Korean Fried Chicken

I adore fried chicken, whether it's nuggets of chicken 65, a leg or two chopped up on a mee goreng in Malaysia or even a KFC (sorry chickens). I think the crisp coating is the perfect way to pep up what can be an underwhelming meat. With fried chicken the light flavour of the bird works perfectly, adding the texture that all meat eaters love whilst allowing whatever is on the outside to shine, and let's admit it - the coating is the high point.

With this in mind when I heard of the double-frying method of Korean Fried Chicken - the first rendering fat from the skin, the second crisping up - that left the skin delicate and thin and with crunch that didn't go, I had to find a recipe and give it a try.  Add to this a fiery sauce, packed with flavour from the fermentation of the chilli, and it stayed on the to-do list for far less time than most dishes.  I read a few American websites, where it seems to be a popular dish, and played with them until I got this, whether it's traditional I don't know but it is damn tasty.

There's one slightly awkward to get ingredient in this and that is the aforementioned Korean fermented chili sauce, or gochujang, and unfortunately it's the main ingredient in the sauce.  It was easy enough to find in London though (in the Korean section upstairs in Gerrard Street's New Loon Moon), or you can buy it online and according to this you can even make it.  It really is worth trying to get some as the flavour is quite distinctive, although if you're more fussed about trying the crunch than the sauce I guess you could try using sriracha instead but the taste won't be the same. Alternatively just cook the wings using this method and dip them in whatever sauce you fancy.

Korean Fried Chicken

1kg - 1.25kg of chicken wings

Plain flour to dust

Batter

1/2 cup plain flour

1 TB cornflour

1 cup water

1/2 ts salt

Sauce

1.5 to 2 TB gochujang

1 TB light soy sauce

1 ts sesame oil

2 ts rice vinegar

1 ts sugar

1 clove of garlic

Method

For the sauce grind the garlic to a paste with the back of a knife, a pinch of salt helps here.  Mix this with all the other sauce ingredients and you're done.

Next off you need to prepare the wings. I may make myself look like a bit of an idiot here but I always wondered where fried chicken shops got those tiny little drumsticks from, I thought the chickens they came from must have been tiddly to walk around on such stumpy legs.  It was only whilst preparing these that I realised they were part of the wing and suddenly the talk of Korean fried chicken aficionados ordering upper- or lower-wing made perfect sense.  If like me you've never prepared a chicken wing this photo may help, and it clears up the stumpy leg confusion too.

Once the wings are split you can chuck the tips, or save them for stock, then take the upper and lower wings and dust with flour, shaking well in a sieve to leave only the finest dusting.

Mix the batter ingredients into a thin batter then coat the wings in it, again shaking to remove excess - it's all about a delicate coating here.  Once this is done fry in 150C oil for 8 minutes.

Remove into a sieve and - you guessed it - shake vigorously to remove any lose bits, Korean chicken doesn't have the spare batter that southern fried chicken does.

Turn the heat up and let the oil reach 180C then fry the wings for another 3-4 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

Remove the wings and drain well on kitchen paper then place into big bowl with the sauce, tossing until the wings are thinly coated all over.

Eat.

Comments

[catty]

Korean fried chicken is one of the best things EVER invented. In the US i cannot get enough of Kyochon!! :)

[Leluu]

I always see Korean Fried Chicken everywhere on Seoul and never tried it! Stupid me!
I think I am going past there in the Spring and will indulge.

I can't believe you thought the wing bit was a stumpy leg! haha

[Joshua Armstrong]

Catty - I'm yet to try the real thing, not sure I'm due in Korea or the US soon either

Leluu - definitely try it. You're not in Korea so much now though are you? Re: stumpy legs I'm a simple man at times.

[Su-Lin]

Deep frying is terrible in my flat as it stinks it out for at least 2 days. I might make up the sauce though and apply it to bought fried wings!

[Paul]

This looks fantastic, I will be stealing this WHOLESALE to eat at home :^)

[Jools Cyprien]

Sounds good I make a similar dish but use a Thai red curry paste to coat. But defo going to give this a go now. Like the stumpy chicken story as well.

[Mr Noodles]

You can't beat a bit of fried chicken, and yours looks damn tasty. On a related point, I would add Japanese kara-age to your fried chicken hall of fame!

[Annick]

Any Korean market in Golders Green has gochujang, but the best market for selection is KMart, right by the tube/bus station. Plus, you can dine on their kimbap while you browse.

[Liz]

I know you'll think this is heresy, but I'm going to veganise this because I adore gochujang. Did you just eat it as a snack or did you serve it with something? I can't decide what.

[Joshua Armstrong]

Su-Lin - luckily we have a separate kitchen although it has no windows so it can get a bit smelly in there, I just shut the door to save the rest of the flat though.

Paul - glad you like it

Jools - I'm going to look into different recipes and like the idea of marinating some flavour into the chicken first

Mr Noodles (I keep forgetting your real name) - I've just added a fried chicken category to the blog and I'm going to add some more to the current southern fried, chicken 65 and korean. Kara-age will definitely be one of them, as will buffalo wings.

Annick - didn't realise there was a Korean presence in Golder's Green, thanks for the heads up.

Liz - Gochujang is great isn't it. I'm falling in love with Korean food and it is one of the main reasons why. Veganize away, I imagine it'd be good on some firm tofu. I just ate it as a snack.

[P Broddy]

What about Korean restaurants in London, have you sampled many?

The Bi Bam Bap at Dotori in Finsbury Park is amazing.

[Joshua Armstrong]

Only been getting into it recently but in the last couple of months have been to two of the row behind Centre Point. Didn't know they existed until a couple of months back though.

Will have to check out Finsbury Park, pretty convenient for us really.

[Michael Toa]

I love wings! They're my favourite parts of chicken after the thighs. I'm gonna make this today and I cannot wait.
Have a great weekend.