Korean fried chicken, sometimes known as “candy chicken,” is renowned for its rich, sweet-and-spicy sauce and its seductively crispy surface. Korean fried chicken, which has gained popularity recently, originated during the Korean War when African-American soldiers stationed in South Korea brought with them a fondness for the soul cuisine staple deep-fried chicken.
The recipes changed during the ensuing decades, and they reached their peak in popularity during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when high unemployment rates prompted many unemployed people to open up their own fried chicken businesses in order to make a living.
When prepared properly, these cornstarch-battered, sauce-glazed wings become so crispy that, if you’re feeling daring, the bones even become crunchy enough to eat. This recipe employs a few cunning techniques to achieve the best texture results.
A thin coating of cornflour and baking powder. The chicken skin reacts with the tiny amount of baking powder to increase its surface area, which subsequently blisters in the hot frying oil and gives the food a crispier texture. Don’t use baking soda instead, as your wings can have an overpowering and disagreeable alkaline aftertaste.
Double-frying at a regulated temperature. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, don’t worry; your wings will still be delicious. However, it will be quite beneficial in this recipe if you do. We submerge the wings in a low-temperature first fry while gently par-cooking the meat to maintain its tenderness. The major objective of this step is to prepare the skin for the succeeding, quick-and-dirty fry, so it will only slightly crisp up. To crisp the skin as soon as possible without overcooking the entire wing, the second fry is significantly shorter and is heated much higher.
As long as they are not skinless, you can instead use leg, thigh, or even breast flesh in place of the specified cuts in this recipe. The cooking procedure may proceed more quickly than the recommended cooking times if you use boneless or smaller pieces of chicken.
Feel free to use fewer dried chilies if you prefer because these bites have a mild capsaicin kick. However, if you appreciate your adrenaline rush as much as I do, please enjoy the hot and sweet trip.
For a dinner that is well-rounded, serve these hot wings with a serving of sticky rice and a dish of sweet and savoury grilled broccoli.
If you have any leftovers, you may keep them in the fridge for up to 4-5 days in an airtight container. You can reheat these in the oven or an air fryer, but keep in mind that the texture of the fried chicken will never be quite the same as when it is freshly cooked.
HOW TO MAKE KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN:
MAIN
Whole chicken weighing 1.4 kg (3 pounds), chopped into pieces, or boneless chicken thighs, wings, or drumsticks, as desired, rinsed
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 teaspoon minced ginger
One teaspoon of sea salt
Black pepper, ground, 12 tsp.
one cup of cornflour or potato starch
a little deep-frying oil (I used rice bran oil)
KOREAN SAUCE FOR FRIED CHICKEN
3 Tbsp of ketchup or tomato sauce
1 to 2 Tbsp Gochujang, a Korean chilli paste, 1/2 tbsp.
Honey, 1/4 cup
quarter cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
TO GARNISH IS OPTIONAL.
using this instrument, carefully chop or shred green onions and roasted sesame seeds. *1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml.
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE:
Combine the chicken with the rice wine, ginger, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Blend them thoroughly. After that, evenly spread the starch over the chicken and set it aside.
(To achieve the look in the picture below, dip each piece of chicken into the bowl of starch, roll it around a little, then remove it and set it aside.)
Making the batter for Korean fried chicken:
Place a large amount of oil in a deep pan (or frier) and heat it until the oil reaches 175 C (347 F) (or boiling). Beginning with a little amount, carefully add the coated chicken and fry it for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. Avoid packing the pan too full. (If you have a grease spatter screen, you might find it handy to use it. It’s quite useful. Oil spatter is minimised.)
While continuing to fry the remaining chicken pieces, remove the cooked chicken and set it onto some kitchen paper. Once the initial round of deep frying is finished, remove any floating debris from the oil as soon as possible using a skimmer. When the oil reaches 175 C/347 F (or boiling), deep fried the chicken once more.
Until the batter is golden and crisp, fry them. (Frying takes 2 to 3 minutes less the second time than the first.) Place aside.
frying chicken in a big pot twice as deep 2. Add the ingredients for the Korean fried chicken sauce (described above) to a different pot. Over low to medium heat, thoroughly whisk the sauce. When it begins to bubble, turn off the heat and remove the pan.
Put the double-fried chicken in a sizable mixing bowl, and then cover it with the fried chicken sauce. Lightly and completely combine them. Alternately, you can serve the fried chicken alone with the sauce as a dipping sauce.
Serve the chicken hot right away after coating it completely with sauce. A day or two of refrigeration will allow leftover chicken to be eaten cold. It won’t, though, be as crispy.
Frequently served alongside Korean fried chicken as a side dish are pickled cucumbers and pickled radish. If you have fried chicken, this will assist you get rid of the greasy taste.
