Korean Fried Chicken

One good thing about this quarantine-lockdown situation, is more cooking and eating all sorts of different things. during these times we seem to GRAVITATE towards comfort food.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1.4 kg / 3 pounds whole chicken, cut into pieces or chicken wings / drumsticks / boneless chicken thigh – choose from these based on your preference, rinsed

  • 2 Tbsp rice wine

  • 2 tsp minced ginger

  • 1 tsp fine sea salt

  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

  • 1 cup potato starch or corn starch

  • Some cooking oil for deep frying

  • 1/3 cup gochujang

  • 2 tbsp honey

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tsp rice vinegar

  • 1 tbsp water (might be needed to loosen up the sauce)

Method:

  1. In a bowl, place the chicken, rice wine, ginger, salt and black pepper. Combine them well. Then evenly coat the chicken with the starch and set side.

  2. In a deep saucepan (or frier) add a generous amount of oil and heat it until the oil temperature reaches 175 C / 347 F (or boiling). Start adding the battered chicken carefully and fry them until they cook (between 3 to 5 mins, depending on the size of chicken).

  3. Take out the done chicken and place them onto some kitchen paper while frying the remaining chicken pieces. Once the first set of deep frying is completed, quickly scoop out any floating debris from the oil using a skimmer. Then deep fry the chicken again when the oil temperature reaches 175C (347F). Fry them until the batter is golden and crisp. (The second time frying is shorter than the first time, 2 to 3 mins) Set aside. to be sure chicken is cooked, used a meat THERMOMETER and insert into the thickest part of the thigh or breast, temperature should read 75C (165F).

  4. In a small bowl mix the GOCHUJANG, honey, soy sauce and rice vinegar. if it is too thigh then add some water to loosen it up.

  5. Place the double fried chicken into a large mixing bowl then pour the fried chicken sauce over the chicken to coat. Mix them lightly and thoroughly. Alternatively, serve the fried chicken and the sauce separately and use the sauce as a dipping sauce.

  6. Once all the chicken is coated with the sauce, serve it hot immediately. Leftover chicken can be refrigerated for a day or two and eaten cold or warmed up in the oven but it won’t be as crispy.

sometimes you just crave fried chicken but also crave asian flavors, so here is the perfect combination. i had used the same sauce as for my cauliflower wing recipe so that was quite easy, but next time i will add a bit more GOCHUJANG so that it is a bit more spicy. i don’t often do deep frying as it isn’t so healthy and can get a bit messy but sometimes it is worth it. the skin was super crispy and the chicken was still very moist inside. but i am sure these will do just as well in the oven for a healthier option. i had served the fried chicken with a side of homemade kimchi and japchae, korean stir fried noodles. but you could also serve them with rice and some pickled vegetables. If you like spicy food and fried chicken then you should try this recipe.

cooking, chicken, koreanJackie Wongfried chicken, gochujangComment