Korean Fried Chicken (2024)

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By Nicky Corbishley

Chicken and marinade:

• ▢ 4 chicken breasts sliced into long thick strips
• ▢ 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp white pepper
• ▢ ¼ tsp garlic salt

Crispy Coating:

• ▢ 180 g (1 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ ½ tsp garlic salt
• ▢ ½ tsp celery salt
• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ 1 tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp chilli flakes
• ▢ vegetable oil for deep frying (at least 1 litre/four cups)

Sauce:

• ▢ 2 tbsp gochujang paste
• ▢ 2 tbsp honey
• ▢ 4 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 4 tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• ▢ 2 tsp minced ginger
• ▢ 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ▢ 3 spring onions sliced into thin strips
• ▢ 1 tsp sesame seeds
• ▢ ½ tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)

• Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the buttermilk, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Mix together, cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 1 hour (up to overnight)

  4 chicken breasts, 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic salt

• Preheat the oven to a low heat (to keep the cooked chicken warm). Heat a large pan of vegetable oil (or preheat your deep fat fryer) until hot (you can test by dropping a small cube of bread in there, if it rises immediately to the top and starts to bubble rapidly, it’s hot enough). You’ll need at least 1 litre (4 cups) of oil.

  vegetable oil for deep frying

  See Also

  The Best Fried Korean Chicken - 3 Reasons To Choose - KyoChon Malaysia

• Mix together the crispy coating ingredients in a small bowl.

  180 g (1 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, ½ tsp celery salt, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp chilli flakes

• Take the chicken out of the fridge. Lift a piece from the buttermilk and allow the excess to drip off. Dredge the chicken in the crispy coating mixture – ensuring it’s fully covered. Place on a tray and repeat until all of the chicken is coated.

• Once the oil is hot enough, add in 5 or 6 of the chicken tenders. You can add more or less depending on the size of your pan, just be sure not to overcrowd the chicken.

• Cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the middle. You can check this by cutting open a piece of chicken, if it’s no longer pink in the middle, it’s cooked.

• Place on a tray in the oven to keep warm whilst you cook the rest of the chicken. **If you want to ensure the chicken stays extra crispy whilst in the oven, see my 'Top Tips for Success' section in the post.

• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the gochujang, honey, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, and sesame oil in a saucepan and stir together.

  2 tbsp gochujang paste, 2 tbsp honey, 4 tbsp brown sugar, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp minced ginger, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil

• Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.

• Pour over the crispy chicken and carefully toss together, then top with the spring onions, chilli flakes, and sesame seeds before serving.

  3 spring onions, 1 tsp sesame seeds, ½ tsp chilli flakes

Can I scale up or scale down the recipe?

Yes you can halve or double the recipe using the same ingredient ratios.
If doubling the recipe, please note it will take longer to fry the chicken as you’ll have more batches to fry.

How do you reheat Korean fried chicken?

I prefer this Korean fried chicken served right away, as that’s when the chicken will be at it’s crispiest. However, you can cool, cover and refrigerate the Korean fried chicken (for up to a day), then reheat in the oven (covered) for 10-15 minutes at 190C/380F, until piping hot throughout.

If you want to keep the chicken crispy, then fully cook both the crispy chicken and sauce, then cool and cover (keep the sauce separate from the chicken) and refrigerate for up to a day. Then reheat the chicken in the oven, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes at 190C/380F, until piping hot throughout. Reheat the sauce in a pan until piping hot.

Nutritional Information is per serving.

This info is approximate, as all of the flour may not be used up in coating the chicken (I’ve counted all of the flour as part of the nutritional info though). Also, I’ve included 1 1/2 tbsp of oil per serving to account for the oil that is absorbed during deep frying (this is an *approximate* amount, the chicken may absorb more or less).