Crispy Korean Fried Chicken in a spicy, sweet glaze that is so crispy and sticky you’ll coat everything in this sauce from wings to baked chicken breasts and more!
Korean Fried Chicken is a dish I first tried in New York about ten years ago. The spicy gojuchang red pepper paste immediately adds a ton of flavor that is balanced by the sweet and acidic notes of the brown sugar and rice wine vinegar.
It may sound like a lot of flavors going on, but honestly it is just a few ingredients and once you try this blend of flavors I guarantee you’ll be topping it on all the different cuts of chicken you can find!
The version I tried in New York was at Momofuku and it was based on a bibim sauce which is much more heavy on the soy garlic sauce than this recipe which is based on gojuchang.
You can also try a few different breading options. Serious eats uses baking powder to create a super crispy exterior (but requires a bit of drying time), I have a tempura batter I love (look to my Crispy Sesame Chicken for that breading) and there is of course the rice batter used in the Spicy Cashew Chicken.
WANT MORE ASIAN FOOD RECIPES?
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- General Tso’s Chicken
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Panda Express Recipes… every single one in fact: Panda Express Recipes Index including Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat)
- Many more Asian food options…
Tools used in the making of this Korean Fried Chicken:
Korean Gochujang: This is the primary flavor in Korean Fried Chicken, I wouldn’t swap it for any other ingredient. You can also find it in your local Asian grocery stores. There is a more Americanized brand as well from Annie Chun’s too if you can’t find the more authentic version.
Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
Rice Vinegar: Readily available in almost all grocers these days, this is a great vinegar to keep on hand. It does have a hint of sweetness to it, so don’t replace with any other vinegar except perhaps a red wine vinegar if you absolutely need to.
Korean Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- oil for frying
- 1/3 cup Korean gojuchang red pepper paste
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Toss the chicken in the flour, then dredge into the egg and finally coat in the cornstarch.
- In a large glass bowl add the gojuchang, vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce and whisk until well combined.
- Heat up a heavy bottomed pan with 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- Drain the fried chicken and add to the bowl with the sauce.
- Toss to combine, garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
I have made this formula multiple times, with my sisters on facetime. It is a victor with everybody, and we make some incredible memories making it. Now and again we add some snappy pickled carrots to serve. Much obliged to you for the superb formula!
That’s awesome!
Greetings from London. 🙂
I’ve cooked this multiple times now for family and friends and it always goes down a storm so just wanted to say thanks.
Cheers!
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoy this dish!
This was AMAZING. Followed it to the letter. Twice. Served with scallion rice and steamed broccoli.
Yay!!
Hi, I’m wondering if I could make wings with this recipe?
Sure 🙂
I bought the Korean fried chicken mix at the Korean grocery.I saw Seonkyoung using it. The directions are in Korean. Can you give me the English directions? Thank you so much?
You might be better off inputting it into google translate.
Hi, 2 things happened when I made this first the sauce ended up looking black and secondly the chicken when. Fried went pure white bit crispy, Although still ate it as was amazing soo good, thank you for recipe.
What can i use as a substitute of brown sugar?
You can substitute with white sugar if you have that on hand.
I made this tonight and we LOVED it. Thanks for the recipe!!
You’re welcome!
I am a huge fan of the hotter, the better! A girl I used to work with had a Korean mother who made me some kimchi that I requested so hot she sent word for me to come put my hands in the mix cause she wasn’t going to burn hers anymore. I would like to get a good kimchi recipe so I can make it and I’ll adjust the heat level to my extreme taste for hot and spicy.
I love it!! I’ll add kimchi to my research list. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion.
Excellent We love this. Made extra sauce and use it on other meats.
Sweet Mama take a bath. That is some top shelf chicken! So good. Followed the recipe exactly. Wouldn’t change a thing. Excellent, and have told everyone I know about it. Thanks!
Haha, I love it!! Thanks!