Cycle 15 – Item 340

10 (Tue) December 2024

Chicken Marsala

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Prior to today, chicken marsala has only been featured once on GMTD, 7 years ago, in Manila (see generally 8.333 Chicken Marsala).  Beyond that, I can’t recall ever having the dish at any point in my life.  (I encountered veal marsala on a trip to Geneva, but the post doesn’t describe and I don’t remember anything about it (see generally 8.049 Veal Marsala).)

Italian-American-style chicken and mushroom dishes are current staples in the home rotation these days (see most recently 15.105 Chicken & Mushrooms), but it’s a very recent thing, starting about a year ago (see generally 14.314 Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken).

All of which seems impossible, given my penchant for Italian food, for chicken, for mushrooms, for pan gravies.

Because chicken/veal marsala is an Italian-American dish, it would seem to be just as legit when made with American marsala rather than the original Marsala wine from Italy.

Marsala wine is virtually non-existent in Korea, but Number One Fan LJY graciously and heroically brought me a bottle on her recent trip (along with hot sauces) (see generally 15.307 The Hot Ones Season 25).

My first attempt, the chicken marsala was very good.  Essentially the same as my standard chicken & mushroom dish, with richer flavor.  But perhaps too intense, I used 1 cup of wine + 2 cups of chicken stock for the sauce, resulting in a slightly overpowering bittersweetness – next time: 1/2 cup wine + 2.5 cups stock.  The shiitakes were also a tad bitter.  And the garlic chives, in lieu of parsley, were too strong as a raw garnish.  A very promising start, all around.

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

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