I'm not a huge fan of wings, but I will gladly eat Korean fried chicken wings any day of the week. Slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and slightly spicy with extra crispy skin, I can gobble these wings right up (no pun intended). There are many, many Korean fried chicken recipes out there, but this particular recipe is the one that I've had success with more than once.
Korean Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lbs chicken drumsticks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup Korean rice syrup
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat frying oil to 325 degrees F.
- Combine salt, pepper, cornstarch, flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Season chicken with flour mixture, making sure to thoroughly coat all sides. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Fry chicken drumsticks until light brown in color about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Return chicken to the fryer and fry once more for another 10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat the sesame oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and saute until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients (rice syrup - rice vinegar) and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Toss the chicken in the sauce and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
This Korean fried chicken recipe can be used for wings or for drumsticks. Either way, the method is the same. Start by making the dry flour mixture. You can also substitute cornstarch for potato starch.
You may have noticed that we are frying the chicken twice. Yes, that's right, we're going to take the trouble to double fry them for extra crispiness. If you're using drumsticks, they may need longer in the fryer before they are done. Alternatively, you can fry the chicken for 10 minutes and finish them in the oven. If you're finishing them in the oven, cook the chicken at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until browned and the chicken juices run clear.
While the chicken is cooking, make the spicy Korean sauce. The sauce is very easy to put together and can be prepared ahead of time. If Korean rice syrup is too difficult to locate, you can use honey or corn syrup instead.
This recipe isn't exactly like the ones from the market that I purchase, but they are equally as tasty. The sauce reminds me of somewhat of a sweet and sour sauce. Korean hot pepper paste is actually sweet and only slightly spicy, which gives the sweet element to the sauce. Fortunately, these Korean fried chicken was gobbled up in minutes!
For more chicken inspiration check out this crispy Asian fried chicken with chili sauce!
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