Fried Chicken with Gochujang Sauce
This is my kinda Korean fried chicken recipe. Gochujang is fermented Korean chilli paste. Its savory, sweet, spicy and F**ing delicious. I got mine at Farro but a good supermarket will stock. The sauce can be made ahead of time and will keep well in the fridge, you will just need to warm it before using as it does get quite thick when cooled.
Ingredients
Chicken
500g boneless chicken thighs, sliced 2cm thick
1/2 cup plain yoghurt or buttermilk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Coating
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cornflour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
To Fry
1 lt rice bran or sunflower oil
Gochujang Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp gochujang paste
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
To Serve
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
Freshly picked coriander
Prep It
Pat chicken dry and slice into 2cm strips. Place in a large bowl with yoghurt, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix well, cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour and up to over night.
Whisk together all coating ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Thinly slice spring onion and set aside in the fridge for serving.
Cook It
When your chicken has been marinating long enough make your sauce. Mince garlic and ginger and place in a small pot with remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer on medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes, until thick and glossy. Keep warm and set aside for serving.
Fry It
Get your chicken out of the fridge and add it to the coating mixture, a couple of pieces at a time. Toss to coat and place on a tray. Place tray in the fridge for 15 minutes to hydrate the coating.
After 15 minutes, repeat through the coating mixture again and your ready to fry!
Place oil in a large heavy pot and place on medium-high heat. The oil should come about half way up the side of the pot. You don’t want to overfill it as when you add the chicken it will bubble and rise. Half way is good.
The oil needs to be about 180°C to fry. If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the oil by adding a small piece of bread. It should float on the top, sizzle and brown.
Add chicken to oil in 2 batches and cook for about 6 minutes, until cooked through, golden and crispy. Give it the occasional stir whilst frying. You can place your first batch on a wire rack while the second batch cooks. The rack will ensure it stays crispy.
Sauce It
When all the chicken is cooked, transfer to a large bowl and add your gochujang sauce. Toss well to fully coat the chicken and pour it into your serving plate. Sprinkle over spring onion and coriander.