The other KFC: How Korea created one of the world’s greatest fast foods

The dish: Korean Fried Chicken, South Korea

Korean fried chicken pairs perfectly with beer.Credit: Rob Palmer; STYLING: Emma Knowles

Plate up If you hear “KFC” and your mind immediately goes to the colonel, then my friend, you’re missing out. Because there’s another KFC, and it’s still fried chicken, and it’s even better than the Kentucky version. We’re talking about Korean fried chicken, a distinctive sub-genre of the fried poultry family, and a dish so popular in its homeland, and so delicious, that it has spread its wings and gained notoriety around the world.

So here’s the deal: this dish is an adaptation of classic American fried chicken, though with a unique double-frying method that results in a shatter-crisp skin and juicy interior. After its double-dip in oil, Korean fried chicken is usually basted with sauce, most popularly yangnyeom (a sweet and spicy mix of gochujang, garlic and sugar), but also honey soy, or a heap of shredded spring onions. As you can imagine, it leaves the colonel playing catch-up.

First serve There’s a little conjecture here about the true origin of Korean fried chicken. Local historians would point out that residents of the Korean peninsula have been frying chicken in oil since the time of the Goryeo Dynasty, in the 15th century. However, that dish looked nothing like the KFC of today, and it’s reasonably certain that the modern style of fried chicken was introduced to Koreans by US soldiers based there during the Korean War in the 1950s.

It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that fast food became popular in Korea, and the double-frying technique was developed, thus pushing this now-unique product into the mainstream. In the 1980s, the basting sauces were added to the crispy chicken, and an obsession was born.

Order there The South Korean capital, Seoul, is packed with fried chicken joints, and though you can’t go too wrong, our favourite is BB.Q Chicken (bbqchicken.com).

Order here In Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and even Adelaide, the chain Gami (gamichicken.com.au) does an excellent job of bringing the “other” KFC to the masses.

Cook it Read RecipeTin Eats’ detailed recipe for creating great Korean-style friend chicken on Good Food here.

One more thing Koreans quickly figured out that fried chicken pairs particularly well with one other product: beer. This combo is so popular that it has spawned an entire category of casual eateries known as “chimaek”, a portmanteau of the Korean words for chicken and beer.