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Behind the Recipes: Cheese Buldak
Craving spicy food? Need a quick chicken dinner—or a cheesy, shareable snack? Make buldak.
It means “fire chicken” in Korean, and if the name alone doesn’t spell out that this dish is hot, the sauce’s flame-red color will be a dead giveaway.
In essence, buldak consists of boneless chicken chunks coated in a thick, clingy mixture of gochugaru, Korea’s foundational red chili powder;
gochujang, the fermented red chili paste; black pepper; and sometimes fresh chiles, along with a slew of other Korean pantry seasonings.
It’s a classic example of modern Korea’s affection for superspicy food, and it works equally well as an anju (drinking snack) with beer or soju or as a throw-together skillet meal alongside a heap of steamed rice.
What’s less obvious about buldak is that there’s much more going on besides the burn.
Read more about the complementary components of this popular dish →
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FEATURED RECIPE |
Cheese Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken)
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Our version of cheese buldak, or Korean fire chicken, is a spicy, savory-sweet, one-pan drinking snack or quick meal. |
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
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The chicken is well seasoned and juicy, especially when thighs are used.
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Tteok, Korean cuisine’s beloved glutinous rice cakes, are an optional (but excellent) inclusion; seared and then simmered in the sauce, they add satisfying chew and heat-tempering neutrality.
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The sauce is spicy, but also deeply savory from the umami-rich gochujang, and plenty sweet to counterbalance the heat.
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Thin-sliced onion and jalapeño add extra savor, heat, and a hint of crunch.
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A blanket of melted mozzarella cheese on top helps to quell the burn and makes the dish especially irresistible.
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RECIPE DEVELOPED BY Jessica Rudolph
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Jessica Rudolph is a senior food editor. She’s worked for America’s Test Kitchen since 2016, where she began as a test cook on the photography team. She now develops recipes, specializing in the weeknight meals that you see on our site and app, and in our Dinner Tonight newsletter.
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This content is from the May/June 2026 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Not a subscriber? Let’s change that →
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Cooking Tips
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Why You Should Sprinkle Sugar on Your Steak
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No, sprinkling sugar on your steak will not make it taste like candy or obscure its meat flavor. Instead, it delivers a fleeting moment of sweetness followed by a flood of meaty flavors.
Try it out →
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RELATED RECIPE |
Grilled Sugar Steak
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The sugar adds a hint of sweetness and helps create the ultimate charred crust. |
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Baking Tips
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Why You Should Rest Your Fruit Pie for at Least 4 Hours
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Pies are not for the impatient. You can’t rush them. One of the steps is hands-off, but it requires the most restraint: waiting for the pie to cool before slicing it. Why you should be patient for the perfect fruit pie →
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Shop Our Memorial Day Book Sale: Save up to 53%
Shop and save big during our Memorial Day Sale—your chance to cook more boldly and confidently and to bring a little extra wow to the table all year. For a limited time, enjoy
up to 53% off more than 100 cookbooks—but don’t wait.
The sale ends Tuesday, May 26th.
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Keeping up with the team . . .
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By Andrea Geary, Deputy Food Editor
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What I’m Up To
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“Kuchisabishii”
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Just a new favorite word:
“kuchisabishii,” which means “lonely mouth” in Japanese. It describes that urge to eat, not because you’re hungry but because your mouth is lonely. Even after a day full of tastings in the test kitchen, I often experience some kuchisabishii when I get home. I keep a batch of
muhammara and some carrot sticks in the fridge for just such an occasion.
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Under the Radar
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Tofu-Black Bean Layered Enchiladas
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This is a shoutout for a new ATK recipe, Jess Rudolph’s
Tofu–Black Bean Layered Enchiladas. I cut the baked, cooled enchiladas into portions, wrap them in wax paper, freeze half, and refrigerate the other half. Fifteen minutes in the toaster oven and then topped with a fried egg, a scoop of Greek yogurt, hot sauce, and scallions, they make a sustaining and delectable weekday breakfast. |
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