Korean fried chicken, known as Yangnyeom chicken, has gained so much popularity here in the US. The first time I had Korean chicken wings, my mind was blown. The exterior was super crunchy, the interior was tender and juicy, and the sauce was spicy, sweet and sticky. As a self proclaimed wing connoisseur, I was pretty impressed with the texture and flavor so I had to replicate it.
Jump to RecipeIn this recipe, I decided to go with chicken thighs instead of wings, because I wanted to go for more of a “chicken bite”. I still wanted the meat to be juicy, so I opted for dark meat as opposed to breasts.
Do I need to fry the chicken twice?
There are many Korean fried chicken recipes out there, and many of the call for twice fried chicken. This basically means, when you batter the chicken, you would fry it for a few minutes first. Then, pull it out of the out to cool and fry it again for a few more minutes. While this is a sure fire way to ensure that super crunchy exterior, my recipe only requires the chicken to be fried once and is still crunchy.
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a thick spicy-sweet red chili paste. Its made from red chili pepper flakes, fermented soybeans and sticky rice. While you can make this chili paste from scratch, it is not necessary. You can easily find gochujang at your local farmers market and sometimes in the Asian aisle at the grocery store.
Boneless Korean Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 6 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Flour Mixture
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup panko crumbs
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 4 cups vegetable oil for frying. Use 1 gallon if using a deep fryer. Use a few tablespoons if using an air fryer.
Sauce
- 2 tbsp Gochujang paste
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 3 scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat vegetable oil to 365 degrees
Chicken
- slice chicken thighs into a large dice
- place the chicken in a bowl and add buttermilk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and set aside
Flour coating
- In a large bowl or gallon sized ziplock bag, add the flour, cornstarch, panko, and remaining seasonings
- Take only a few pieces of chicken at a time and coat in the flour mixture
- When the oil is hot, cook for about 5 minutes until the center is no longer pink. Then transfer to a paper towel lined plate or cooling rack
Sauce
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add all ingredients for the sauce
- simmer for 5 minutes until thick and sticky
- toss chicken in the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced scallions
