Book your flights now, the chizza, now with Korean bulgogi, is coming back to KFC Japan.
You may remember The Chizza. The pizza-chicken hybrid — pizza toppings on a fried chicken base — made headlines last year when KFC Japan added the limited-time item to the menu. It was a massive success, so it’s no surprise that KFC is bringing it back to stores around Japan. Sometimes, God is good.
For its triumphant return, the chizza is also taking some culinary cues from Japan’s neighbor to the west. The new and improved chizza will feature a Korean dish called bulgogi as a specialty topping. Bulgogi, which is massively popular in Korea, is essentially thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled or barbecued.
Chizzas also come topped with spinach, mayonnaise, hot peppers and “a generous serving of melted cheese.”
And Japan isn’t the only country to enjoy the pleasures of the chizza. In February, Business Insider reported KFC in the Philippines was selling chizzas with “chicken ham,” “signature KFC Cheese Sauce,” mozzarella and pineapple chunks. (Unfortunately, the execution and the reception in the Philippines was not what it was in Japan.)
It’s also been spotted in Singapore, according to the A.V. Club. All in all, the chizza has been in the Asian market, on and off, since 2015.
As for America, it’s unclear if or when KFC will ever debut the chizza stateside. Still, it’s a somewhat straightforward recipe — bulgogi not included — so you could, hypothetically, try to make it at home. Buy (or make, if you’re super ambitious) fried chicken breasts (for relative flatness). Top with the toppings of your choice and then melt in the oven, maybe using the broiler. The key, of course, will be to maintain maximum chicken crispiness.
If you do succeed in creating a chizza and home, please do report back.