Recipe: Korean Fried Chicken

Fried chicken and beer are the traditional way to cap off a Thursday night in Seoul. Try out Shahir’s take on Korean Fried Chicken, aka KFC. We promise it will be the crispiest chicken around!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken drums and thighs, skin on, bone in
• 1-2 cups vegetable or peanut oil for frying

Coating (divide in half):

• 1 ½ cups cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups white rice flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar

Slurry:

• Half of coating mixture
• ¾-1 cup water

Sauce:

• ½ cup gojuchang (fermented Korean red pepper paste)
• 3 tbsp kimchi juice (from kimchi jar)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Pinch of Korean chili flakes

Preparation

Mix coating ingredients together and divide in half. Toss chicken wings with half of mixture in a large bowl. Shake off excess flour, lay out coated wings on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and a rack. Air chill for 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge, uncovered. Preheat oven to 400F. 

Add oil to a high sided frying pan, it should be 1 inch high. Heat over medium heat until it reaches 375F. Mix slurry ingredients together, it should have the pouring texture of heavy cream. Dip chicken in slurry, shake off batter so just a thin layer exists.

Transfer to hot oil with a slotted spoon or tongs. Do not crowd chicken in pan. Fry chicken 5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Return chicken to baking pan with the rack on it. When all of the chicken has been fried, bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.

Mix together all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heat through, about 5 minutes. Brush chicken with a thin layer of sauce right before serving. Garnish with green onion, sesame seeds and Korean radishes.