These Spicy Korean Chicken Quesadillas will fire up your next gameday party. The Korean Barbecue Sauce is the secret ingredient.
This past weekend, Chef Plum invited me to do a cooking demonstration at his Taste of Danbury Afternoon Block Party. I had tons of fun with Chef Plum – he’s a great guy and one day, I just know he’ll have his own show on Food Network. He’s got a big personality, a generous heart and he makes some pretty spectacular food.
You might recall that I met Chef Plum a few months ago at the Culinary Institute of America when I participated in a first of its kind Culinary Exploration Workshop. Shortly after that, I went to Chef Plum’s Underground Dinner in Newtown, CT.
For my cooking demonstration, I went with a tailgating gameday theme since football is such a big deal in our family. With four boys and an avid Giants fan for a husband, Sunday afternoons and evenings are devoted to watching football. So, while everyone’s watching football, I’m charged with coming up with the “football snacks.” Football snacks have become a tradition in our family since the kids were young, and over the past few years, I’ve been trying to make them a little bit healthier.
I made these Spicy Korean Chicken Quesadillas and some Korean Barbecue Chicken Sliders with an Asian Slaw and Kimchi Yogurt Sauce for my demonstration. Both were a big hit and the audience seemed to really enjoy the demonstration.
During my cooking demonstration, I talked about some ways to make tailgating food healthier, like swapping in whole grain tortillas and rolls for regular ones made with white flour, using lean cuts of meat like chicken or turkey, and substituting non-fat Greek yogurt for mayonnaise and sour cream.
These quesadillas were made with whole grain spelt tortillas, and stuffed with chicken which had been marinated in Korean gochujang and teriyaki sauce, Sartori fontina cheese, and my Korean Barbecue Sauce. Spicy and sweet, oozing with melted cheese, these quesadillas have fast become a family favorite.
All in all, I had a terrific time being on stage with Chef Plum. It was great hanging out with him and his sous chef, Justin Kern, and I finally got to meet local food bloggers Alicia from Local Food Rocks and Yamini from Fairfield County Foodie, who I’ve been tweeting it up with.
I’d like to give a big shout out to King Arthur Flour, Sartori Cheese, Chobani, Bob’s Red Mill, and MySuperSnack for providing giveaways at this big event.
Spicy Korean Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
- Eight 7"whole grain tortillas
- 2 cups shredded fontina cheese
Korean Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs skinless, on the bone
- 3 tablespoons gochujang Korean red pepper paste
- 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
Korean Barbeque Sauce
- 3 tablespoons gochujang
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Frank's hot sauce
Instructions
Korean Chicken
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In a large bowl, toss chicken with gochujang, teriyaki sauce and rice wine until evenly coated. Let marinate overnight. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool. Remove chicken from bone and chop into bite-size pieces.
Korean Barbeque Sauce
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In small bowl, mix together gochujang, honey and Frank's hot sauce.
Quesadillas
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Place one tortilla on a flat surface. Top one tortilla with 1/4 cup shredded cheese and 1/2 cup cooked chicken. Top with 1/4 cup more cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Cook in a cast iron skillet until cheese is melted and chicken is heated through.
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Cut into serving pieces and serve.
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Three cheers for healthier football snacks, Jeanette! Glad you had fun with Chef Plum doing your kitchen demo. Have a great week!
Gosh – these quesadillas sound great!
Thanks Shashi – my husband loves these!
love seeing all of these Korean recipes!
Hoe fun that you got to do that! How did that happen? These look delicious! I’m pinning em now and will be making them soon!
Thanks Lauren – it was a fun event!
Mmmm…love the sound of these! Congrats on the awesome food demo!
Thanks Sommer – it was lots of fun!
I would have never thought of this– I love it! I can’t wait to give it a try.
Tess – everyone loves these – lots of flavor going on in these quesadillas!
Hi Jeanette, where can I order gochujang on line? Thanks, Louis.
Louis, you can buy gochujang at Amazon. Whole Foods also carries it in the Asian grocery section.
Sounds like a fun event, Jeanette!! And look at that luscious quesadillas? Need 🙂
Kiran – it was lots of fun and the quesadillas were a hit. Thanks!
I wish it was lunch time right now!! These quesadillas look so yummy, and what a fun event 🙂
Thanks EA – these are my husband’s new favorite gameday food!
These sound so tasty!
Thanks Kevin – these are really good – a big hit with all of my husband’s friends.