Recipe of the day: Korean fried chicken

You’ve heard of fried chicken and you have even heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), but prepare to fall in love with a new form of KFC – Korean fried chicken.

As the world’s borders begin to allow for more movement, it is not just people that get to travel. Culture, music, languages and even food are starting to travel the world, exposing more and more people to the things that others from foreign countries enjoy. 

Try this Korean fried chicken for yourself or your loved ones.

Ingredients for Korean fried chicken

• 1.4 kg whole chicken, cut into pieces or chicken wings/ drumsticks/ boneless chicken thigh (based on your preference)
• 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
• Korean fried chicken sauce
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce / ketchup
• 2 tbsp to 2 1/2 tbsp gochujang (korean chilli paste)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Optional – to garnish

• Roasted sesame seeds
• Green onion, finely chopped or shredded

*1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 cup = 250 ml

Daily hacks: How to debone chicken pieces

Method

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

2. In a deep saucepan (or frier), add a generous amount of oil and heat it until the oil temperature reaches 175 c (or boiling).

Start adding the battered chicken carefully and fry them until they cook (between 3 to 5 mins, depending on the size of the chicken). Do not overcrowd the pan.

The author of the recipe, Sue, advises using a grease splatter screen if you have one to minimise oil splatter.

Once ready, take out the fried chicken pieces and place them onto some kitchen paper or a paper towel 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 175 c / 347 f (or boiling).

Fry them until the batter is golden and crisp (the second time frying is shorter than the first time, 2 to 3 mins) then set them aside.

3. In a separate saucepan, add in the Korean fried chicken sauce ingredients (listed above). Heat the sauce over low to medium heat and stir well. Once it starts bubbling, remove the pan from the heat.

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.

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, but it won’t be as crunchy.

Side dishes to serve with Korean fried chicken include pickled radish, pickled cucumbers or stuffed bao buns. 

This recipe was found on mykoreankitchen.com