Korean Fried Chicken
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 4 hours
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
-3lb chicken drums and thighs, skin on, bone-in
-1-2 cups oil, for frying
-1/2 cup salt + 1 quart warm water
*Coating:
-1 1/2 cups cornstarch
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp sugar
-3/4-1 cup water
*Sauce
-1/2 cup gochujang
-3 tbsp rice vinegar
-3 tbsp honey
-1 tbsp sesame oil
-pinch of gochugaru (chili flakes)
Directions:
Place the salt and warm water in a large bowl and swirl to dissolve the salt. Then add the chicken pieces to the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to 12 hours). Take the chicken out of the brine and dry with paper towels. Set out to allow the skin to continue drying.
Pour the oil into a large deep pot and set over medium heat. Mix your coating ingredients and separate in half, set other ingredients aside for now. Move the chicken to the "dry" coating bowl and toss to coat well.
Then in a separate bowl, add the rest of your coating mixture and add 1 or less cup water until the ingredients are a heavy and creamy consistency.
Turn the oven on 400F. Check the temperature of the dry oil. One piece at a time, tap the excess cornstarch off the chicken and dunk it in the batter. Dunk a couple times to make sure there are no air pockets. Shake the chicken to allow the excess batter to drip back into the bowl then slowly place your chicken in the oil 4-6 pieces at a time, until golden brown and crispy. Flip the chicken with tongs as needed. The wings should be golden and cooked through, around 10 minutes and the drumsticks will take between 12-15 minutes. Once all you chicken is fried, move all of your chicken to the pan and place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.
While the chicken is baking, add your ingredients for the sauce in a medium sauce pot. Set over medium heat, stir, and bring to a boil. Once the sauce reaches a boil, turn the heat on low and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Then remove from heat. Taste for spice. If you want your chicken to be extra spice, add more flakes or even sriracha (do not add more gochujang as it will add to the salt level).
Once all the chicken is done baking, dunk each piece of into the sauce, one at a time to coat well. Serve immediately and enjoy!