As you can tell, we enjoy braised chicken. We make it more often than the handful of posts on our blog. It’s simple, tasty, and always makes leftovers for lunches or a quick dinner later in the week. I think kimchi scares a lot of people… fermented cabbage, anyone? It’s alive and continues to ferment while sealed up, further breaking down the vegetables and adding flavor to the various spices contained within that swollen jar. Ally had dog-eared this recipe a while ago, and we didn’t know what to expect. We were both expecting a bit of sourness from the fermentation products of the kimchi, some smokiness from the bacon, acidity from the tomatoes, and of course a touch of sweetness from the white wine. The ingredients, each lending their own simple tastes to the finished product, which has a unique complexity that will make you wish you made a double batch. For more spice, try adding some of your favorite hot sauce (sriracha would go well), some cayenne, or a a few pinches of chipotle spices for a smoky heat.
Kimchi Braised Chicken with Noodles
(Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, February 2016 issue)
Ingredients:
- 5 slices of bacon, sliced
- 3 lb boneless chicken thighs
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz (by weight) grape tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 2 cups kimchi, with juices
- 8oz egg noodles
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt & pepper
Instructions:
- Place a large Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until slightly crispy.
- Remove the bacon to the side to a paper towel lined plate, retaining the bacon fat.
- Add the garlic and tomatoes into the dish. Lower heat slightly and cover. Stir occasionally.
- After ~5 minutes of cooking, the garlic should be browning and the tomatoes getting wrinkly. Using the back of your slotted spoon (or whatever utensil you’re cooking with…), press down on the tomatoes until they burst.
- Pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the dish.
- Bring to a boil and allow to reduce by half.
- Now return the bacon to the dish, along with the kimchi and chicken. Bring to a simmer. Then lower heat & cover.
- Braise over low-medium heat for an hour, uncovering once roughly halfway through to stir.
- After this time, remove the lid from the Dutch oven. Increase heat slightly, ensuring that the tomato-kimchi liquid comes to a fast simmer. Cook for ~20 more minutes. The liquid will reduce. Break apart the chicken as it begin to fall apart.
- Towards the end of the braising time, cook egg noodles. Boil in a pot of salted water until al dente.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Return the pasta to the cooking pot and top with butter, 1/4 cup of cooking liquid, and salt & pepper to taste. Toss until pasta is covered with buttery liquid. Add a little bit more cooking liquid if you think it needs.
- To serve, top a serving of noodles with generous spoonfuls of chicken and tomato-kimchi sauce.
Makes 6-8 servings
Bon Appetit Baby! 