Korean Fried Chicken
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Korean Fried Chicken – juicy, yet crispy pieces of chicken coated in a sweet and spicy sauce. An easy fried chicken recipe with a fiery kick making for the perfect meal or appetizer. This chicken truly is perfect for any occasion.
If you love fried chicken, I strongly advise you to try this Korean fried chicken recipe! The chicken stays tender and juicy on the inside while maintaining that crispy, crunchy skin we all know and love. It has an added kick from the gochujang used in the sauce which makes this dish incredibly bold in the flavor department.
Recently hubs and I have been going to this restaurant that has this incredible Korean fried chicken and I just had to recreate this recipe at home. I think I came pretty close to the restaurant version. Did I mention that it is also extremely simple to make? Because it is!
I love recipes where I get to experiment with different flavors and ingredients from all over the world, right in the comfort of my own home. Korean fried chicken has now become a staple dish at my house, we make it at least once a week.
What is Korean fried chicken?
Korean fried chicken or “KFC“, refers to a variety of different fried chicken dishes from South Korea. Generally referred to as “chikin” it is used in popular dishes such as huraideu-chikin and spicy yangnyeom-chikin.
Korean fried chicken is drastically different than what we are used to, using an Asian frying technique that renders out the fat in the skin – transforming it into a thin, crispy crust. The sauce is then absorbed, adding bold flavors without making it soggy. In South Korea, fried chicken is consumed as a meal, an appetizer, anju (a Korean term for food consumed with alcohol), or as an after-meal snack. In other words, this chicken is so good you’ll want to eat it ALL the time.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – I used boneless, skinless breasts – cut into 1 inch pieces. I have also made this with chicken thighs, I used a meat mallet to cut through the bones. You can use whole chicken thighs as well.
- Egg – Large, beaten.
- Cornstarch – To get that nice crispy skin. You can substitute with flour, but you’ll need to double the amount and possibly double fry to get that crispy texture.
Korean Sauce
- Butter – I used unsalted because we’ll get plenty of sodium from the sauce.
- Gochujang Sauce – You can use any of your favourite hot sauce but I find that Sriracha or Sambal Oelek are the most similar in flavor. Gochujang is a red chili paste that is savory, sweet and spicy. I usually find this in the Asian aisle of my grocery store, or visit your local Asian market.
- Honey – You can substitute with agave or maple syrup.
- Brown Sugar – You can use regular granulated sugar or mix 3 tbsp of granulated sugar with a tsp of molasses to make brown sugar.
- Soy Sauce – I used low sodium.
- Garlic – Fresh is best! Minced.
- Ginger – I used fresh, minced. You can use dried if you don’t have fresh. To keep your ginger lasting a long time, simply store it in a ziploc bag or plastic bag and freeze it. When you’re ready to use, just grate it.
- Rice Vinegar – If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar instead.
- Sesame Oil – most light oils and nut oils will work as a substitute (light olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil) it just won’t have as much of that toasted sesame flavor. You can add toasted sesame seeds to the light oil to help with the flavor.
Garnish
- Green Onions – Sliced.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Red Chilis – Sliced.
How to make Korean fried chicken
- Coat the chicken – Toss the chicken pieces through the egg first, then dredge through the cornstarch.
- Cook the chicken – Add oil to a heavy bottom pan and heat to 375 °F. Add chicken to the pan and fry in batches about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Make the sauce and toss with chicken – Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Stir int he brown sugar and honey and cook for about 1 minute until the brown butter dissolves. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and gochujang sauce to the skillet and stir. Cook for 30 seconds then add the chicken to the skillet and toss well with the sauce.
- Serve – garnish with green onions, toasted sesame seeds and red chilis. Serve hot.
How to serve
The traditional pairing to Korean fried chicken is pickled radish and an abundance of beer or soju; but I like to serve mine over a nice, simple sticky rice! Add this chicken to a stir-fry, atop a fresh salad or eat it as an appetizer as is. The flavor profile of this Korean fried chicken will blow your mind – you’ll want to eat it with a shovel, no matter how you serve it.
If you want some easy to make ideas on what to serve with your chicken, try these recipes!
Can I make this in advance?
