Game Changing Korean Fried Chicken.

I'm always looking for completely new ways to fry things. Maybe next week I'll try some of the tips from the Popeye's thread.

One batter style I've been wanting to learn, is the thin CRISP Chinese type that you'd get on something like "Boneless Fried Chicken and Vegetables" in Chinese restaurants around the New Orleans area. I used to love it from Wong's Garden / China Jade.

If you know a little about this, let me know.

I also recently took a side quest and learned how to do the 'puffy' Chinese batter, that you usually get on orders of Sweet and Sour Chicken from cheap places, that looks like this:

I can post about that another time. It was fun to learn, but not something I think I'll make often.

BUT THIS CHICKEN I made last night, completely changed the game of fried chicken.

KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN

I think there are several different 'styles' of Korean fried chicken. Not all of them look smooth like this.



Chicken:
I got a whole chicken, used the drumsticks, thighs, and wings. (bone in, skin on)
Saved the breasts for another meal.

Oil for Frying:
Pour enough canola oil into a 9-quart Dutch oven to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil reads 350 degrees F.

Pre-Coating:
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
10 grinds black pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, baking powder and pepper. Add the chicken and toss well until evenly coated in all areas. Shake chicken to get rid of excess coasting and transfer to a wire rack. Let rest, uncovered, for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Batter:
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup fine matzo meal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (gochugaru) (I didn't have these)
1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
1/3 cup vodka
2 tablespoons Korean chile paste (gochujang) (I used Sambal Oelek)

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, matzo meal, flour, chile flakes, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the water, vodka and chile paste. Just before frying, whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The consistency should be relatively thin and runny.

NOTE: The batter's dry and wet ingredients can be assembled but not mixed together ahead of time. Whisk the wet and dry ingredients right before you're ready to fry the chicken, otherwise the batter may thicken too much.

Working in 2 batches, dip each piece of chicken into the batter, letting excess batter drip off. Suspend the chicken in the oil for a couple of seconds for it to set before letting it slip completely into the oil, otherwise the chicken will fall and stick to the bottom of the pot. Fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through.

I did one additional step that I see in other Korean fried chicken videos. After the second batch was removed from the oil, I put the first batch back in for a quick (2 minute?) double-fry. It will bubble up A LOT. Once I removed those pieces, I put the second batch in for a quick double-fry.

RESULTS:
When making it, I was afraid this was going to be a bust. The batter was super thin and after I let the excess drip off, before dunking the chicken into the oil, I thought there would barely be a coating. While cooking, the positive was the little bits of batter that loosened, floated to the top, instead of sinking to the bottom of the Dutch oven (like you get with corn meal on catfish or flour when 'southern frying' with a dry batter.) That helps keep the oil clean and it's easy to scoop off when cooking.

This had *the crispiest* coating I have ever achieved when frying. It's almost like a candied apple, but very thin. It also was by far *the juiciest* chicken I have fried. The combination of crisp exterior and juicy interior was top notch.

As far as seasonings go: Obviously this recipe tasted like onion and garlic. But changing the seasonings is the easy part. Use cayenne and hot sauce instead and you will have some killer spicy chicken. 100% recommended you experiment with this base recipe.


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