Korean soy sauce fried chicken gives you pieces with a loudly crisp crust under a glossy garlic and chili soy glaze that is both salty and sweet. Frying twice is what makes the crust hold. The hardest part is keeping that crispness once the sauce is on, since a slow hand leaves the coating soft.
Two coatings, a wet one and then a dry one shaken on in a bag, are what build a thick, airy crust. The sauce should be cooked and still hot when the chicken comes out of the oil, so it can be tossed quickly and served straight away.
This batch weighs about 1.9kg, at roughly 255 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash 1.2kg of cut chicken thoroughly and marinate it with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon MSG and 1 teaspoon black pepper for 30 minutes.
Put 150g Korean crispy frying flour in a large bowl, add 220ml unsweetened oat milk and whisk until smooth and thick. Add the chicken and turn it so every piece is coated.
Put the remaining dry frying flour in a food bag, move the chicken from the wet batter into the bag, blow the bag up, hold the top shut and shake until each piece carries a dry coat.
Heat 1 liter of oil to 170 degrees C, fry the chicken for 8 minutes and lift it out. Once the oil is back at 170 degrees C, fry a second time for 2 minutes, then drain.
Make the sauce: put 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, about 25g, in a pot with 5 tablespoons Korean soy sauce, 2.5 tablespoons malt syrup, 2 tablespoons cooking wine, 4g MSG, 3 tablespoons minced garlic, 5 green horn chilies and 3 hot chilies, all finely chopped, and stir until dissolved. Simmer over low heat until it just bubbles.
Pour the sauce over the fried chicken, toss thoroughly and serve at once while hot.
Tips
Korean crispy frying flour is sold at Korean grocery stores, and ordinary crispy frying flour with a little cornstarch added works in its place.
Malt syrup is still a sugar, used here to make the sauce glossy and clinging, so it is worth keeping to a small amount.
Frying twice is the key to a crust that stays crisp, with the second round lasting only 2 minutes to dry the coating of oil.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so the sauce gets a stir and 5 minutes before it is tasted again.
The sauce comes off the heat as soon as it bubbles, because reducing it further leaves it thick and harshly salty once cool.
Toss the chicken with the sauce in a large bowl and work quickly, since sitting in the sauce softens the crust.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.