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Fire chicken gangjung with jalapeno, garlic, scallion, sweet soy sauce and sesame seed, is so good that it was worth naming the restaurant after the dish. | MABEL SUEN
[REVIEW]
Hot Spot Fire Chicken brings the heat with its unique twist on Korean cuisine Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Fire Chicken 10200 Page Avenue, 314-551-2123. Mon.Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (Closed Sundays.)
M
ichelle Baik knows her food is good. Ever since she and her husband, Min, opened Fire Chicken this past August, customers have gone out of their way to heap praise on the pair, telling them over and over just how much they enjoy the restaurant’s namesake Korean-style chicken gangjung. However, one recent interaction
stands out to Michelle. A first-time guest was so moved by the Baiks’ cooking that he was compelled to come back and tell her how much it meant to him. His praise had less to do with the food itself and more to do with his appreciation for their willingness to share with him a taste of their culture. “You’re showing me who you are, and that is really special,” the man told Michelle. His words hit her so hard that she was moved to tears. The comments from that overjoyed diner are particularly poignant for the Baiks. For ten years, they owned the St. Peters sushi spot Blue Sea, always dreaming of opening a restaurant that would showcase the cuisine of their Korean homeland. They knew in their hearts that their food would be well received, but family circumstances prevented them from taking the leap. Instead, they spent their days and nights cooking Japanese food, and then made their way out of the restaurant business for a decade.
Now, twenty years after getting their start at Blue Sea, the Baiks are finally realizing their dream of bringing their unique take on Korean cuisine to St. Louis with Fire Chicken. Though Min has been developing the idea for decades, he really got serious about two years ago and began fleshing out ideas for how he wanted the restaurant to run. Conceived of way before the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we knew it, the restaurant has an ideal setup for dining in the current climate. Min always envisioned Fire Chicken as a delivery and carryout operation, and drawing upon his and Michelle’s experience in delivering food themselves, he made sure to set up his systems to be friendly to that way of dining. He and Michelle also take special care to know the ins and outs of every delivery platform they use, and they work closely with drivers to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Min spent just as much time developing his recipes, working — and, he laughs, fighting — with
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his family about getting the flavors just right. Though he takes traditional Korean dishes as a jumpingoff point, he insists Fire Chicken is not a traditional Korean restaurant. There is no kimchi on the menu, nor other dishes that you’d typically find at a Korean spot. Even the gangjung is different than what you’d typically find in Korea; there, the dish is served at room temperature, while his version is fried to order and piping hot. Min proves that a break with tradition can have delicious results. Reminiscent of a hot braised chicken found at American-style Chinese restaurants, the namesake Fire Chicken gangjung pairs nuggets of breaded chicken that are fried to a glorious golden crisp with a flaming-hot sweet soy sauce glaze spiked with red chiles and jalapeños. At its default spice level, the chicken is fiery even for this heat-lover. However, the layers of sweet, salt, spice and umami make it so flavorful the burn
APRIL 7-13, 2021
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