Absolutely! You can prep your chicken and sauce the night before, store them both separately and covered in the fridge and just fry them up before serving! Quick and easy.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Cooked chicken will start to grow bacteria so don’t leave it sitting out for longer than 1 hour.
If you want to extend the “shelf life” of cooked chicken, you can freeze it in a covered airtight container, heavy-duty freezer bags, or wrap tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Keep in mind, you may lose some quality if freezing.
To reheat leftovers, pop them in the microwave or back into a skillet or wok until heated through.
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Korean Fried Chicken
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces)
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- ½ cup cornstarch
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Korean Sauce
- 3 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
Garnish
- green onions
- toasted sesame seeds
- red chilis (sliced)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Toss the chicken pieces through the egg first, then dredge through cornstarch.
- Add about 3 inches of oil to a heavy bottom pan and heat to 375°F.
- Add chicken to the pan and fry in batches about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Stir in the brown sugar and honey and cook for about 1 minute until the brown butter dissolves. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and gochujang sauce to the skillet and stir. Cook for 30 seconds then add the chicken to the skillet and toss well with the sauce.
- Serve garnished with green onions, toasted sesame seeds and red chilis.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Cooked chicken will start to grow bacteria so don’t leave it sitting out for longer than 1 hour.
- If you want to extend the “shelf life” of cooked chicken, you can freeze it in a covered airtight container, heavy-duty freezer bags, or wrap tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Keep in mind, you may lose some quality if freezing.
- To reheat leftovers, pop them in the microwave or back into a skillet or wok until heated through.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This recipe is absolutely brilliant!, it’s restaurant quality I have to say. I do have one question, I saw on the photos of the ingredients and there is a photo of salt and pepper but I didn’t see that on the instructions and the ingredients list although I didn’t add it but maybe next time would you recommend to add it to the cornstarch while breading chicken or not really needed?
Other than that Thanks for your recipe perfect recipe for a Saturday night in
Oh, I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! “Restaurant quality” is music to my ears. 🎶 Now, about the salt and pepper—good eye! Sometimes in the excitement of making something as awesome as fried chicken, details slip through the cracks. You can definitely add a pinch of salt and pepper to the cornstarch for a little extra flavor oomph. But hey, if you loved it as is, that’s a win in my book! Thanks for making this your Saturday night go-to; enjoy! 🍗🌶️😊
This was perfect. I didn’t deviate from the recipe and it turned out wonderfully. Prepared in my giant cast iron wok. We’re going to make wraps with the leftovers tomorrow
That’s what I like to hear! Stick to the script and end up with a hit, right? Your giant cast iron wok is clearly the unsung hero here. Wraps with the leftovers? You’re living the dream, my friend.
Loved the dish. Will make it again
Perfect! Restaurant/take out quality!
Do you fry the chicken in sesame oil too? If not, what oil do you use?
No, you fry it in vegetable oil.
Amazing 🤩 thank you
Looks great, glad you enjoyed it!
I made this after eating Korean chicken in a restaurant. This recipe is excellent. Really authentic. Was even better than I had in the Korean restaurant. I’ve shared it with loads of my friends and they have come back and said the same.
Any suggestions for making this in an air fryer?
Yes, simply prep the chicken as instructed and air fry at 380F for 10-12 minutes, depends on the size of the chicken pieces.
You are just a darling! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to give it a go.
This really was absolutely delicious. The sauce was perfect – a little heat and not too sweet. The chicken was crispy because of the corn starch. I made broccoli and rice with it. What a great meal.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This recipe is simply amazing! Can the sauce be stored in the freezer for a long time? I’d love to make a jar of sauce and use it when I need
Absolutely you can, and that’s a great idea!
Thank you!
Great recipe! A new favourite 🤩
We are so glad you enjoy it!
Very successful recipe with my family, they all loved it
Can you make the sauce ahead of time ?
Of course! Just make sure to store it in the fridge afterwards 🙂
I loved this recipe! It’s in my top 5. I added a little onion but otherwise made it as shown and my whole family loved it!
This was one of the best Korean dishes I’ve ever made at home, so incredibly good, I can’t even stop thinking about it, it was restaurant quality. So delicious. Good job coming up with this!!!!!!!
Thanks, Elisabeth! 🙂