Once I pulled as much as the Panda Specific drive-thru window, the girl manning it didn’t say “howdy.” As an alternative, she mentioned one thing even higher: “That is one of the best rooster dish ever.”
The dish she was referring to — and promptly handed to me — was the chain’s new Buldak Dynamite Candy & Bitter Hen. I wished to answer, “Um, have you ever heard about your Orange Hen?” However I used to be too rooster to say it, and moreover, she may need had a degree. I hadn’t tried it but. This new entrée could possibly be Panda Specific’ finest rooster dish. So is it?
Not fairly. However it’s up there.
Buldak, a well-liked Korean sizzling sauce model, has just lately been ramming its means onto retailer cabinets like a bull by a pink cape. You’ve in all probability seen the potato chips, frozen meals, and — in fact — the ramen noodles. I’d by no means tried it with something earlier than. However I do know that when Panda Specific creates one thing candy and savory, there’s an excellent likelihood it’ll be value consuming.
Buldak Dynamite Candy & Bitter Hen continues Panda Specific’ development — established with its Firecracker Hen and Firecracker Shrimp — of pairing bell peppers and onions with dishes named after issues that explode. The crispy rooster breast chunks are tossed in a Buldak sizzling sauce mix, and I used to be additionally handed a Buldak Authentic Sizzling Sauce packet on the aspect, for, I dunno, masochistic functions.
So, how was my first expertise with something Buldak? It was Buldaaaang — scrumptious, however holy hell it’s spicy.
Many of the warmth comes from the sauce the rooster is tossed in. From what I’ve learn, that is presupposed to be Panda’s spiciest dish ever, and I believe that declare is perhaps right. There’s a powerful sweetness and a little bit of tanginess, too, however neither does a lot to mood the warmth. Fluids had been popping out of locations the place fluids normally come out after I eat actually spicy meals, and midway by, the again of my mouth went barely numb. I’m pretty sure my digestive system will complain in just a few hours. That is undoubtedly a dish that calls for one thing chilly and refreshing close by. But regardless of all of the burning, its taste nonetheless made me wish to eat extra.
I assumed twice about including the additional Buldak sauce packet, not wanting to start out hallucinating from the warmth. However I’m glad I did as a result of it added a savory, umami-rich rooster taste — the type you get from a rooster bouillon dice or chicken-flavored ramen packet — that elevated the dish to a stage that made it even more durable to cease consuming regardless of the punishment. Curiously, the additional sauce didn’t noticeably enhance the warmth, simply the flavour.
As anticipated, the wok-tossed greens nonetheless had some snap, including a contemporary factor that provided transient aid from the spice. The rooster’s coating loses most of its crispiness with all that sauce, however actually, the warmth will make you overlook about that fairly shortly.
Panda Specific’ Buldak Dynamite Candy & Bitter Hen is a memorable dish — each for its distinctive, scrumptious taste and for the very actual bodily penalties that comply with. It hurts so good that I wish to harm once more.
Bought Value: $10.30
Dimension: Bowl
Score: 8 out of 10
Diet Details: (5.7 ounces) 400 energy, 3 grams of saturated fats, 44 grams of carbohydrates, and 17 grams of protein. Different vitamin numbers weren’t obtainable on the Panda Specific web site.
