Korean Fried Chicken

Double-Fried • Gochujang Glaze — Korea

Double-fried for a shattering crust that stays crisp under the glaze. Half the batch in sweet-spicy gochujang yangnyeom sauce, half plain with salt — the way Seoul chicken shops serve it.

Ingredients

• 900 g — Chicken wings or boneless thigh pieces
• 130 g — Potato starch or cornstarch (1 cup)
• 65 g — All-purpose flour (½ cup)
• 12 g — Fresh ginger, grated (1 Tbsp)
• 4 g — Garlic powder (1 tsp)
• 45 g — Gochujang paste (3 Tbsp)
• 40 g — Honey (2 Tbsp)
• 15 ml — Soy sauce (1 Tbsp)
• 15 ml — Rice vinegar (1 Tbsp)
• 30 g — Ketchup (2 Tbsp)
• 5 g — Toasted sesame seeds (2 tsp)
• 1200 ml — Oil, for frying (5 cups)

Step-by-Step Method

1. Season & coat. Chicken with salt, pepper, ginger and garlic powder for 20 minutes. Toss in the starch-flour mix, pressing it on; rest 10 minutes so the coating hydrates and clings instead of falling off in the oil.
2. First fry — set the crust. Oil at 325°F / 165°C, fry in batches 6–7 minutes until pale gold and cooked through. Drain on a rack, not paper — steam on paper softens crusts.
3. Second fry — the shatter. Oil up to 375°F / 190°C, fry again 2–3 minutes until deep golden and audibly crisp. This double fry is the entire Korean fried chicken secret: it drives out moisture so the crust survives the sauce.
4. Glaze half, salt half. Simmer gochujang, honey, soy, vinegar and ketchup 2 minutes. Toss half the chicken through it until lacquered, sesame over. Serve the other half plain with flaky salt — contrast is the point.

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