Korean Sticky Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Korean chicken sauce made of? ›

The spicy gochujang sauce is made using a mixture of gochujang paste (<– affiliate link), honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger that's been bubbled together until sticky and syrupy. Then we fry the chicken until golden and crispy.

Cornstarch - You could also use potato starch instead. However, having starch in the mix is essential for making Korean fried chicken. The addition of starch is one of the secrets to why Korean fried chicken is so crispy! Water - This is the liquid use to make the wet batter.

One thing that sets Korean fried chicken apart from its competitors is that it's usually less greasy and heavy than other varieties. It is because it's typically cooked without skin, making it a healthier option for those watching their waistlines.

The definitive examples include ganjang (soy sauce), doenjang (soybean paste), and gochujang (chili paste). Traditional Korean sauces all start with meju, which is made by pounding cooked soybeans and shaping them into blocks that are then fermented.

The three jangs that dominate Korean cuisine are doenjang, ganjang and gochujang. These three foundational jangs are similar to the French “mother sauces” since they are used to create all the other sauces and marinades used in Korean cooking.

Korean fried chicken is fried twice to make the lightly coated skin even crispier, adding more fat in the cooking process. The chicken is then coated in a sauce that's high in sugar and extremely high in sodium.

If you've ever ordered Korean fried chicken at a restaurant before, you might have been served this pickled radish, called chicken-mu. Tiny cold radish cubes, pickled in sweet, sour, and just a little salty brine is very refreshing when paired with super crispy Korean fried or roasted chicken.

The chicken itself is often marinated in a mixture of buttermilk, spices, and sometimes even fruit juice to add flavor and tenderize the meat. This step ensures that every bite is bursting with juicy, flavorful chicken. Of course, you can't talk about Korean fried chicken without mentioning the side dishes.

When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color! (It has to do with prevention of gluten development.) The baking powder reacts with the oil and creates tiny air bubbles, which also helps form a crispy coating.

Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating. When the food is fried, the moisture cooks out of the cornstarch, leaving a crackly, puffy coating on the outside.

Is cornstarch or potato starch better for air frying? ›

Most of the time, we use potato starch or cornstarch. Potato starch can be hard to find (although Amazon is now a thing, and Bob's Red Mill is carried everywhere) but produces the best, lightest, crispiest results. Cornstarch comes in a close second and you can get it everywhere.

In a wheat flour-based batter, potato starch and cornstarch perform a similar function. They both inhibit gluten formation, limit oil absorption, and produce a crispier texture.

Make the dry batter: mix together potato starch, all purpose flour, chicken bouillon, salt, and cayenne pepper. You can leave out the cayenne pepper if you don't want any spice. But it's really not that spicy (so add more if you want spice!)

Rice flour and cornstarch work particularly well because they fry up crispier than wheat flour. They also absorb less moisture and fat during the frying process, making the products less greasy. This is why rice flour is often used when making tempura because it produces a very thin and crispy, dry crust.

Korean BBQ sauce can be gluten-free depending on the ingredients used. Traditional Korean BBQ sauce typically contains soy sauce, which is commonly made from fermented soybeans and wheat. Many Korean BBQ Sauce recipes also contain gochujang which is sometimes thickened with wheat flour or wheat starch.

Gochujang sauce is most often used in Korean recipes, but its sweet, spicy umami flavor is so delicious that you'll want to drizzle it over everything! As far as flavor goes, there's nothing like gochujang sauce.

Korean soy sauce (gan-jang) is lighter in colour compared to Japanese and Chinese soy sauces and tastes saltier and less sweet than you might be used to buying in the supermarket. This is because it doesn't contain any sugar. Due to the extra saltiness, it's usually used in cooking rather than dipping.

The base ingredients of barbecue sauce usually include tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, and sweeteners, such as molasses or brown sugar. Other common ingredients include Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, onion powder, and various spices, which can include paprika, cumin, and chili powder.