The Best Korean Fried Chicken

Korean fried chicken is one of the most popular foods in Korea. You can just enjoy it crispy, golden, and naked, or smother it in sauce. There are now hundreds of different sauces to choose from. In this post, I will introduce a sweet and mildly spicy gochujang sauce called yangnyeom sauce that is the most traditional and well-loved of the Korean fried chicken sauces.

To make the yangnyeom sauce, you first need gochujang. Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste that is widely used in Korean cuisine. It is increasingly popular in the U.S., and I have been able to find it at the international section at my local grocery store. If you don’t have any luck at your grocery store, however, you should be able to find it at any Asian grocery store. Or, you can buy it online here.

I also have a secret ingredient for you that makes the yangnyeom sauce extra delicious: strawberry jam! Strawberry jam adds more depth to the flavor than sugar. It might sound a little strange to eat chicken with strawberry jam, but it is really good!

Let’s get started.

Ingredients

• 2 lb Chicken breast
• 1.5 lb Chicken wings
• 2 cups Milk
• 1 cup Corn starch
• 1 cup Flour
• 3 tbsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• Canola or vegetable oil for frying

Sweet & Spicy Gochujang Sauce

• 1/2 cup Strawberry jam
• 1/4 cup Ketchup
• 1/4 cup Water
• 2 tbsp Gochujang
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1/2 Small onion

Instructions

For this recipe, I used two pounds of chicken breast and one and a half pound of chicken wings, so I could have a combination of both white meat and dark meat. But feel free to use any chicken cut you prefer.

Cut up the chicken breast into chunks that are similar in size to the chicken wings. Put the chicken breast and wings in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Then add 2 cups milk.

In a 1-gallon ziploc bag, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup corn starch, and 2 tbsp salt. Add the chicken and close the bag. Then shake the bag vigorously to totally coat the chicken.

This is what the chicken will look like when you take it out of the bag. The coating should be nice and even, foreshadowing a nice, crunchy fried crust.

With the chicken completely coated, it’s frying time! Pour a generous amount of oil into a pan or fryer and heat the oil to 350º F. I used canola oil, but you can also use vegetable oil or peanut oil. (If you want to use another oil, just be sure its smoke point is well above 350º F.) Once the oil is hot enough, add the coated chicken in the oil one piece at a time and deep fry for 10 minutes, flipping the chicken half-way through cooking.

After 10 minutes, place the fried chicken pieces on a wire rack. To ensure that the chicken is extra crispy and fried to golden-brown perfection, fry the chicken once again for another 3 minutes. You can keep the fried chicken in a 200º F oven until ready to serve.

Now, let’s get to work on the Korean fried chicken’s signature yangnyeom sauce. Blend water, garlic cloves, and onion. Pour into a sauce pan. To the sauce pan, add strawberry jam, ketchup, gochujang, and soy sauce. Cook on medium-low heat while stirring. Cook until the sauce starts to bubble, in about 5 minutes.

To enjoy the Korean fried chicken’s extra crispy crust, try some without the sauce. When having it without the sauce, dip it in a mixture of 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.

Toss the rest of the fried chicken in the yangnyeom sauce. If you would like, sprinkle the chicken with some crushed peanuts or toasted sesame seeds before serving. Don’t forget to serve it with cold beer and a side of Sweet and Sour Pickled Radishes for the ultimate Korean friend chicken experience!

If you would like to try more Korean dishes, check out this Korean sweet and savory meatballs. Also, subscribe via email or follow on Instagram for the updates on latest recipes from Sprinkle of Sesame!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

The Best Korean Fried Chicken

This crispy fried chicken is served with a sweet and spicy gochujang sauce

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: 30-minute meal, chicken

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 lb Chicken breast
• 1½ lb Chicken wings
• 2 cups Milk
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 cup Corn starch
• 3 tbsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• Oil for frying canola, or vegetable

Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Sauce

• ½ cup Strawberry jam
• 2 tbsp Gochujang
• ¼ cup Ketchup
• ¼ cup Water
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 Garlic cloves
• ½ Onion small

Instructions

• Cut the chicken breast into wing-sized chunks. Add chicken breast and wings into a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and toss. Add milk to the chicken.
• Put flour, corn starch, and 2 tbsp of salt in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Add chicken to the bag and shake vigorously until all the chicken pieces are coated.
• Heat oil to 350°F and add the chicken pieces to fry. Fry for 10 minutes, flipping them half-way through cooking. Once done, cool on a wire-rack. For extra crispy chicken, fry it once more for 3 minutes. Keep in 200°F oven until ready to serve.

Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Sauce

• Blend water, garlic, and onion. Add the mixture to a sauce pan and add rest of the sauce ingredients. While stirring, cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until bubbly.

Notes

• To enjoy the extra-crispy Korean fried chicken without the sauce, dip it in a mixture of 1tbsp salt and 1tsp pepper.
• Optionally, sprinkle the chicken with toasted sesame seeds or crushed peanuts before serving.

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