Name: Korean Fried Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 900g (2 lbs) chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces; 4 tsp fine sea salt; 4 tsp ground black pepper; 2 tbsp garlic powder; 2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry; 260g (2 cups) cornflour (corn starch); FOR THE SAUCE; 2 ½ tbsp gochujang; 1 tbsp dried red chilli flakes (optional); 2 tbsp cider vinegar; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tbsp honey; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 4 tbsp rice wine or sherry; 3 tbsp garlic, minced; 2 tbsp sesame oil; TO GARNISH; 4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced; 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

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Sweet and spicy Korean fried chicken is amazing and easy to make too.

This is a hugely popular way to serve chicken in South Korea. Korean fried chicken or dakgangjeong is delicious and so easy to make. In fact the cooking can all be done in one wok!

If you’ve tried Korean fried chicken before, you know how good it is. If not, try it! This is the real deal.

So easy to make. Give this delicious Korean fried chicken a try.

Make this sweet and spicy Korean fried chicken your own…

I tend to add quite a lot more chilli flakes to the sauce as I like spicy food. You will have to decide your own spice preferences.

Taste the sauce and be sure to adjust the ingredients to taste before adding the fried chicken. You might want to add more sugar or soy sauce for example. Use this recipe as a guide and don’t hesitate to adjust to taste.

Working ahead…

Although it’s best to cook everything right before serving, you could cheat a bit.

If you would like to fry the chicken a couple of days ahead of time, you can. Then just heat the sauce up in the wok over a medium heat and allow the chicken to heat through before serving.

I find that it is a lot easier to prepare everything before actually cooking. The sauce ingredients, for example can be mixed a couple of days ahead of cooking too.

My Tips…

Korean fried chicken is best when the chicken is super crispy. This is one reason why I recommend frying the chicken right before stirring it into the sauce.

It is important to ensure that the oil is the correct temperature. This means maintaining an oil temperature of 175c/350. So be sure to cook the chicken in batches. If you add too much at one time, your oil will cool down and your chicken will become soggy.

Once fried, your Korean fried chicken should rest on a rack so that any excess oil can drip. Don’t use paper towels as the oil has no place to drip.

Step by step…

Dust the marinated chicken pieces with the flour mixture. Be sure to shake off the excess flour.

Heat the oil to 175c/350f. If you don’t have a thermometer, just stick some wooden skewers or chopstick in. If it bubbles, your oil is ready.

Fry in batches! If you add too much chicken, your oil will cook down and you will be left with soggy chicken instead of crispy.

Fry for about 5 minutes or until crispy and cooked through.

Place the fried chicken on a rack so that the excess oil drips and the chicken stays nice and crispy.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together until smooth.

Once the chicken is all fried, it’s time to heat the sauce. I recommend doing this right before serving.

Adding fried chicken to Korean sweet and sour sauce

Add the chicken to the sauce in batches. Then stir it all into the sauce. Adding the chicken in batches makes it easier to coat evenly.

Once nicely coated, you can add the sesame seeds and spring onions (scallions)

It doesn’t get much better than this!

Dig in!

If you like this Korean fried chicken recipe, you might also enjoy some of these…

Chicken 65
Chinese Sesame Chicken
Chicken Rendang
Beef Rendang

Yield: 4

Korean Fried Chicken

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

900g (2 lbs) chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
4 tsp fine sea salt
4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
260g (2 cups) cornflour (corn starch)
FOR THE SAUCE
2 ½ tbsp gochujang
1 tbsp dried red chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice wine or sherry
3 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp sesame oil
TO GARNISH
4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Whisk half of the salt, pepper and garlic powder together with the Chinese rice wine to make the marinade. Add the chicken and mix well with your hands ensuring the chicken pieces are evenly coated with the marinade.
Allow to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish or overnight. The longer the chicken rests in the marinade the better.
When ready to fry, heat a large wok about one third full with rapeseed (canola) or peanut oil and bring to 175c/350f over medium high heat. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can check that the oil is hot enough by placing a chopstick or wooden skewer in the oil. If bubbles form around the chopstick instantly, your oil is hot enough.
Meanwhile, pour the flour onto a plate and add the remaining salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then dust each piece of chicken with the flour mixture.
Be sure to shake off any excess flour. Cooking in small batches, place a few
pieces of the chicken in the hot oil and fry for about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer each batch of fried chicken to a rack to soak up any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
With all the chicken fried, it’s time to make the sauce. Discard or strain the cooking oil into a container for future frying and wipe the wok clean. Stir in the sauce ingredients. It is easiest mix the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl beforehand but these can be added directly to the wok if it's more convenient for you.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and then add the fried chicken. I usually add the chicken to the sauce in batches too as it is easier to ensure that it is all equally coated. Ensure that they chicken is heated through and then add the toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onions
(scallions) to serve.
I like to serve Korean fried chicken with plain white rice.