 | Dakgangjeong (Sweet Crispy Korean Fried Chicken)Shi (IG: @shi_cookin) / Food Content Creator, Brooklyn, NY; Photo by Shi |
Ingredients for the Korean Fried Chicken (Dakgangjeong):
- 1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp. cooking rice wine
- potato starch, as needed
- oil for deep frying, as needed
Ingredients for the Sauce:
- 1 ½ tsp. The Perfect Purée Sweet Ginger, thawed
- ¼ serrano, thinly sliced (around 5-6 slices)
- ¼ yellow onion, small diced
- 6 dried chilis
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 tbsp. corn syrup (oligo syrup recommended)
- 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. gochujang
- 2 tbsp. oil
Ingredients for the Garnish:
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Scallions, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped (optional)
Method for the Korean Fried Chicken (Dakgangjeong):
- In a bowl, add the chicken, salt, black pepper, garlic, ginger, and cooking rice wine. Make sure everything is well incorporated. Set aside and marinate the chicken for 30 minutes at room temp.
- For the sauce, in another bowl, combine the garlic, The Perfect Purée Sweet Ginger, soy sauce, corn syrup, light brown sugar, and gochujang. Mix well and set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, deep saucepan, or fryer, add a generous amount of oil (around 2-3 inches deep) and heat on medium-high heat until it reaches 340°F.
- While the oil is rising to temperature, pour some potato starch onto a large plate or bowl. Coat each chicken piece with potato starch.
- Once the oil reaches 340°F, using chopsticks or tongs, carefully drop in the coated chicken pieces one at a time. Do not overcrowd, it will decrease the temperature of the oil, and it will not fry properly. Fry them until light golden brown, around 7 minutes.
- Once nice and light golden brown, with tongs or a fish spatula, remove from oil and place it onto a sheet tray with a wired rack. Season the chicken with a pinch of salt while it is still hot. Before frying the next batch, wait until the oil comes up to 340°F again. If needed, remove any small floating pieces with a skimmer. Continue steps 5-6 until all the chicken is fried.
- In a separate pot, heat 2 tbsp. of oil on medium heat and add the dried chilis, serranos, and onions. Sweat until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Do not brown; onions should be nice and translucent.
- Lower the heat, add in the sauce mixture, and simmer it on low – medium heat until it thickens slightly, around 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Add chicken and peanuts into the sauce mixture and coat each piece evenly.
- Plate it up and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.