Among the extensive list of things I miss about Korea, fried chicken is on the top of the list, I mean, besides ArtBox, Galbi, COEX, blistering-hot Goguma in the winter, real kimchi… I digress. Fine. I have K-town issues, but, just like the beautiful country, Korean fried chicken might just change your life.
You’ve been warned.
LET’S GET COOKIN’
INGREDIENTS
THE MARINADE
- fresh ginger
- sesame oil
- buttermilk
- green onions
THE DREDGE
- AP flour
- granulated garlic
- ground ginger
- cayenne
THE GOCHUJJANG SAUCE
- soy sauce
- chili oil
- gochujjang chili powder
- cayenne powder
- garlic powder
- sesame oil
- sugar
- corn starch
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep your marinade by peeling and grating your ginger, cutting your green onions to 1-inch lengths, and tossing everything in a bowl or gallon Ziploc bag.
This marinade will infuse your chicken with tender goodness and should not be skipped unless you enjoy eating cardboard or powdery chicken meat.
Let that chicken sleep in your fridge overnight.
Put your oil in a medium sauce pan and set to medium high. Use your candy thermometer to check the temperature. It’ll take a good 10-15-minutes for the oil to reach temp [350F/176C], so… do a couple of quick burpees just to keep the blood pumping and your focus razor sharp.
Top Tip: Oil and fire = more fire. DO NOT OVERHEAT YOUR OIL. DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR PAN. There should be at least four-inches of space from the top of your oil to your pan’s rim.
In a separate bowl, sift your “dredge” ingredients together. Next, use tongs and shake the excess marinade from your chicken. DO NOT RINSE YOUR CHICKEN! WATER + HOT OIL = BAD THINGS. Dredge your shaken chicken buy pulling it through your seasoned flour mix.
Top Tip: Pay attention to how you are grasping the chicken with your tongs. If you’ve got 3/4 of the chicken covered with your tongs… that’s 3/4 of your chicken that won’t get a glorious, crispy coating.
Gently place marinated and dredged chicken in oil at 350*F. This is a rowdy bath, so wear an apron. RESIST THE URGE TO TOSS CHICKEN INTO OIL FROM ACROSS THE KITCHEN. It’s chicken, not a grenade.
When chicken is golden brown (usually 5-8-minutes per piece [depending on if the fried chicken has bones in it or not]), remove from oil with tongs and place it on a wire rack. I pull my rack from my oven and place over a cookie sheet.
Once about 3/4 of your chicken is fried, start your Gochujjang sauce. Remember: this sauce is about to blow your mind, so don’t rush it. You only get to taste this for the first time once. You lucky duck.
Combine all ingredients in saucepan and whisk on medium low heat until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Coat your fried chicken in Gochujjang sauce by spooning some over both sides. And now, it’s officially Korean fried chicken. Well, I mean, after you garnish it with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
I dare you to only eat one piece of your Korea fried chicken.
EQUIPMENT
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
Do I have to marinate the chicken?
Overnight? Not necessarily. You can double the salt in the marinade and cut the time down from “overnight” to four-hours, but I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND altogether skipping the marinade. I never cook any pork, chicken, or turkey without first brining or marinating them.
Can I use the “fry” setting on my AirFryer?
If you can get crispy “fried” chicken from your AirFryer, then save the oil and go crazy! I’d sprinkle some salt on your chicken after they’re air-fried, just because you’ll be missing some flavor from the oil.
Can I reduce the sugar or substitute maple syrup?
Totally! A 1/2 cup of maple syrup should do you just fine instead of the cup of sugar. I’ve yet to use another sugar substitute like Monkfruit, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
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Korean Fried Chicken
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3-lbs of pure perfection 1x
Description
Sweet. Spicy. Mind-blowing. This is the Korean fried chicken you’ve been looking for.
Ingredients
1-deboned chicken (bone-in), or 3 lbs (1.3 kg) of your choice chicken meat (you want skin on and bone-in, because we’re frying it). [Here’s how I disassemble a chicken.]
THE MARINADE
- 2 TBS (30 ml) grated fresh ginger
- 2 TBS (30 ml) sesame oil
- 1 TSP (5 ml) kosher salt
- 2 C (480 ml) buttermilk
- 1 bunch green onions
THE DREDGE
- 2 C (480 ml) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp (5 ml) fine salt
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cayenne
THE GOCHUJJANG SAUCE
- 2 TBS (30 ml) soy sauce
- 2 TBS (30 ml) chili oil
- 4 TBS (60 ml) gochujjang chili powder
- 1 tsp (5 ml) cayenne powder
- 2 tsp (10 ml) garlic powder
- 2 TBS (30 ml) sesame oil
- 1 TBS (15 ml) grated fresh ginger
- 1 C (240 ml) sugar
- 2 TBS (30 ml) corn starch
- 1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt
- 1/4 C (60 ml) water
FOR THE FRYING
- 4–6 cups high-heat oil
Instructions
- Prep your marinade by peeling and grating your ginger, cutting your green onions to 1-inch lengths, and combining everything in a bowl or gallon Ziploc bag.
- Add your chicken to the marinade. Give it a good shake (or stir before you cover it).
- Let sit overnight in refrigerator
- Put your oil in a medium sauce pan and set to medium high. Use your candy thermometer to check the temperature. It’ll take a good 10-15-minutes for the oil to reach temp. [350*F/176*C]
- Take your chicken out. Sift your dredge ingredients together in a separate bowl.
- When oil reaches temp, use tongs to pull chicken from marinade. Shake off excess before dredging in flour mixture. SLOWLY place in oil at 350*F.
- Once about 3/4 of your chicken is fried, start your Gochujjang sauce. Combine all ingredients in saucepan and whisk on medium low heat until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat.
- Coat Korean fried chicken in Gochujjang sauce by spooning some over both sides. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
- Try to stop yourself from eating a whole Korea fried chicken.
EQUIPMENT
Notes
DO NOT OVERFILL THE OIL IN YOUR PAN!
DO NOT “CLOSE-ENOUGH” YOUR OIL TEMPERATURE!
Frying is dangerous. Be careful. Be smart. Use your candy thermometer to get accurate oil readings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: Korean Fried Chicken, Fried Chicken Recipe, Asian Fried Chicken, Korean Chicken Recipe
