By Eric Kim
- Total Time
- 1 ¼ hours, plus at least 8 hours’ brining
- Rating
- 4(126)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe draws inspiration from the old-fashioned rotisserie chickens sold along Seoul’s streets in the 1970s — before Korean fried chicken entered the scene in the next decade. Cornish game hens are an excellent substitute for the smaller, younger birds often used in South Korea for this succulent poultry dish. A simple soy-sauce brine, made even more fragrant with ground white pepper, ensures inimitably juicy, tender meat that, after roasting in the oven for an hour, truly falls off the bone. A nod to pa dak (“scallion chicken”), an early-2000s trend in which shaved scallions were served atop fried chicken to cut the fattiness, this recipe calls for lightly dressed scallions for a verdant counterpoint.
Featured in: Eric Kim’s Essential Korean Recipes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ¼cup soy sauce
- ¼cup coarse kosher salt or ½ cup kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal, plus more for the scallions
- ¼cup granulated sugar, plus more for the scallions
- 1teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2Cornish game hens (about 3 ½ pounds total)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 4scallions, cut into 4-inch segments, then very thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1tablespoon rice vinegar
- Steamed white rice, for serving
- Yangnyeom sauce, for dipping (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
966 calories; 63 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 29 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 71 grams protein; 1134 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place a gallon-size resealable plastic bag in a large bowl. To the bag, add the soy sauce, salt, sugar, white pepper and 6 cups cold tap water; stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Nestle the Cornish game hens into the liquid, seal the bag set in the bowl and place in the refrigerator to brine for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.
Step
2
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the hens in the sink and pat very dry with a clean towel (the drier the hen, the crispier the skin). Using your hands, massage the olive oil all over the birds and place on a sheet pan, breast side up. Roast, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown and the legs, when jostled, feel like they’re about to fall off (a sign that the meat is tender and cooked through), about 1 hour.
Step
3
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the scallions with the rice vinegar and a pinch of salt and sugar to taste. To serve, top each roasted hen with a mound of the scallion garnish and enjoy with steamed white rice and yangnyeom sauce (if using), for dipping.
Ratings
4
out of 5
126
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Cooking Notes
Josh
Skipped the recipe intro? "Cornish game hens are an excellent substitute for the smaller, younger birds often used in South Korea for this succulent poultry dish." So if you can find small chickens, use those.
sydney
Loved this recipe! Marinated for 48 hours so had a hard time getting the skin crispy, but the meat was so tender and well-seasoned it didn’t matter. Oh and don’t skip the sauce, it was absolutely incredible and easy to make. Will definitely be making this one again!
Pica D
Made with full size chicken- after an hour baking, I turned oven up to 450 for 20 minutes and then down to 400 for 20 minutes and it gave it a nice crisp crust, still very moist on the inside. Would probably add another few minutes to the bake or put to 400 from the start. Made a butter mushroom leek stir fry for the top, needed something extra to jazz it up.
nicejewishboy
This is a simple, stunning recipe. A good brining results in delightfully moist and succulent meat which is cut nicely by the freshness of the scallions. This dish will impress on the plate and on the palate, especially if you take care to pat your birds extremely dry. I found about 24 hours to be the perfect amount of time to brine the Cornish game hens I used. Paired nicely with a Beaujolais.
Mick
This makes a well-seasoned chicken, but the tangy-spicy sauce IMO is not optional. It’s delicious.
Es
Thanks to all the commentators I think I got this right on the first go-around. Marinated the hens overnight and in the morning I dried them off and got them dry prior to cooking in a large cast-iron pan, which I rotated in my oven every 15 minutes. Hens were delicious. And the sauce...I used sour cherry jam, birch syrup, and at least an additional TBSP of gochujang. The chicken dipped in that was so good, a little hot, a little sweet, a lot of flavors and my husband and I devoured the 2 hens.
Jonathan
Want crispy skin? After marinating 24 hours, pat the chicken dry and put it uncovered on a rack in your fridge for another 24 hours. Then cook as directed.
Eric from Alaska
4 1/2 lb chicken Marinaded approx 6 hoursMade sauce, will apply after chx done cooking
Lorenza
I also added:3cloves garlic, smashed 5 large coins ginger root, smashed1tsp five spice powder
Eli W
I understand the beauty of the recipe is in its simplicity, but any reason some garlic, ginger and scallions wouldn't help enrich the brine?
sydney
Loved this recipe! Marinated for 48 hours so had a hard time getting the skin crispy, but the meat was so tender and well-seasoned it didn’t matter. Oh and don’t skip the sauce, it was absolutely incredible and easy to make. Will definitely be making this one again!
Varjak
Are the salt measurements correct? I know there's a difference in the granularity and saltiness of Morton's vs. Diamond kosher salt, but using twice as much Diamond kosher salt instead of 1/4 cup 'coarse kosher salt' seems to be a big difference.
Sean
Why not just use a small chicken? Cornish game hens are much harder to find - in Amsterdam I wouldn't begin to know where to look, but small chickens are readily available.
Josh
Skipped the recipe intro? "Cornish game hens are an excellent substitute for the smaller, younger birds often used in South Korea for this succulent poultry dish." So if you can find small chickens, use those.
Maggiesara
I suspect the recipe recommends Cornish game hens because they're relatively easy to find in the US, while chickens of the same size, well under 2 pounds, are not.
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