Country 10: Buldak from South Korea

Buldak, which translates to "Fire Chicken", is by far the spiciest meal I've made on my quest for 30 meals from 30 countries.

Buldak is a korean dish consisting of chicken in an extremely hot sauce with broiled mozzarella cheese on top. It is often eaten as a drinking food, so I served it with some Soju (korean rice liquor) as well as some rice and pickled daikon radish which is a common korean side dish and helped cool the meal (very slightly). The sauce for the chicken is made with multiple types of peppers, as well as Gochujang (fermented chili paste) and gochugaru (crushed chili powder). Even with me toning the spice down a bit for my wife (ok and for me too), it was still one of the hottests meals I have personally made. The flavour was great and although the cheese helped a bit, I was definitely sweating after eating it (and while cooking it, definitely open lots of windows).

While looking at recipes and reading about Buldak, I learned that it is not only a drinking meal, but that korean people also turned to spicy foods during stressful situations, so Buldak became extremely popular during periods of economic turmoil as a way of coping with stress.

Overall, it was an enjoyable meal and while it wont be in a common rotation due to how hot it is, it will definitely be something I make again, maybe to let out some stress etc.

Thanks for reading and following along this adventure.

Updated map and other photos found below:

Until the next meal,

Brandon