"Rosé Chicken" Made with Soy Milk and Gochujang Instead of Heavy Cream: Ryuji's Braised Chicken Thighs

According to Ryuji, dishes finished in a pink, or rosé, color are trending in South Korea, and a staff member also mentions that "rosé tteokbokki" had been popular. Ryuji wanted to ride that trend but did not want to use heavy ingredients like heavy cream. So Ryuji came up with a healthy rosé dish using soy milk.

Ryuji recalls having previously made a tomato cream stew that many people cooked, but not having done a rosé cream yet. The reason given for presenting it is that bringing flavors you have never tried into everyday cooking keeps you from getting bored, so it is good to have it as part of your repertoire.

At the same time, Ryuji does not claim that this is an authentic dish. Ryuji makes clear that it is not traditional Korean food, but simply something trending in South Korea that Ryuji has adopted. Near the end of cooking, Ryuji also adds that it is questionable whether "rosé chicken" exists as an established dish. In South Korea there is something called "rosé sauce," which is applied to a variety of dishes, such as being poured over fried chicken. The understanding is that rosé chicken does not exist as an established dish; rather, the sauce is used in different ways. As Ryuji explains, adding ketchup to heavy cream will roughly give you rosé. This time, gochujang was used to give it a Korean twist. Ryuji says the dish was inspired by Korean dishes that combine dairy and spicy ingredients, like cheese dakgalbi, and also admits that this kind of dish is not actually trending.

The ingredients are one chicken thigh (350g according to the video description), an onion, garlic, a generous amount of butter, button mushrooms, unsweetened soy milk, cake flour, chicken stock, gochujang, salt and pepper, black pepper, and parsley. It can be made with chicken breast, but thigh meat is said to be more tender and tasty.

Other mushrooms such as king oyster, maitake, or oyster mushrooms are also fine. Button mushrooms were chosen this time because Ryuji had been using nothing but oyster mushrooms lately, and because the staff wanted to eat button mushrooms. Ryuji sees the strengths of button mushrooms as their umami and aroma, saying that adding them releases a mushroom broth. Ryuji also shared a personal theory that button mushrooms are the closest thing to porcini. Ryuji further noted that Chiba Prefecture is the top producer of button mushrooms, which led to an animated exchange with a staff member who is also from Chiba.

In this context, Ryuji also talked about their view of cooking. Cooking ultimately leads toward origins and ingredients, and Ryuji would really like to use all kinds of ingredients. Even so, how delicious a dish can be made using only ingredients sold at the supermarket is a difficult challenge, and Ryuji wants to keep pursuing it.

Peel the garlic. Ryuji initially said the plan was to grate it. Later, however, Ryuji explained that while it had been grated in a previous recipe, Ryuji has recently been hooked on "burnt garlic," so that is the approach this time. The reasoning is that the burnt aroma should suit rosé chicken.

Cut the onion in half, then slice it about 1cm wide, perpendicular to the grain. Slice the mushrooms so they can also be eaten as a component of the dish, and use the whole pack. Cut the chicken into thin slices at an angle to make bite-sized pieces, and season with salt and pepper. Ryuji says recipes that can be made quickly are needed for everyday life, and the prep ends here.

Add a little oil to a frying pan and cook the chicken skin-side down. The key is said to be pressing the skin down against the pan while cooking so the skin is thoroughly cooked. A little oil helps prevent sticking.

Once the skin side is browned, clear a space in the middle of the pan, add the garlic, and brown it in the fat rendered from the chicken. When a staff member asks whether that is enough oil, Ryuji answers that fat comes out of the chicken, so the garlic will brown even with this amount. Ryuji also says they have not been very fond of oil lately. The garlic is browned until it is all golden, and this browning is what makes it delicious.

Next, add the onion and stir-fry lightly, just enough to coat it in the oil. Ryuji says browning the garlic doubles its power, and it already looks delicious at this stage. Then add 1 tablespoon of cake flour and stir-fry so it coats the ingredients. This is to thicken the soy milk.

Pour in 250cc of unsweetened soy milk and add about 1 1/3 teaspoons of chicken stock. Rather than bringing it to a rolling boil, a gentle simmer is fine.

At this point, add about 1 2/3 tablespoons of gochujang to give it the rosé color. Ryuji explains that the gochujang is not fried first because frying it would make the red color fade. When stirred, the whole thing turns pink, and this, Ryuji says, is rosé chicken. Ryuji believes the dish is new, since there are few dishes that combine gochujang with cream. The staff also replied that they had never eaten a gochujang cream dish.

After tasting, add butter. Gochujang and butter go well together, and the soy milk and butter create a creamy quality. Ryuji also cites the fact that heavy cream is fairly expensive right now as a reason for choosing soy milk.

Simmer it gently like this for about 5 minutes, and the whole thing thickens as flavor comes out of the chicken. Since it contains gochujang there is some heat, but Ryuji says it is also good to add black pepper for an extra kick.

Scrape up the browned bits of chicken stuck to the pan and mix them into the sauce. The explanation is that this adds depth to the flavor.

If it reduces too much and becomes too thick, Ryuji says it is fine to thin it out with just a little more soy milk. Ryuji also added that while chicken stock was used this time, beef broth, which is often used in Korean soups, would probably be delicious too.

As for spiciness, Ryuji emphasizes that although people often ask whether it is spicy, it is not. It is not a fiery dish, and the gochujang sold in Japan is not spicy to begin with, Ryuji says. Those who want it spicier can add chili pepper.

Ryuji says it can be served as is, but that it goes best with rice—prefacing this by saying it might be surprising. This time, heated packaged rice was placed on a plate, the rosé chicken was poured over it like curry, and dried parsley was sprinkled on for color to finish. Ryuji adds at the end that it also goes well with bread.

At the first bite, the two staff members reacted with "this is crazy good" and "I've never had anything like this," and also said "this is new." Their assessment was that it works as a snack to go with drinks on its own.

When paired with rice, the reactions grew even stronger. Ryuji describes it as becoming something like butter rice. One staff member said it resembles butter chicken curry. Ryuji acknowledged this, while saying that since it does not smell like curry, that is what gives it its intriguing deliciousness. The staff repeatedly said "this is totally a rice dish" and "they go great together," and Ryuji also said that while it is good on its own, pairing it with rice doubles how good it is. One person said it tasted different from stew as well, and the staff noted that the mushrooms were good too. The conclusion they settled on was that it is fine with bread, but rice might be the better choice after all.

Both agreed that, although it has a bit of a kick, even children could easily eat it.

At the end, Ryuji said that by making this one dish, you get onions and mushrooms, as well as protein from the chicken and soy milk. Ryuji rates it as honestly a very good recipe, since with a simple salad on the side it covers a whole meal. This is Ryuji's answer to the goal stated at the beginning: "a recipe where making one dish is enough."

On whether rosé chicken will become a trend, Ryuji said "it starts trending from here," and the staff responded that they hope it does. However, as mentioned above, Ryuji has acknowledged that this kind of dish is not actually trending at present.