Korean Fried Chicken (Yangnyeom Tongdak)

I have been experimenting with fried chicken recently (because I am a fried chicken fiend) and I decided to give Korean Fried chicken a go. It differs from its southern fried cousin in that most of the flavour comes from the spicy sauce it is coated in rather than the spices it is fried in. Korean fried chicken tastes incredible and if you haven't tried it you need some in your life ASAP.

Note: Deep frying anything can be dangerous, make sure you are very careful when deep frying as you have the combined risk of giving yourself a horrific burn or setting your house on fire.

Ingredients

For the marinade

1kg of your favourite chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks are my favourite)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon korean rice wine

For batter

50g Glutinous Rice Flour

50g Potato Starch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the sauce

4 tablespoons gochujang chilli paste

5 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon korean rice wine

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 onion, very finely chopped

1 garlic clove, very finely chopped

1 table rapeseed oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes (+marinading chicken)

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: Depends on the crowd, I could easily eat 5+ pieces on my own! 1kg of chicken thighs should be 8 to 10 pieces

Method

1. Combine the chicken pieces in a bowl with the salt, pepper, garlic and rice wine and let marinate for at least half an hour but preferably overnight

2. Heat up your deep fat frier/chip pan to about 200c. You'll want to cook the chicken pieces at 180c but when you throw 4 or 5 chicken pieces into the oil it will cause the temperature to drop

3. Combine the batter ingredients in a bowl and mix well, dust the chicken pieces one by one and drop into the hot oil

4. Cook for 10 minutes then remove and place on a rack to dry (put a tray under the rack to catch the oil)

5. Let the chicken pieces drain for about 3 minutes then dunk them in the frier again for 30 seconds to get them extra crispy

6. While the chicken is cooking, add the sauce ingredients to a pot and bring to a simmer, cooking for about 5 minutes. If not ready to add to the chicken turn the heat up and warm it up again when ready, you don't want it to burn

7. Toss the fried chicken in the sauce and top with with spring onion and toasted sesame seeds

8. Enjoy!

The marinating chicken pieces

Dusted in the flour

Frying with the thermometer in to measure temperature

The crispy chicken pieces draingin

The Korean Fried chicken tossed in the spicy sauce!