Korean Fried Chicken is the Best Fried Chicken

I've always considered myself something of a fried chicken expert. Whether we’re talking sports bars, casual dining, or white tablecloth restaurants, if there's some kind of fried chicken on the menu, I'm going to order it. 

Because of that fact, and my advanced age, I’ve pretty much had every single style known to man, and this Korean fried chicken is officially my favorite. No other method I've come across has the same combination of tender, juicy, flavorful chicken, and plate-scratching crispiness as this recipe does. It's simply a must try if you're a fan of the genre. 

The technique is very straightforward, and you can actually do the first deep-frying ahead of time. In fact, I did a little test where I waited 24 hours before doing the second frying, and the results were still quite extraordinary. If you’re doing this for a larger group, the chicken will stay crisp, as long as you hold it in a warm oven (175 F.), while you finish frying the rest. 

Don't forget the sauce! Click here for recipe!

I highly recommend the boneless skinless thighs here, but chunks of breast meat will work as well. I believe real “KFC” actually uses chicken on the bone, but that means bigger pieces, and bigger pieces mean less surface area, which ultimately means less of the amazingly crunchy coating. By the way, I’ve tried beer and soda water in the batter, and for whatever reason, plain ice water works the best for me. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to buy some Korean chili paste (Gochujan), because apparently it's a crime against nature to make the sauce without it. Like I said, I've used it before, and really liked it, so I need to go out and replenish my supply, and get back into the good graces of the Korean people. Anyway, if you like fried chicken as much as I do, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions Korean Fried Chicken:

(Note: these ingredients make enough batter for about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken, even though I only used 1 pound here)

For the chicken marinade:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, quartered

1/2 yellow onion, grated (enough to generously coat chicken chunks)

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 tsp fine salt (1 1/2 tsp if using kosher salt)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black
*Marinate for between 4 to 12 hours

Ingredients for batter:

1/2 cup of self-rising flour (or 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with 3/4 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt)

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup very cold water, or as needed

Serve with this Korean Fried Chicken Sauce.