The perfect Korean fried chicken has been my Achilles’ heel for as long as I can remember. With a crunchy coating, far superior to the Colonel’s, encasing juicy chicken flesh infused with subtle flavours, then smothered in a sweet-spicy-garlicky red sauce, this is the dish food dreams are made of.

But it is oddly difficult to find a truly great one at a Korean restaurant, let alone to make it at home – Korean chefs keep the mix of seasoning spices a closely guarded secret.

I had all but given up on cracking the code. My family and I have tried countless recipes, sourced from internationally respected food authorities, restaurants and cookbooks, as well as dabbling with our own methods.

We’d get close. But close is not good enough. I wanted great. Exceptional. Because Korean fried chicken is a dish revered around the world.

The day I discovered Joy Chicken

Everything changed the day I discovered Joy Korean Fried Chicken, a tiny one-man corner shop run by Kay Hwang in Sydney’s Chippendale. After one bite, I knew I’d found The One.

My team and I have crisscrossed Sydney in pursuit of a truly excellent Korean fried chicken to replicate, but something always disappointed. The crust wasn’t crisp enough or was too thin. It had soggy or powdery patches. The chicken flesh was dry, under-seasoned, or both. Or the sauce either lacked the all-important Korean flavour punch or was far too sweet.

But Joy Korean Fried Chicken ticks all the boxes. The crunchy, craggy crust puts it in a field of its own. It’s the perfect texture and thickness, and has enough staying power to remain crunchy the next day. The flesh is ridiculously juicy, and the signature sweet-and-spicy sauce has the ideal level of spice tingle.

Once I met and learnt the background of Joy’s owner-chef, Kay Hwang, I understood why – and it’s no fluke.

When a fine-dining chef conquers KFC

Hwang is of Korean descent, but this is not a recipe handed down by his family. It was meticulously developed by a professionally trained chef who earned his stripes in some of the country’s best fine-dining restaurants.

At Quay, Bennelong, Rockpool and Aria, Hwang honed the skills, discipline and work ethic required to survive in this industry. That background explains the high bar he set in pursuit of the perfect Korean fried chicken.

The secret to an exceptionally nubbly crust so ribboned with texture, you’d swear it had been crumbed with cornflakes? Not one fry, but three, all at different temperatures for precise times.

And to achieve maximum succulence under that crust? A three-day brine.

The crunch when you bite into the chicken can be heard from the other side of the room.

The final touch is a sweet-hot sauce Hwang makes with such care that he checks the weather before minutely adjusting the amount of water he adds to ensure it’s the perfect viscosity to coat the surface of the chicken.

This, my friends, is what it takes to make a truly great Korean fried chicken.

Chef Kay, I salute you

Chef Kay, I salute you for making what is, hand on heart, the best Korean fried chicken I have ever eaten in Australia. I also salute you for your devotion to Joy Korean Fried Chicken, a place you can call your own after all those years of toiling for others.

After working so hard to fine-tune your recipe, you could have kept it a secret. Yet you have allowed me to share it with the world, a testament to your generosity of spirit.

When Hwang shared his recipe with me, I took it for a test run in my kitchen, then adjusted it slightly to make it more do-able for home cooks. For example, he uses very large pieces of chicken, which he brines for three days to achieve his desired flesh-to-crust ratio. I use the smaller cuts that are more readily available at supermarkets and cut the brining time to 24 hours.

I was curious to see if I could get away with two fries. Turns out he’s right – it’s crunchier with three.

And I have to tell you, it is mind-blowingly good. The crunch when you bite into the chicken can be heard from the other side of the room. And that sauce is sheer perfection!

Thank you for sharing your story with me, Chef Kay. And thank you for sharing your recipe. This is a game-changer!

Joy Chicken’s epic Korean Fried Chicken

Adapted from the secret recipe provided by Kay Hwang, owner-chef of Joy Korean Fried Chicken. You’ll need to start this at least 24 hours ahead of serving. This recipe makes a lot. I figure that if I’m going to fry three times, I may as well go all out! Plus, leftovers hold up brilliantly, the crust staying crisp if you reheat it in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken – see note

• 6 x 180g (1.1kg) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 5 x 140g drumsticks (700g), or more thighs

Dry brine seasoning

• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tsp cooking salt – see note

Batter

• 335g (2¼ cups) plain flour
• 30g (¼ cup) cornflour
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp cooking salt
• 540ml (2 cups + 8 tsp) water

Dredging and cooking

• 90g (¾ cup) cornflour
• 500g (3⅓ cups) Korean chicken frying flour – see note
• 2 litres canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Sweet and spicy sauce

