Korean-style fried chicken

Name: Korean-style fried chicken
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 32 pieces
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: vegetable oil for deep-frying; 3 egg whites; 3 tsp salt flakes; 100g sweet rice flour; 50g potato starch; 50g plain flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 2 tsp ground black pepper; 16 free-range chicken wings (drummettes and wings separated, wing tips left on); 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 4 spring onions, finely sliced

Karen Martini

January 13, 2022

KFC, but not as you may know it.Marcel Aucar

Time:30 mins - 1 hourMakes:32 pieces

This is my version of a Korean classic. Succulent fried chicken with crunchy golden batter coated in sticky, sweet and salty chilli sauce. Delicious. This is perfect for entertaining; just remember to buy extra serviettes! Gochujang sauce adds a sweet and salty dimension and a creeping chilli warmth to the chicken but if you're a chilli fiend and want some front-palate heat, sprinkle over some chopped bullet chilli just before serving. You'll need a deep fryer or a large, wide-based pot for this recipe.

Ingredients

vegetable oil for deep-frying
3 egg whites
3 tsp salt flakes
100g sweet rice flour
50g potato starch
50g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground black pepper
16 free-range chicken wings (drummettes and wings separated, wing tips left on)
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 spring onions, finely sliced

Gochujang chilli sauce

6 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
10cm piece ginger, finely grated
5 tbsp dark brown sugar
4 tbsp dark soy
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Method

1. Add the oil to a deep-fryer or to a 15-centimetre depth in a large pot and heat to 170C.
2. For the chilli sauce, add all the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer for four minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Tip into a large bowl.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until foaming. Whisk in 200 millilitres of water and the salt. Sift in 50 grams of rice flour, the potato starch, plain flour, baking soda and ground pepper and mix until you have a smooth batter.
4. Dust the chicken in the remaining 50 grams of rice flour and add to the batter. Toss through until well coated.
5. Fry the chicken in batches for seven minutes each. Drain on paper towel and set aside, keeping the batches separate.
6. Once all the chicken has been cooked, fry again for another seven minutes, starting with the first batch you cooked, until golden and cooked through. Drain again and keep warm.
7. Once all the chicken has been cooked a second time, add to the sauce and toss until thoroughly coated. Serve with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and spring onion.
TIPS
1. Don't worry about the batter clumping rather than coating the chicken evenly; it gives the chicken plenty of crunchy, irregular edges to take up the sauce.
2. Dusting the chicken properly in rice flour helps the batter cling to the chicken.
3. It's important to add the cooked chicken to the sauce all in one go. If you add the chicken bit by bit, the first batch can soak up more sauce than it needs, leaving the last a little short.