Korean fried chicken has become a really popular dish, and it isn’t difficult to see why.

The crispy, sweet, spicy and smoky flavours dance on the tongue. 

What’s not to love?

The fresh flavours of garlic, ginger, chilli and spring/green onions create a fantastic zing on the palate.

We are going to marinate our chicken in buttermilk, lightly fry the chicken in vegetable oil, and serve with rice, noodles or a light Korean salad. 

Table of Contents

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 1 – Prepare the Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 2 – Make Your Korean BBQ Sauce

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 3 – Lightly Fry Your Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 4 – Warm Your Chicken in the Sauce and Serve

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts Cut into Small Pieces

1 Pint of Buttermilk

1 Teaspoon of Fine Sea Salt

For the Batter

1 Beaten Egg

2 Heaped Tablespoons of Cornflour (Cornstarch in the US)

1 Teaspoon of Chinese 5 Spice

1 Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon of Freshly Ground Black Pepper

For the Korean BBQ Sauce

5 1/2 Tablespoons or 1/3 Cup of Brown Sugar

4 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar

6 1/2 Tablespoons or 1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil

3cm Piece of Ginger Peeled and Finely Chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic Peeled and Finely Chopped

1 Tablespoon of Sriracha Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Cornflour added to 2 Tablespoons of Water

To Serve

Freshly Chopped Red Chilli (Red Pepper in the US)

2-3 Spring/Green Onions Finely Chopped

Teaspoon of Toasted Sesame Seeds

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 1 – Prepare the Chicken

Chop your chicken breasts into bitesize pieces and place in a bowl. You can also use boneless chicken thigh meat, just keep in mind the meat will be darker and more moist. (Not to everyone’s taste!)

Add enough buttermilk to the bowl to cover your chicken, and add your salt.

Cover with clingfilm and marinate for at least 30minutes.

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 2 – Make Your Korean BBQ Sauce

Now we are going to make our Korean BBQ Sauce. Fry off the ginger and garlic in a little sesame oil in your wok at medium heat.

Keep back your cornflour and water mix until the end, but add all the rest of the ingredients.

Bring your sauce to the boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave on the heat while you fry your chicken.

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 3 – Lightly Fry Your Chicken

Put your cornflour, 5 spice powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl crack an egg and then beat with a fork. 

Now dip a chicken piece into the seasoned flour until evenly coated with the cornflour mix. Now dip it in the beaten egg, and then back into the cornflour mix.

Put it on a plate ready to fry. Shake off any excess cornflour.

We are going to repeat this process for each chicken piece.

When you are finished put two tablespoons of vegetable oil into your wok and bring the oil temperature up to about 180°C or 365°F.

You’ll know your pan is hot enough when you drop a piece of bread into it, and it crisps up and goes brown straight away. 

You can obviously use a deep fat fryer for this, just be aware you will end up using a lot more oil.

You’ll probably need to cook your chicken in batches either way.

At this temperature, and because the chicken is in bitesize pieces it won’t take long to cook. Probably around 5 minutes a piece.

Make sure sure you leave it in long enough to get a good crispy coating, and still be moist inside. Keep your eyes on the chicken and don’t let it burn.

When each chicken piece is fried put it on a plate covered with kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil. 

Leave your chicken pieces to air dry and crisp a little more, while you prepare your noodles, rice or any side dishes you would like to serve with your Korean fried chicken.

Korean Fried Chicken – Step 4 – Warm Your Chicken in the Sauce and Serve

At this point you can return to your BBQ sauce and add the cornflour and water mix. This will thicken the sauce and give it  a lovely consistency. Stir thoroughly.

Warm your fried chicken in the pan with the BBQ sauce. 

Chop your spring/green onions and red chilli up finely. 

Toast your sesame seeds in a dry wok or pan over a medium heat for a few minutes until they are lightly browned. Don’t let them burn.

Serve your Korean fried chicken in the BBQ Sauce garnished with spring/green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Perfect with long grain jasmine rice, noodles or a light Korean style salad.

It’s well worth considering doing your Korean Chicken on the BBQ for extra flavour.

For another great recipe for Korean Fried Chicken, you could try here:

https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-fried-chicken/