Korean Fried Chicken is my sweet and spicy addiction. I fell in love with KFC in San Francisco. It was easily our favorite take out item and after a long week. There was nothing better than getting a couple orders from San Tung Restaurant. It was delicious comfort takeout food. They’re sticky, savory, and sweet with just enough heat. But since we no longer live in San Francisco and Korean Fried Chicken is in short supply in Montana, I have to make my own. Which isn’t a bad thing because this recipe is delicious.
The key ingredient here is gochujang sauce which is a fermented red chili paste, it’s savory, sweet and spicy. You can typically find this in your Asian aisle of your grocery store.
I start by marinating the chicken in a little bit of the sauce with kosher salt, ground garlic, and ginger. This will tenderize it a little and allow the flour coating to adhere a little better. I use it in the sauce for the heat, but it really gives it more a savory factor. I use sambal chili garlic paste for the real heat and the brown sugar gives it a sticky sweetness.
Traditionally, you find KFC made with chicken wings, but I like using chicken thighs. Either one would work though. Garnish with what you like, sesame seeds, green onion, I like cilantro or even red jalapeno for a little extra heat. This recipe is not for the faint of heart. I’m not going to lie, it’s for spicy food lovers like me.
Now the Koreans like to drink this with beer, but I personally will drink this with a cold flute of bubbles. So break out the champagne and let’s have some Korean Fried Chicken!
Korean Fried Chicken
When frying always use a candy/frying thermometer to monitor your oil temperature.
Ingredients
- 4 whole Chicken Thighs, skinless and boneless, quartered into bite size pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch
- Canola Oil, for frying
- For the Sauce
- 2 tablepsoons Gochujang Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sambal Chili Garlic Sauce
- 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- Green Onion, Cilantro, and Red Jalapeno {optional} chopped for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Combine chicken thighs, kosher salt, garlic powder, ground ginger, and gochujang sauce together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight to marinate.
- Step 2 In a large cast iron skillet, pour oil to 1 1/2 inches deep and heat to 350 degrees F. Use a frying thermometer to monitor the temperature.
- Step 3 In a plastic resealable bag combine flour and cornstarch. Remove chicken from the fridge and work in batches adding a few pieces at a time to the bag, seal, and shake to coat. Remove with tongs and shake off excess and fry for 3 minutes per side until crispy and golden brown. Remove chicken to a paper towel lined sheet pan and repeat steps until all chicken is fried.
- Step 4 In a saucepan whisk together gochujang, sambal sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened.
- Step 5 Add fried chicken to a bowl and pour sauce over top, toss with tongs to coat completely. Serve immediately garnished with chopped green onions.
Savor and Enjoy!
I had KFC for the first time a few months ago. MIND BLOWN!!!! I can’t freaking wait to make this! You are my hero ;)
Yaaasss! KFC is addictingly delicious!