I am just as likely to reach for gochujang as crushed red pepper flakes when layering heat into marinara sauce for chicken parm. Gochujang goes beyond spiciness—its deeply fermented soybean flavor adds exceptional funk and reminds me of Korean buldak, or fire chicken.
The key to dramatic chicken parm is in its size. Skip store-bought chicken breast cutlets, which are thin but very small, and instead start with larger boneless breasts that you can butterfly yourself. Plastic wrap and a meat mallet are decisive advantages when pounding them out since they allow for great control and getting the meat as thin as possible while avoiding tears. Even if the meat does start to shred in places, don’t worry, as once it is breaded and cooked, nobody else will know.