Gugen – Blazing K-BBQ Chicken Flavored Snack
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Sweet, spicy, bright, fruity
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Very crispy
Ingredients: WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, PALM OLEIN OIL, CORN OIL, SPICY CURRY SEASONING (SOYBEAN, BARLEY), CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP, SALT, AMMONIUM HYDROGEN CARBONATE, GLUCOSE, BAKING POWDER (SODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE, CORN STARCH, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM LACTATE), SODIUM BICARBONATE SWEETENER (DEXTRIN, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM).
I saw these on the shelf of the local Asian grocery store and was intrigued. I’d previously tried the same brand’s garlic butter pretzels and found them great (though not even pretending to be spicy so I didn’t bother to write them up for this website). Gugen appears to be a South Korean brand and according to the back of the bag these are indeed a product of South Korea. As a fan of both Korean BBQ and Korean Fried Chicken I decided I’d give these a go.
I have to say that these have about the most chemistry-textbook looking ingredients list I can recall seeing in a long time. It starts off easily enough with what flour, sugar, and oil but then after the non-detailed “spicy curry seasoning” we see ammonium hydrogen carbonate. This was a new one for me but looking it up it actually has a fascinating history. Known as “baker’s ammonia” and also “salt of hartshorn” it’s an old leavening agent often used in the leavening of low-rise flat baked goods. While it’s been replaced by baking soda in most cases it’s still popular in Scandinavia for traditional baked goods. Apparently it also has the benefit of decomposing into entirely gaseous products so doesn’t leave behind any residue like baking powder and soda can. A commercial baking powder that differs from the home use version comes next then baking soda and then finally some artificial sweeteners (though these also contain a number of natural sugars and syrups as well). Needless to say I expected these to be quite crispy with all of the leavening agents and indeed they are. They’re also very cute in the form of little chicken drumsticks.
The baffling bit about these is the name. While chicken is popular in Korean BBQ, it’s typically not fried chicken in that setting as shown on the label. Buldak (from which the popular instant ramen was inspired) or literally “fire chicken” is a popular Korean BBQ dish of chicken bits cooked on a flat top grill covered in a spicy sauce, often with potatoes, cabbage or kimchi, and rice cakes, and often covered in cheese. It’s absolutely delicious and well worth trying if you ever see it on a menu. Korean fried chicken on the other hand can have a number of different flavor bases though one of the most popular, yangyeom, does have a similar spice blend to Buldak, though typically yangyeom is a bit sweeter. Both yangyeom and buldak have a sauce made from gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste), gochugaru (Korean dried chiles), and garlic though other ingredients such as green onions, malt syrup, soy sauce, or even sprite can make appearances. In terms of flavor these seem to drift more towards yangyeom with a distinct sweet and spicy vibe. They do have a little bit of a kick as well, about the same as Andy Capp’s Hot Fries or your typical hot chip, so mild overall but still something noticeable as heat. There’s also something savory and a bit umami about them. I don’t see any glutamate powders in the ingredients but the seasoning is listed as having soy so that’s likely where it’s coming from.
Super-crispy, sweet, and a bit spicy these are pretty addictive and a flavor you don’t get an exact replica of in US based snacks. You could think of these are being almost a brighter fruitier flavored BBQ flavor but even that isn’t exactly right. I’ll happily recommend these if you happen to stumble across a bag, especially if you love Korean fried chicken or KBBQ buldak.
