| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 day 3 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) water
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) superfine sugar or caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 pound (about 500 grams) daikon radish, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) cornstarch or corn flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 grinds black pepper
- 2 chicken drumsticks, 2 thighs and 4 wings with tips (bone in, skin on)
- 2 chicken drumsticks, 2 thighs and 4 wings with tips (bone in, skin on)
- 80 grams dark brown sugar
- 70 grams Korean chile paste (gochujang)
- 30 grams soy sauce
- 15 grams rice vinegar
- 14 grams sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 250 grams soy sauce
- 100 grams dark brown sugar
- 60 grams mirin
- 30 grams rice vinegar
- 6 grams sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon Korean chile flakes (gochugaru)
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or corn flour
- Oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) cornstarch or corn flour
- 1/4 cup (34 grams) fine matzo meal
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic granules
- 2 1/2 teaspoons onion granules
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (237 grams) water
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) vodka
- 2 tablespoons Korean chile paste (gochujang)
Instructions
- For the pickled radish cubes: Combine the rice vinegar, water, superfine sugar and salt in a large bowl, whisking until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the radish cubes and toss to coat. Leave at room temperature, covered, for 24 hours. Then refrigerate.
- For the pre-coating: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, baking powder and pepper. Add the chicken and toss well until evenly coated in all areas. Transfer the chicken to a rack, shaking the chicken well to get rid of any excess coating. Let rest, uncovered, for 1 hour.
- For the gochujang sauce: Combine the brown sugar, chile paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and allow to cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
- For the sweet soy sauce: Heat the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, chile flakes and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved; allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and whisk into the sauce. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and set aside.
- For the batter: Pour enough oil into a 6-quart Dutch oven to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil reads 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, matzo meal, flour, chile flakes, salt, garlic granules, onion granules and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the water, vodka and chile paste. Just before frying, whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The consistency should be relatively thin and runny.
- Working in 2 batches, dip each piece of chicken into the batter, letting excess batter drip off. Suspend the chicken in the oil for a couple of seconds for it to set before letting it slip completely into the oil, otherwise the chicken will fall and stick to the bottom of the pot. Fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes per batch. Transfer to a wire rack to drain as done.
- Serve with the sauces on the side.
Reviews
Can we please stick to one system of measurement please? Either metric or imperial please. Other than that this is a great recipe!
Delicious. Really enjoyed the variety of the sauces and contrast with the Daikon. Found a few bits of the recipe odd with liquids like Mirin, rice vinegar and sesame oil measured in grams? While it’s obviously doable, why make things unnecessarily harder, complicated, or for the metricly challenged, just plain annoying.
So good!!!
I recently got a new cast iron Dutch Oven, and decided to deep fry some chicken to christen it, but didn’t want regular old fried chicken. This recipe was great.
I only made the gochujang sauce and skipped the sweet soy sauce. I’ll try that next time, but the gochujang was great!
I also didn’t have the pickled relish, which I absolutely love, so that was my only regret, if you could call it that.
I have to say, when my guests saw me pour the vodka into the batter, they were hooked!
no one else thought this was too salty? The crispiness was great but couldn’t eat it because it was way too salty.
Why is the Gochujang Sauce and Soy Sauce in grams and how do I convert like the rest of the ingredients are? Also the video ingredients don’t all match the recipe (vodka and matzo not included for example). Is the recipe with all these available anywhere.
Loved it! I made Korean fried chicken and I can’t get enough! The batter was crispy, crunchy and the chicken was so juicy. Who woulda thought the vodka controlled the batter texture?
So good. A must try”
So good. A must try”
I just made Judy Joo’s Ultimate Korean fried chicken and it was amazing!! Salty, crunchy, juicy, and a bit spicy. The BBQ sauce took me back to Osan, and I’m originally from NYC.
Used 4 thighs and 6 legs as I’m not much of a wings person. The thighs were a bit on the large side, so I cooked them in a deep cast iron skillet for the full 20 minutes, turning them frequently. The legs I cooked for 15 minutes, same turn rotation, and both were perfect. I also cooked them at 325 degrees instead of 350.
I don’t eat fried chicken often, but when I’m in the mood for it, this will be my new “go to” recipe.
So good!
This is why we exercise. I use thiis batter and method for catfish, chicken, pickles and poppers. Drizzle the batter in the fryer for tasty bits. So good. Go to for deep fry. As for the sauces, wonderful bbq, soy is always salty. I make the cucumber salad from v. Bertinelli for the cooling refreshment.
The chicken itself was very tasty and the coating stayed on through the frying process. I made chicken tenders and used the sauces for dipping. We found the sweet soy sauce not to our liking as it was exceptionally salty. TheGochujang Sauce was pungent and similar to barbeque sauce. I will use this precoating and batter when frying chicken or fish again. Thank you!