger
Hot Mustard-Honey Sauce
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Sugar - 2 Tablespoons
- Honey - 3 Tablespoons
- Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Vinegar - 3 Tablespoons
- Hot Mustard - 1 Tablespoon
- Lemon juice - 1 Tablespoon or use half a lemon
Instructions
Chicken Breast Cabbage Stir-Fry
- Put chicken breast in a pot. Pour-in enough water to cover the chicken breast. Bring pot up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a medium-low. Let chicken breast gently simmer for 15 minutes.
- Roughly chop the cabbage and measure 3 fistfuls. Thinly slice green and red chili peppers. Finally, slice-up the green onions.
- Take out a small mixing bowl and mix-in all of the listed ingredients under 'Stir-fry Sauce'
- After 15 minutes, take out the boiled chicken breast. Use two forks to shred them apart.
- Place oil into a frying pan. Place it on a medium-high heat. When it gets hot, place cabbage and chicken pieces in. Stir-fry until you see the cabbage pieces turn slightly translucent. Then add in the Stir-fry Sauce. Stir around for 30 seconds. Add in the chili peppers. Stir-around for 15-30 more seconds.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve with a bowl of rice. Bon Appetit.
Shredded Chicken Muchim
- Put 2 chicken breasts in a pot. Pour-in enough water to cover the chicken breasts. Bring pot up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a medium-low. Let chicken breasts gently simmer for 15 minutes.
- Slice onion into very thin slices. (The thinner the better!) Then place the onion slices in a bowl of cold water. Soak in the water for 15 minutes to reduce the sharp flavor.
- Cut stem off the oyster mushrooms. Use your hands and break each piece off each other. Then rinse under cold water. Bring a small pot of water up to boil. Season the water with few shakes of salt. Then boil the mushrooms for 15 seconds. Drain the mushrooms and cool-down under cold water. Then use your hands and squeeze the water out of the blanched mushrooms. Set aside.
- Finely dice the spring onion stalk.
- After 15 minutes, take out the chicken breast pieces and shred with two forks. Note: If you see pink, place back in boiling water for 5 more minutes.
- Take out a large mixing bowl. Add-in the shredded chicken, oyster mushrooms and thinly sliced onions. Then add-in all of the listed ingredients under 'Seasoning Sauce'. Give a thorough mix.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice. Bon Appetit!
Korean Chicken & Chives Salad
- Cut asian chives, bell peppers, cucumber, carrot and onion into small bite-size pieces. (Reference video)
- Take out a large mixing bowl. Add in all of the chopped vegetables. Open a can of chicken breast. Empty out the oil. Then add in the shredded chicken breast. (Or boil and shred a chicken breast and add in)
- Take out a smaller mixing bowl. Add in all of the listed ingredients under 'Hot Mustard - Honey Sauce'. Give a thorough mix.
- Toss the salad in the Sauce. Plate and enjoy. Eat with or without rice. Bon Appetit!
Notes
- You can find "Hot Mustard Paste" at most Asian marts. It's called 연겨자 in Korean (yeon-gyo-ja). If you don't have an Asian mart nearby, you can make it at home with dry mustard powder.
- Make sure to soak the freshly cut onion slices in cold water before adding to the muchim recipe.
- Feel free to use chicken thighs if you like dark meat. Even more juicier!
- See video below for more details
I tried the chicken stir fry and it came out great!