We always see K-Drama actors eat fried chicken with gusto and those scenes just make us salivate. Oh my, it’s pure torture especially because we watch TV late at night when the kids are asleep and we are already hungry. So I just had to recreate this dish at home. Here is my Korean fried chicken recipe, which I tweaked according to my taste. And hubby loved it. Let me know in the comments if you tried it, too.

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Watching K-Dramas at Night

Hubby and I work during the day and I continue to work at night. So it is only late at night, when we have waited for the kids to fall asleep in their room, when we can finally unwind and turn on the TV.

Aside from superhero series and crime drams, hubby and I occasionally watch K-Dramas. Not only are we hooked with the insightful storylines, I also like looking at Asian actors. But perhaps the most memorable parts for us are the eating and drinking scenes. We look at what they eat and drink. And it seems that in every show, there is a particular dish that they highlight.

We remember watching Crash Landing on You (CLOY) starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin. Aside from the kilig feels, we were so craving for the fried chicken that Captain Ri’s men always had when they were in Seoul. I just had to make them. We also bought some soju to complete the experience. haha

Korean Fried Chicken Recipe

Showing you here the step-by-step process to on how to make Korean Fried Chicken at home. It’s actually a 4-part process: marinate, make the sauce, fry, and assemble.

Ingredients:

• ½ kilo chicken drumsticks, cleaned and patted dry.

Chicken Marinade

The chicken meat itself should already be flavorful and you can achieve that through marinating for at least 30 minutes. Slice or poke some holes in the thick muscle parts for your seasonings to go through.

• Salt and black pepper
• Thumb-sized ginger, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsps. cooking wine
• Any other flavorings you like, like fish sauce (patis)

Mix and rub the chicken lightly with your mixture. Then let the chicken marinate in these flavorful and aromatic ingredients for at least 30 minutes. Or you can chill for an hour–it will just taste better.

Korean Fried Chicken Sauce

Any self-respecting Korean Fried Chicken recipe would show you that frying marinated chicken is not the end of it. It all boils down to having the perfect sauce to coat your crispy fried chicken.

While your chicken is marinating and soaking in the flavors, you can prepare the sauce. What you need are:

• 3 Tbsps. tomato catsup
• 2 1/2 Tbsps. gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsps. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps. sesame oil

Combine everything in a saucepan and cook over low heat until boiling. You can adjust the level of spiciness by adding a bit more gochujang or some chili flakes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Dredging and Frying

Prepare the chicken for frying. What you need are:

• Cooking oil
• 2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper
• ¾ flour + ¾ cornstarch seasoned with salt and pepper

I like seasoning every step of the way, even if it’s just a pinch. That makes sure that your layers are all seasoned.

Heat cooking oil enough to deep fry the chicken. Make sure that the oil is near boiling before frying. Dip the chicken slices one by one in the egg wash and then roll on the starch. Drop the chicken one by one into the oil. Fry until golden brown.

Use a strainer when picking up the chicken and then transfer them onto paper towels to drain excess oil.

For Serving

Place the fried chicken in a bowl with a lid and drizzle sauce all over. Cover the bowl and shake the chicken inside in order to coat the chicken.

Serve on a plate and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions. I got a big heavy-handed on the sesame seeds because of its health benefits for perimenopausal women. You may omit them if you don’t want them, but then again, that would be missing the Korean fried chicken experience. Hehe

You can have the sweet and spicy Korean fried chicken with steamed white rice or just have them with some beer or soju. Yum! I assure you—you won’t stop with just one slice.