The weekend is here so let’s celebrate with a basket of shatteringly crispy spicy Korean Fried Chicken! No boring dinners are allowed on the weekends & a legendary finger-licking feast is on its way!
This Korean style fried chicken stays crunchy for hourssss – even in the sweet and spicy sauce! Once you start using these starches and frying techniques, fried chicken will never be the same. Upgrade your Game Night recipes with a fried chicken platter that has everyone saying “omg gimme!!” Serve it with sweet and sticky Soy Sauce Fried Chicken and a bulgogi platter with Beef Bulgogi, Chicken Bulgogi, and Pork Bulgogi!
This weekend just got wayyy more epic.
🥘 Ingredient Tips for Crispy Korean Fried Chicken
These spicy Korean fried chicken wings, or yangnyeom chicken, is super simple to make and easily adjustable to your spice level! This fried chicken recipe is a great base, so you can also serve half spicy chicken, half Soy Garlic Korean Fried Chicken for more variety at dinner!
- Chicken: For this Korean fried chicken recipe, I’m using chicken wings, but if you’d like to create a boneless version, chicken thighs work too for super juicy fried chicken. Just cut the chicken thighs into 2-inch pieces & keep in mind the cook time will be faster, so keep an eye on them!
- Potato Starch: This is key for that iconic CRUNCH Korean fried chicken is known for! You can easily find it at local Asian or Korean markets, or online. A common substitute is cornstarch, but if you go that route, just know it’s not going to be as crunchy as using potato starch.
- Gochujang: This will be the base of the sauce and gochujang comes in various heat levels (fyi for you fellow spicy lovers hehe)!
- Gochugaru: These Korean chili flakes are very mild, but add nice flavor!
- Mirin: Mirin is a cooking wine that adds a subtle sweetness and enhances the flavors in the sauce, but can be also used in marinades too like in Kalbi (Korean Short Ribs).
- Soy Sauce: We’re using regular soy sauce here for its saltiness & umami!
- High Smoke-Point Oil: Since we’re deep frying, it’s important to use a high smoke point oil like grapeseed oil (my fave!), avocado oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil. Avoid flavored & low smoke point oils, like olive oil or sesame oil. They’re not made for deep frying!
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 How to Make Korean Fried Chicken
Step 1: Marinate & Chill Chicken. In a large bowl or airtight container, combine the chicken wings with the marinade ingredients, then keep in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
It’s important to keep the chicken cold in the fridge until you’re ready to dredge. The cold battered chicken with the hot oil will help you create a super crispy crust, so don’t let the chicken sit out room temperature while you prep ingredients!
Step 2: Make the Dredge. In a large bowl, combine potato starch with the seasonings (listed in the recipe card). Drizzle in water & use your fingers to mix & crumble everything together to create little nuggets of potato starch – these are the EXTRA crispy bits that’ll make your chicken SUPER crispy! Photo of the ideal texture below
Step 3: Dredge Chicken. Remove chicken from the fridge, then mix in an egg & all-purpose flour until JUST combined. Drop a few pieces of chicken in the potato starch mixture, scrunch or press the starch into the chicken, shake off any excess, then let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes. This helps the flour really stick onto the chicken, instead of flaking off while frying!
Step 4: Fry Chicken. Heat a medium-sized pot on medium-high with enough oil for a deep fry. Once it’s hot, you’ll know it’s ready if you put a wooden chopstick or spoon in the oil & it starts to sizzle. Carefully add the chicken, working in batches to avoid overcrowding, otherwise, your chicken won’t turn crispy! Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and the oil bubbles are small & calm instead of large & angry lol. Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size of chicken, so just keep an eye out. It’s also helpful to have an oil splatter screen for easier cleanup! Remove & drain chicken on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate, turn off heat, then allow chicken to rest for about 15-20 minutes.
Step 5: Double Fry Chicken. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove any floating debris in the oil, then reheat oil to medium-high. Once hot, add chicken back in batches to double fry for 1-2 minutes, or until chicken is extra golden brown & the oil is creating smaller bubbles again. This second fry is crucial for chicken that stays crispy for hours! It eliminates excess moisture that would normally turn the chicken soggy over time.
Remove & drain chicken, then turn off heat.
Step 6: Make Sauce & Toss. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, then heat a large skillet on medium heat with a little oil. Add the garlic and ginger & cook for a few seconds, until it’s fragrant. Pour in the sauce & simmer for 1-3 minutes, or until it’s turned into a syrupy glaze. If it turns too thick or salty, add a small splash of water at a time, then taste & adjust BUT be careful because the sauce is super hot!
Once the sauce is ready, turn off the heat, add the chicken in and combine well. It may not look like enough sauce at first, but keep mixing! The sauce is meant to glaze the chicken so the chicken keeps its crunchy texture! Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds & green onions if you’re fancy, then enjoy!
👩🏽🍳 Key Tips
- Keep Chicken Cold Before Dredging: This helps prevent gluten from forming when adding the all-purpose flour. PLUS, cold dredged chicken hitting the hot oil creates an extraaaa crispy crust! So keep the chicken chilling in the fridge until your dredge is ready.