• 100g (⅓ cup) ketchup (substitute tomato sauce)
• 100g (⅓ cup) glucose – see note
• 50g (2½ tbsp) gochujang paste – see note
• 3 tbsp light or all-purpose soy sauce
• 45ml (3 tbsp) water
• 50g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 1 tsp chilli power or cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp finely minced garlic

METHOD

1. Brine the chicken for 24 hours: Mix the dry brine ingredients in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle on the seasoning, then using your hands, rub it all over each chicken piece as evenly as possible. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours (up to 48 hours).
2. Make the batter: Whisk the batter ingredients in a bowl until it’s lump-free. It will be fairly thin. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours – do not skip this step; it’s essential for a crispy crust. It will thicken to a pancake batter consistency. It must be used cold, so allow time for the batter to chill before you cook.
3. Make the sauce: Put all the ingredients (other than the garlic) into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer. As soon as it boils, remove it from the heat, stir in the garlic and set aside for at least 10 minutes. It should thicken into a syrupy consistency. Cover and keep warm (if it cools too much and gets thick, warm gently to loosen but don’t boil it again).
4. Dust the chicken: Place the cornflour in a large bowl, and the Korean chicken frying flour in a separate large bowl. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and lay them out in a single layer on a tray. Dip a piece of chicken in the cornflour then thoroughly shake off excess. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
5. Batter and first fry: In a large, heavy-based pot, heat 7cm of oil to 170C. Remove the batter from the fridge and whisk to combine. Dip a piece of chicken in the batter, then allow the excess to drip off. Coat in the chicken frying flour, pressing to adhere. Shake off the excess then carefully place the chicken in the oil. Repeat with another one or two pieces (don’t overcrowd the pot). Fry for 2½ minutes without touching the chicken (don’t turn or agitate), to allow the crust to set. Remove onto a rack set over a tray. Repeat with the remaining chicken, arranging the pieces on the rack so you remember the order in which you fried each piece. Bring the oil back up to 170C between batches.
6. Second fry: When all the chicken has been fried once, lower the oil temperature to 160C then, starting from the piece you fried first (and which has had the longest resting time), fry the chicken thighs for 8 minutes and drumsticks for 5 minutes. Remove onto the rack and rest for 10 minutes, or up to 1 hour. It’s important to bring the oil back to 160C between each batch.
7. Final fry: Increase the oil temperature to 180C. Fry the chicken in batches for 2½ to 3 minutes until deep golden. This final flash-fry gives the chicken colour and creates an ultra-crisp crust. Remove the chicken to a tray lined with paper towels.
8. Serve: Transfer the chicken to a large bowl, drizzle over the sauce and gently turn to coat. Serve immediately with any leftover sauce on the side. If you prefer, serve the chicken without coating first in sauce (it’s delicious just as it is) and let everybody add their own.

Notes

Chicken: Skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces are best as the meat stays juicy and the crust adheres better. From a logistics perspective, smaller pieces are better, as the crust adds considerable volume. But it doesn’t matter what size you use. Just ensure you have between 1.6kg and 2kg in total. However, this method will work with boneless thighs and breasts, too. Cut into 5cm x 3cm pieces and reduce the second fry cooking time to 4 minutes.

Dry-brining: This adds seasoning throughout the flesh and keeps it moist. You won’t have to worry about dry meat, even if you accidentally overcook it. I like dry brining rather than wet brining because you don’t need to find room in your fridge for a large tub of liquid, and the flesh doesn’t get bloated with water, resulting in a better chicken flavour.

Salt: Look for packets labelled “cooking salt”. If you only have table salt, reduce the quantity listed in the ingredients by 25 per cent. If you only have sea salt flakes, increase it by 50 per cent.

Glucose syrup: The original recipe calls for corn syrup, which is harder to find and quite pricey in Australia. Glucose syrup is a thicker version of corn syrup and is sold in small jars at grocery stores, supermarkets and pharmacies. Hwang says honey makes a good alternative.

Gochujang: This thick red paste, made from dried and fermented soybeans, gochugaru (Korean red chilli powder), rice flour, salt and sweetener, is available in tubs in the Asian grocery aisle at the supermarket and at speciality grocers.

Korean chicken frying flour: Seasoned frying flour is sold at Korean and Asian grocers, often labelled “Fried Chicken Mix” in packets helpfully depicting fried chicken on the packet. Intended to make crispy fried chicken, it is typically a combination of flour, cornflour and seasonings.

Home-made Korean chicken frying flour

If you can’t find Korean chicken frying flour, here’s a recipe you can whisk up at home. It’s 95 per cent as good as the real thing.

INGREDIENTS

• 400g (2⅔ cups) plain flour
• 100g (¾ cup) cornflour
• 1¼ tsp onion powder
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ginger powder
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¾ tsp cooking salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

METHOD

1. Whisk the ingredients in a large bowl to combine then use per the recipe.

Makes 3½ cups