How spicy is the Korean fried chicken?

Gochujang does have a kick to it, but the sauce has enough sweetness from the sweet chilli and honey to temper the heat. Add a little more honey if you still find it too spicy, to sweeten it up a bit more.

Could I use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs?

You can - I like chicken thighs because there's less risk of them drying out in the oil - but chicken breasts will work fine here if you prefer them.

Super Crispy Korean Fried Chicken

Name: Super Crispy Korean Fried Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: korean
Ingredients: 1 lb (500g) boneless, skinless, free-range chicken thighs; ½ cup plain yogurt; 1 teaspoon fish sauce; 3 teaspoons salt; 1/2 cup cornstarch (cornflour); 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sesame seeds; 1 liter of vegetable oil (Canola, sunflower or avocado oil are great); ¼ cup gochujang paste; ¼ cup light soy sauce; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; ¼ cup sweet chilli jam; 5 tablespoons honey

Description

Ultra juicy, super crispy fried chicken, tossed in a sticky, sweet and spicy Korean glaze loaded with gochujang paste makes for the ultimate crowd-pleasing dinner or party bite. Serve stuffed into fluffy bao buns with egg-free garlic aioli and a crunchy Asian slaw, or pile on a plate and let everyone help themselves.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the chicken -

1 lb (500g) boneless, skinless, free-range chicken thighs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cornstarch (cornflour)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 liter of vegetable oil (Canola, sunflower or avocado oil are great)

For the sticky gochujang glaze -

1/4 cup gochujang paste
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup sweet chilli jam
5 tablespoons honey

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Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Cut the chicken into chunks – I normally cut it into 3 pieces. Add to a bowl with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of salt, then mix well to coat the chicken. Cover the bowl and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (and up to 24 hours).
Coat the chicken. Add 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 1/2 cup of plain flour, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon of salt to a large bowl, then prepare a plate or tray to place your coated chicken on. Pick up a piece of chicken and shake any excess yogurt off. Dunk it in the flour, flipping to coat it on every side. Shake any excess flour off (you just want a light coating) then pop onto the plate and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Fry your chicken. Pour your oil into a large pot – you want enough so that it comes about halfway up the sides. Set a wire rack over an oven tray. Heat the oil to 180C/356F. The easiest way to do this is to use a digital probe thermometer, but if you don’t have one, you can use the ‘wooden spoon test’. Dip the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil – if the oil steadily bubbles up around the handle it’s good to go, if it’s bubbling A LOT you want to lower the heat a little. Once the oil is at the right temperature, working in batches, carefully lower the chicken into the oil and cook, carefully moving it around and rotating it with a large spatula occasionally, for about 8 minutes. Once it’s deep golden brown, carefully use a spatula to remove the chicken from the oil, and place it onto the wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Make the sticky gochujang sauce. Set a small pan over medium heat, and add ¼ cup gochujang paste, ¼ cup of light soy sauce, ¼ cup of sweet chilli jam, 5 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Mix to combine and keep stirring as it loosens up and starts to bubble. At this point, remove the pan from the heat.
Toss the chicken with the glaze. Transfer the fried chicken to a large mixing bowl, then pour the glaze all over. Toss the chicken through the glaze – either by shaking the bowl, or with tongs – so that every piece is well coated. Transfer to a serving platter, then top with the sliced scallions and more sesame seeds.

Notes

MAKE AHEAD: Once you’ve fried the chicken, leave it on the wire rack until it’s cool. Don’t toss it with the sauce. Then, store it in covered containers in the fridge overnight – it will still be crispy the next day (and the day after). Then all you have to do is arrange it on your wire rack set over a tray (this will make sure air can flow all around the chicken to keep it crispy), then bake it at 180C/350F fan until hot and super crispy, about 8 minutes. Heat your gochujang glaze, then pour over the chicken, toss and serve.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Any leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge – once the chicken has been tossed with the sauce it won’t stay crispy when you reheat it, but it will still taste delicious. Leftover gochujang glaze will keep for weeks in the fridge, ready for another batch of chicken, or it’s lovely drizzled over poke bowls, use it in cheesy gochujang pizza bites, or mix it with garlic aioli to make a gorgeous gochujang aioli.

INGREDIENT NOTES: The only ingredient that might be tricky to find is gochujang paste – but it’s becoming more widely available at larger grocery stores, and if you have an Asian grocery store nearby, it’ll definitely be stocked there. You can also find it on Amazon. The cornstarch will help to make (and keep) the chicken super crispy so I recommend using it, but if you don’t have any, just use all plain flour. If you find the gochujang sauce too spicy, just add a little more honey to balance it out.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: My favourite way to serve the chicken is stuffed into fluffy bao buns, along with garlic aioli, crunchy cabbage slaw and more sweet chilli jam, but it’s equally lovely served on its own. It’s also great with steamed rice, or you could use it as the topping for a poke bowl.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 30
Category: fakeaways
Method: deep frying
Cuisine: korean

Nutrition

Serving Size: 125g
Calories: 502
Sugar: 13.3g
Sodium: 1400mg
Fat: 28.4g
Saturated Fat: 3.8g
Carbohydrates: 33.8g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 26.6g
Cholesterol: 75mg