- Rest Chicken After Dredging: Resting the chicken after coating it in the potato starch lets the chicken absorb more of the starches instead of flaking off while frying. You’ll have less to clean up at the bottom of your pot & crunchier chicken!
- Rest Chicken Before Double Fry for Maximum Crispiness (Yes, It’s Worth It): The second rest is after the first fry & before the second fry. I know this sounds brutal & unnecessary but there’s a reason! This is key to allow the chicken time to redistribute its juices & allow excess moisture to rise to the surface. The second fry eliminates excess moisture for super crunchy chicken for HOURS, but if you skip the rest time in between, you risk creating dried out chicken! In this rest period, I usually clean the kitchen & set the dinner table.
- Glaze Chicken in Sauce: This spicy sauce is meant to create a glaze that coats & seasons the chicken wings. This helps hold its texture over time, instead of being drenched and soggy.
💭 Recipe FAQs
🍚 More Easy Korean Recipes You’ll Love!
Easily make Korean takeout at home with a feast that’s fun to share!
- Small Sides (banchan):
- Serve up hot bubbly Corn Cheese or refreshing Cucumber Salad as a delicious way to get some veggies into your meal!
- Kimchi Pancakes are alwaysss a must & if you like them crispy, THIS Kimchi Pancakes recipe is how you make them using your pantry ingredients!
- Tteokbokki is sweet, spicy, and irresistibly chewy. If that’s not a triple threat, idk what is.
- Heartier Sides:
- Korean fried rice is a cheap & filling side dish EVERYONE loves! I love Bacon Kimchi Fried Rice & my Tuna Kimchi Fried Rice is a convenient pantry staple version.
- Rabokki is like a party where all things fun are invited – noodles, dumplings, cheese, rice cakes, & spam – who can say no??
Let’s get cooking!
Get into my secret stash of Goody-Packed Newsletters with meals planned for you & time-saving tips! Want step-by-step videos of how to make my recipes too? I gotchu over at my youtube channel. Aight, enough chatting, more eating!
Korean Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
MARINADE:
DREDGE:
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 ½ tablespoons water
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch
SAUCE:
- 3 tablespoons gochujang
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
Instructions
- In a large bowl or airtight container, combine the chicken wings, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and black pepper. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, up to overnight for better flavor! Keep the chicken cold in the fridge until the dredge is ready & you’re about ready to fry.
- Make the sauce in a small bowl by combining gochujang, ketchup, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, mirin, soy sauce, water, gochugaru, and sesame oil. Mix until the brown sugar has dissolved, then cover and set aside.
- In a large bowl, make the dredge by combining potato starch, garlic powder, onion powder, baking powder, and black pepper. Mix well, then drizzle in water and use your finger to break up the clumps to create little craggily nuggets. These turn super crispy when frying!
- Remove chicken from the fridge, then add in an egg and all-purpose flour to the chicken. Mix until JUST combined & there’s no more streaks of flour – don’t overmix. Add a few pieces of chicken to the potato starch, scrunch on the dredge, then shake off excess. Repeat for remaining chicken, then let chicken sit for about 5-10 minutes while heating your frying oil.
- Heat a medium-sized pot or large wok on medium heat with enough oil for a deep fry. Once hot, add chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding; a general rule of thumb is you should be able to see the bottom of the pot. Fry for 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and the oil bubbles are small and less frequent. Cooking time may slightly vary depending on the wing size. Remove & drain chicken on a wire rack or paper-towel lined plate. Repeat for remaining chicken then rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Reheat the oil (the oil temperature will drop when frying the chicken) to medium-high, then double fry the chicken to make them extra crispy! Add chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until extra golden and crispy. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil and allow them to cool while making the sauce.
- Heat a large pan or clean wok on medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil then add garlic and ginger. Saute for a few seconds, until it becomes fragrant, then pour in sauce. Stir until well combined then simmer for 3-5 minutes or until it’s slightly thickened into a glaze. If it thickens too much & turns too sweet or salty, add a small splash of water.
- Toss together the sauce and chicken wings until well coated. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy, then enjoy asap!
Notes
- Potato Starch: This is key to creating that iconic crunch in Korean fried chicken! Find it at your local Korean or Asian market, or online. Cornstarch is nowhere as crispy, so it’s definitely worth the extra effort grabbing it!
- Gochujang: This Korean chili paste comes in various spice levels, so make sure to grab the one that suits your spice tolerance.
- Key Tips:
- Maximize Crispiness: Avoid overcrowding the pan to maintain high oil temperature & double fry for maximum crispness.
- Easy Cleanup Setup: Use an oil splatter screen to prevent messy oil splatters for faster cleanup. No extra time spent on kitchen cleaning!
Nutrition
Exact calculations may vary. For the most accurate nutritional information, use your preferred nutrition calculator, actual ingredients, and quantities used for the recipe. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian if more precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
