Crispy Korean fried chicken in a sweet and tangy chilli sauce. You’ll be surprised by how much this tastes like what you would get in a restaurant! Deep frying at home like this can seem daunting but it is quite easy to do if you follow some basic steps. The sauce is incredibly easy to make and is full of sweet, tangy, smoky and spicy flavours! This uses a lot of the same ingredients as my gochujang chicken broth bowls. Stocking up on a few cupboard basics can stretch to a few great recipes!

The History of Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is someting I find very interesting. It is heavily associated with the US, and for good reason, however this is not where it originated. The earliest recipes recorded of people coating chicken in breadcrumbs and seasoning and then frying actually come from Scotland! It may sounds controversial to claim it as a British dish, but it technically is. The recipe first appeared in The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy from 1747, and looks shockingly close to modern Southern American recipes.

It is believed that Scotting immigrants to the USA brought the recipe and technique with them. Many Scottish immigrants did indeed settle in the South of the US. From here, it spread to African American slaves and freedmen and became a large part of their culture too. It really took off in popularity and spread across the US in the 1950s, as a result of a man of great fame. That man was Harland Sanders, known as Colonel Sanders. He began the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise, which spread all over the US.

Fried chicken is now massively popular in many other countries. Korean fried chicken is now one of the best known varieties. Fried chicken was introduced to South Korea in the 1960s through American GIs posted to the country in the years after the Korean war. South Korean chefs then began experimenting with the dish and started to toss and coat the chicken in sweet and spicy sauces after frying, creating the variety we know today!

My Korean Fried Chicken Recipe

My recipe only really makes use of one ingredient that is not a UK staple, gochujang. This is a smoky and tangy chilli paste from Korea. It is now quite easily available in the UK though, and can be found in large supermarkets, Asian stores or online. I think it’s delicious and definitely worth keeping around! It can be used in a range of Korean or Korean inspired recipes or used in some fusion dishes like pasta sauces. Other than this the sauce mostly uses soy sauce, rice vinegar, tomato puree, honey and sesame oil.

I prepare the chicken in largely the same way I velvet chicken. Velveting is a typically Chinese meat preparation method consisting of marinating the meat in liquid seasonings and locking it in with a small amount of corn flour and oil. This flavours the meat but also keeps it juicy and tender. I do a very similar process with this chicken but rather than add the corn flour into the chicken whil marinating, I add and egg then dredge the chicken pieces in large quantities of corn flour to coat it.

The chicken is then fried until crispy and drained of any excess oil. The sauce is mixed by hand then added to a hot wok until it begins to bubble. Once it reaches this step, I add in the chicken pieces and toss well to coat thoroughly in the sauce. This will give it a sticky and delicious glaze, while still retaining some crispiness on the coating.

Tips for Deep Frying at Home

Deep frying is quite an easy thing to do, but can create problems if not done responsibly. Large amounts of boiling oil can naturally present something of a hazard. You can follow a few tips to esure this is done safely and without creating a mess!

Firstly, the most important thing is to not overfill your pot with oil. As soon as you add anything to the pot, oil will be displaced and the level will rise. Additionally, as moisture in the food escapes the oil will bubble. Both of these can cause a spill if the pot is overfilled. As a rule, never fill a pot above halfway. It is also wise to add pieces of food to the oil one by one rather than as a full batch. This allows you to monitor how the level rises, but also helps prevent pieces from sticking together.

Secondly, ensure your cooking space is well ventilated. Using the extractor fan can often be enough, but opening a window can help. When the oil is heated to frying temperatures, it can cause some to vapourise into the air. This can cause irritation of the eyes and nose. While not in itself a particularly strong hazard, it sould be avoided.

If you have a good cooking thermometer, you should aim for around 180°C. If not, you should heat it over medium high heat for a good 10 minutes or so. You can test the readiness with a wooden spoon. Putting one into the oil should create some small and steady bubbles. If the bubbles are violent, reduce the heat and leave for a few minutes then try again. You can also add a piece of bread or some excess breading. This should bubble and brown in 30 seconds to a minute.