To start in 2021, Shake Shack is going back in time with some new menu items that resemble a popular trend from the recent past.
Not 2020, thank goodness, but 2019, the year of the chicken sandwich.
Launched today and available until April 5 at all chain stores in the United States, the limited edition Korean-style “Fried Chick’n” menu from Shake Shack features a chicken sandwich featuring a glazed Gochujang breast covered with seeds of toasted sesame and served crunchy on top of white kimchi salad made with Kimchi de Choi.
The sandwich, which debuts alongside a menu that includes Korean-style chicken bites, Gochujang fries and a black sugar vanilla shake, is a slight variation on a South Korea Shake Shack offering, which has 14 locations in the country, launched in October last year.
The Shake Shack will serve Korean-style fried chicken from January 5.
Christine Han
The Gochujang menu that the company started offering in its South Korean locations in 2020 was actually inspired by a trip that the brand’s culinary team took to Seoul in 2015, according to Shake Shack’s culinary director, Mark Rosati.
During that trip, which took place a year before Shake Shack opened its first store in Seoul in 2016, Rosati “immediately fell in love” with the Korean fried chicken scene after receiving some tips from friends who have local food on where to eat something blogs of food.
“When Shake Shack enters a new market, we first explore the local culture and food scene, from unusual little places and hidden treasures to fine restaurants and everything,” Rosati told InsideHook. “The cooking team and I visited many fried chicken restaurants, from Hyodo Chicken, in the Changdum neighborhood, to Ungteori, in the Itaewon neighborhood, with the aim of delving into the different styles of fried chicken and learning what makes Seoul a iconic culinary city. “
Now, based on the way their taste buds were plagued during that trip and the success of the recent launch of the Gochujang menu in South Korea, American customers are getting a chance to sample a chicken sandwich with garlic and ginger root sauce that took a long time to perfect.
“Our Korean style Fried Chick’n went through about five iterations before we were really happy with it,” says Rosati. “We try to be careful along the way while experiencing various flavors and strive to achieve a balance between all elements. Our sauce is made with large amounts of fresh garlic and ginger mixed with gochujang icing, which gives an explosion of flavor and helps to eliminate the richness of fried chicken. The sauce was inspired by a similar garlic and ginger sauce from Jung-ong Sweet & Spicy Chicken in Seoul, which dates back to the 1970s ”.
In addition to bringing a sticky, spicy, sweet, umami and fermented Gochujang glaze to the United States, the limited edition menu shows how the Shake Shack, which had an open place in Dubai before having double-digit locations serving burgers in the U.S., is to embrace and show international flavors.
“Shake Shack has an extensive global presence with many unique menu items that we create for each of these locations, inspired and rooted in their local communities, just as we do here in the USA,” says Rosati. “We will continue to explore the possibility of bringing some of these menu items back home. Although ShackBurger is always a staple item on our menu, we take our guests’ comments seriously. We know that they are constantly looking for new menu items and flavors to try. We are always looking for ways to surprise Shack fans with fun and interesting food that we know they will love as much as we do. “
register here for our free daily newsletter.