My first Korean fried chicken experience was at Bon Chon Chicken in Tribeca over five years ago. It was an epiphany not just because it was delectable, but because it was the first time that it had occurred to me that KFC could stand for something other than Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Since then, I’ve gone to Korea to have Yangnyeom Chikin (양념치킨) at the source and was surprised to find that in most restaurants there, it had a thicker batter and the chicken is covered in a thick sweet sauce. KyoChon, which claims to be the “original” Korean fried chicken has branches all over Korea as well as the US and produces my favorite Korean fried chicken today, with a thin crispy crust and spicy sauce that tickles all the right tastebuds.
Still, there are many places around the world were a request for KFC will be met by “extra crispy or colonel’s original recipe?” Since I happen to live in one of those places, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
For those of you that have never had it, Korean fried chicken is a totally different beast from a buttermilk fried chicken. The wings are not dredged in excessive amounts of flour, so the impossibly crisp exterior appears to be nothing but skin. After being double fried, the wings are lightly tossed in a sweet, spicy, garlicky glaze while still hot. This caramelizes the sauce on the surface of the chicken, preventing it from seeping in too deep, ruining the crispy shell. The resulting wings are fried chicken nirvana; moist savory chicken surrounded by a crackly crisp layer of skin, which incongruously co-exists with a glaze that’s the perfect blend of savory, sweet and spicy.
Together with plenty of lubricant(beer and soju for me), these wings will disappear faster than an unlocked Ferrari in Los Santos.
Units
Ingredients
- 900 grams chicken wings (wingtips and drumlets)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean sweet chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ⅓ cup soju (Korean liquor)
- 3 large cloves garlic (grated)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- gochugaru (ground Korean chili pepper to taste)
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
- Sprinkle the salt over the chicken wings, cover with plastic wrap and leave them in the fridge for 24 hours. This not only seasons the chicken, it draws out extra moisture from the surface of the chicken making it easier to crisp.
- To make the sauce, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, soju, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a pan and boil until it starts to get syrupy. Taste the sauce and add gochugaru until it's the spiciness you want it. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids. This is important as the solids will tend to clump on the surface of the chicken causing the skin to lose its crispness.
- Add about 2" of vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 320 degrees F (160C).
- Take the chicken out of the fridge and use paper towels to remove as much moisture from the surface of the chicken as possible. It's important that you get the chicken very dry as it will spatter in the hot oil making a mess, and the skin won't crisp up as nicely.
- Sprinkle on the potato starch, and toss the chicken to evenly coat each piece with a thin layer of starch.
- Fry the chicken wings for 10 minutes in batches. You can actually cram quite a few wings in, as long as they are fully submerged. Transfer to a plate and continue frying the rest of the wings.
- Increase the heat of the oil to 375 degrees F (190C). Fry the chicken again until the wings are golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).
- Transfer the wings directly to the bowl of glaze and quickly toss to coat lightly with the glaze. Transfer immediately to a serving platter. If they sit in the sauce too long they will soak up too much liquid and loose their crispness.
Nutrition
Jpk says
Just a quick thought: The original Korean fried chicken was made by a brand called Pelicana fried chicken. Kyochon is a brand appeared around 2000 which, I admit, had a huge success, but their recipe is far away from actual Korean fried chicken.
Connie Watt says
I made this today 11-16- 2013. Excellent recipe! Thank you for sharing
!!!
laurie says
I go to Ann Arbor Mi to a place called Seoul street for Korean chicken wings.The wings there seem to have the sauce right in the crust,I know that sounds strange or is that what you mean by not soaking them in the sauce. They are super crisp and delish.The skin is like eating glass. Will I get the same results with this recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Laurie, the sauce being “in the crust” is the perfect description for how these wings are. The key to getting the crisp skin is the double fry at the specified temperatures. it keeps the skin crisp even after being lightly dunked in the sauce.
engie.jp says
Love this! I bought a pack of wings couple days ago, not sure what to cook, my friend told me to cook Bon Bon Chicken. I never had one before, not sure what to expect, I browsed the internet for a recipe and stumbled on this one. No offense to the chef, I did change the ingredients a bit due to what I have at the moment. I used Cayenne Pepper instead of gochugaru, Mirin instead of Soju, Corn Starch instead of Potato Starch.
Since there’s no way I’ll eat this on one seating, here’s what I do. After the first frying of the chicken, (when they cooled down) I put them away in the fridge. Had the sauce ready. So whenever I want to eat some more, I just need to second frying the wings and dip them to the sauce. Yummm… And you are right, the second frying is important. I tried once without refrying it, it’s not as crispy as the other. Definitely a keeper!
armedjester says
Hello Marc, you might be aware now that I’m in Europe. We do not have Bon Bon or even Korean places, so I tried my hand on this. It’s excellent. As usual, your instruction to pour the sauce through a sieve (?) made all the difference. I used Tapioca instead of potatoe-starch (we do not have that) and it was delicious, so very delicious. I can definitely understand, why people in the U.S. are so in love with this dish. Thank you for sharing.
Herr Yamamoto says
Will try these wings with Thai Mekong “Whiskey” …curious how it works
prince says
Tried at home but not well done .Share something else
monty says
hi dear really good recipe
monty says
let me know about gochugaru?
Marc Matsumoto says
Gochugaru is korean chili powder. You should be able to find it in asian grocery stores.
Marilia says
Would it be OK to use vodka (maybe watered down) as a substitute for Soju, which is hard to get where I live?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Reza, you can just use water. The soju is there for flavor which you’re not going to get from vodka.
Jill C says
Hi. I’m having a dinner party and would like to know if this is ok to premake a couple of hours before serving. will it alter the crispiness/ taste? Is there any recipes you can recommend that i can make ahead? thanks. By the way, all your recipes are so mouth watering!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jill, this will probably lose it’s crispness after about 30 minutes, so I wouldn’t recommend it for making ahead. One thing you can do is do the first fry ahead of time and then do the second fry and saucing as guests arrive. Here are a couple alternatives that can be made ahead:
https://norecipes.com/miso-glazed-chicken-wings/ https://norecipes.com/orange-chicken-polpettine/