Ssamjang Chicken and Rocket-Perilla Leaf Salad

중국의 설날이었다. 우리는 보통 해외 여행을하지만 코로나 때문에 싱가포르에 남아 있어야해요. (많은 사람들은 코로나 때문에 중국의 설날에 친척을 방문 할 수 없다고 불평하지만 싱가포르는 너무 작아서 언제든지 친척을 방문 할 수 있어요. 우리는 중국의 설날에만 친척을 방문 할 필요가 없고 친척을 방문 할 수있는 다른 350 일이 있죠? 불평 좀 그만해. 싱가포르에는 봉쇄나 격리가 없어서 친척을 방문할 수 있어서 감사해요.)

많은 외국인 친구들도 고국으로 돌아갈 수 없어 싱가포르에 남아있었어요. 그래서 나는 모두를 내 집에 초대해 식사를했어요. 그래서 아무도 혼자지 않게 위해 외국인 친구들을 모두 집에 초대해서 같이 새해식사를 했어요. 물론 나는 요리했지만 전골은 아니었어 (다들 전골 요리를 할 것이기 때문에). 많이 요리하고 청소하는 바쁜 동안이었고 너무 피곤했지만 너무 많은 재미 있었어요. 

 
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This was another dish strewn together for a Chinese New Year fête. While its invention may be borne out of the limitation to whatever was available in my pantry (I really reallyyy didn't want to jostle for groceries along with the city's Chinese population stocking up for reunion dinners), the dish was an unexpected surprise at dinner. 

And while ssamjang is more commonly used as a condiment to K-bbq vegetable wraps (ssam), I had the idea to spin that into a western-style salad, featuring ssamjang ("jang" = sauce) as the dominant seasoning to the chicken dice. And to a salad base of zesty arugula and perilla leaves, I added a handful of goji berries, a one-time superfood du jour, for colour and a subtle sweetness, some garlic chips for a toasty crunch, and a couple of soy-marinated semi-hard boiled eggs. Putting this together can be done after guests arrive, and because it's low-fuss and so easy, even the kitchen-noobs can help assemble.  

 
Ingredients (feeds 2 for a main, 4 as a side):
 
400gm chicken fillet, cut into 1" dice and marinated with the recipe below for at least 3 hours
100gm arugula leaves, washed and patted dry
8-10 perilla leaves, washed and patted dry, and roughly torn to 4 pieces each
5 tbsp wolfberries, rehydrated and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp garlic chips
2-3 ajitsuke eggs, cut into 4 quarters length-wise 
1 tbsp olive oil

Marinade:
3 tbsp-heaps ssamjang 
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp ponzu


Directions:

1) Fry minced garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat, until fragrant, about 40 seconds. 

2) Add marinated chicken, turn heat up to medium-high, and fry until cooked through, about 3 minutes. 

3) Add wolfberries, toss through. 

4) Add sesame seeds, toss through. The chicken is done. 

5) Assembly time: starting with a mix of arugula and perilla leaves, set the chicken atop, intersperse with egg wedges, and finish with a sprinkle of fried garlic chips. 


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