Korean Fried Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken is a spicy, sweet, crunching dish that is absolutely addictive!

Course Chicken and Turkey, Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword dinner, KFC, korean, lunch

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings Servings

Calories 635kcal

Author Barb

Ingredients

For the Fried Chicken

1 cup buttermilk or one cup milk with the juice of one fresh lemon, stir well
3 pounds chicken legs with bone-in or a 3 lb chicken, cut up
2 tablespoons rice wine I didn't have any so used Mirin
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup corn starch
1 cup flour
Cooking oil for deep frying I use a combination of vegetable oil and peanut oil

For the Sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons gochujang Korean chilli paste, add 1/2 Tbsp more to make it spicier
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil

For Garnish (optional)

Toasted sesame seeds
Green onion chopped

Instructions

Combine the rice wine or mirin, ginger, salt and black pepper in a bowl; mix well. Add the chicken and coat.
Put the flour and cornstarch into a bag, shake to mix, and add the chicken pieces one at a time; shake the bag to cover all the pieces. Dip the chicken into the buttermilk, let drain and then coat again with the dry mixture.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, add about 1/2" of oil and heat it until the oil temperature reaches 350 F and sizzling. Add the battered chicken carefully, skin side down. Do not crowd. It will not be completely covered with the oil.
Keep heat at medium to medium high just enough that the oil is always bubbling and cook for 10 minutes, making sure not to burn the coating.
Turn the chicken over, skin side up, cover the pan but allow the steam to vent and cook for another 10 minutes.
Check for doneness; fried dark meat can cook as high as 175-180 for fall off the bone meat, white meat needs to come out at 165 degrees.
Turn up the heat a bit and continue to fry for just a minute per side to make sure the skin is crispy. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.
In a medium saucepan, combine all of the Korean fried chicken sauce ingredients. Heat the sauce over medium low heat and stir well. Once it starts bubbling, remove the pan from the heat.
Place the 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. Serve immediately; it's best when hot.
Garnish if desired with toasted sesame seeds and green onion.

Notes

I use a grease splatter screen to keep the oil IN the pan or pot.

Leftover chicken is best if it is not coated with sauce before being put into fridge. It can be refrigerated for a day or two. Warm it in an oven or toaster oven for approximately 6-8 minutes to keep the coating crunchy and then top with the sauce.

Nutrition