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Korean Fried Chicken - the BEST Korean fried chicken recipe that yields crispy fried chicken in spicy, savory and sweet Gochujang sauce. So crispy and delicious!
Korean Fried Chicken – My Favorite
I am partial to fried chicken, all kinds of fried chicken. There is nothing not to love about chicken coated in a crispy, crunchy batter and deep-fried to golden perfection. Every bite is bursting with the natural and juicy flavor of chicken!
While I love American-style fried chicken, my true love is Asian fried chicken such as this spicy, savory, and absolutely finger-lickin’ good crispy Korean style fried chicken doused in the classic Korean red pepper paste “gochujang.”
Authentic Korean Fried Chicken Recipe
To make sure that my recipe is spot on, I researched and tried so many of them at Korean restaurants. I then developed the best recipe to share with you!
Trust me, they are exactly like the ones you would get at the restaurants.
Gochujang
Gochujang is Korean red pepper paste. It’s the most important ingredient in Korean recipes. It’s used as a sauce and marinade in many Korean food and lends the iconic red color to many dishes. You can’t make authentic Korean fried chicken without gochujang.
You can buy gochujang from Korean or Asian supermarkets. You can also find them at the international aisle of many supermarkets.
Ingredients
- Chicken wings
- Potato starch
- Gochujang
- Apple cider vinegar
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Korean Fried Chicken
Step 1: Season the chicken with some salt and black pepper, then coat well with the potato starch. Set aside.
Step 2: Combine all the ingredients for Dressing together, stir to mix well.
Step 3: Heat up a Dutch oven, deep skillet or pan with 3 inches (7cm) of oil. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). Coat the wings again and shake off the excess potato starch. Drop the wings gently into the oil and deep-fry until light brown or when they are cooked and become crispy.
Step 4: Remove the wings from the oil and drained on paper towels. Combine the Dressing and the wings, toss to coat well. Garnish with the sesame and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 489 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This meal is best served with main dishes. For a wholesome Korean meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Korean Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) chicken wings, drummettes and wingettes
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- oil, for deep-frying
- white sesame, for garnishing
Dressing:
- 2-3 tablespoons gochujang, Korean red pepper paste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Season the chicken with some salt and black pepper, then coat well with the potato starch. Set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients for Dressing together, stir to mix well.
- Heat up a Dutch oven, deep skillet or pan with 3 inches (7cm) of oil. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). Coat the wings again and shake off the excess potato starch. Drop the wings gently into the oil and deep-fry until light brown or when they are cooked and become crispy.
- Remove the wings from the oil and drained on paper towels. Combine the Dressing and the wings, toss to coat well. Garnish with the sesame and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN, , WE CALLED IT IN THE PHILIPPINES AS CHICKEN WITH SESAME SEEDS…… I LOVE IT ESPECIALLY THE BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS, THE SWEETNESS AND A LITTLE BIT SPICY……..
That’s awesome, I am so glad you like my Korean Fried Chicken recipe.
Hi Rasa Malaysia, thanks for sharing your recipe! I replicated every detail carefully and I’ve noticed that it’s very close to what the make in the restaurants however there is a certain sweetness and zing that is missing. I tried adding more honey and it helped, but I think Aaron is onto something. Longer marinating time and brown sugar might be the missing links!
Sure, sugar always makes everything better. I personally do not like sticky sweet food and I try not to have too much sweetness in my recipes. :)
Hello Dee, I’ve been using your recipes for some time and I was ecstatic that you posted on this topic. I’ve tried to recreate Korean fried chicken for a while but it’s been challenging for me. There was a restaurant in Guam called Pochon Chicken that made the most amazing garlicy fried chicken. Never managed to reproduce it until now.
So now I’ll toss in my suggestion for those of you looking for a little twist. Use Dee’s sauce but with brown sugar instead of honey (goes better with the marinade I’m proposing below than honey). But give your chicken a good solid 6 hours marinating in the following concoction (amounts are for ~12-15 wings):
Use just enough liquid to immerse all the wings in a sealable bag then deposit in the fridge for 6 hours or so.
– 2 parts rice vinegar (better for marinating than the apple vinegar, but use the apple vinegar for the glaze for sure, it’s great)
– 1 part soy sauce
– half a part fish sauce
– 10 red ot hiem peppers, sliced thin (10 will result in medium heat by kr standards I believe if you have about 12 wings) – don’t go out of your way to discard seeds.
– half to a full head of garlic depending on your personal taste, crushed
– If you wish, a medium knob of ginger root finely diced, but this is optional
Before frying, remove the wings from marinade and cover in a bowl, allow to sit at room temp for at least 45 minutes and bread them. Now, the marinade makes your chicken more prone to burning so you really don’t want the oil to exceed 375 (it’s actually fine if they cook down at about 340, so heat to 375 and drop all dozen wings in at once then make sure the range is set high). And they will brown more quickly, probably giving you a deeper reddish hue before you pull them out in 6-8 minutes.
Glaze same as before! I toned down on the Gochujang a little bit because they are already quite spicy and I like the flavor better with less corn syrup.
Biting into these wings is like an explosion of taste. It will be rather spicy by western standards if you follow my suggestions though.
Hi Aaron, thanks for sharing your recipe! I will have to try. I love Korean fried chicken!
These are the wings you’re looking for.
I made these tonight using the twice deep frying technique. They were crisp with fantastic flavor. Years ago I had dinner at a Korean friend’s house and they served these wonderful wings I’ve always wanted to make. The wings in this recipe are equally good but in a different way. Give these a try, you won’t be disappointed.
Hi John, thanks for trying my Korean fried chicken recipe!
This is mouthwatering….Gotta try it tonight :)
This is mouthwatering….Gonna try it tonight :)
This recipe looks good. We should try teaching something like this to our students.
I consider myself a accomplished cook willing to tackle labor intense dishes like tamales and various Chinese dimsum. One area I continue to struggle is a crispy fried chicken. Love how you can eat a piece of refrigerated Popeye’s chicken the next day and still get crunch. I have tried J. Kenji Lopez’s korean fried chicken but was discouraged by having to dry out the chicken in the frig. Between the Korean and Thai recipes, which chicken is crispier and holds up better after being sauced?
Since you’re on a chicken craze, do you have a recipe for Cantonese style fried chicken? Marinated with soy, rice wine, 5 spice and deep fried. Such a simple recipe, I have not been able to duplicate the flavors that I grew up with.
Yes. Chinese fried chicken is good, too. I think the Korean fried chicken is crispier. :)
Scott, I think what you’re missing is the fermented red beancurd (Nam Yue) for the Chinese fried chicken. Try adding this and you might be able to mimic the nostalgic flavour you miss.
I’ve made the wings with a garlic teriyaki glaze. Ten pounds of wings gone before you know it!
The recipe I used was a cornstarch batter and fried 2x to get the crispiness
That’s a great idea.
not sure what korean red pepper paste is
Barbara, it is called “gochujang” and can often be purchased in Chinese grocery stores, and certainly in Korean grocery stores. I searched for it to get pictures of the different brands to help identify them in the store. It generally comes in an oval or rectangular tub, from small size (think like a tub of olive oil/butter spread) to very large. Quality varies greatly by brand, the Korean brands supposedly being the best. There is an island known for growing the peppers used. They dry them on rooftops and then grind them up. So says my Korean boss. LOL.