Dakgangjeong is one of the tastiest versions of fried chicken you’ll come across. It’s twice-fried, perfectly crispy, and coated in a sticky, spicy, and sweet sauce flavored with gochujang and sesame oil. Pair dakgangjeong with a bowl of plain short-grain rice, some veggies, and a few cups of green tea.
On the Ingredients
- Gochujang is a fermented sweet and spicy condiment from Korea. It’s made with chili, glutenous rice, soybean powder, barley malt powder, and salt. Gochujang can vary greatly in heat and even has its own heat scale called GHU (gochujang hot-taste units), ranked from 0 (mild) to 100 (Extreme hot). In flavor, gochujang is earthy and mildly sweet. It’s used in classic Korean dishes such as bibimbap and tteokbokki.
- Sesame oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Sesames were cultivated for oil during the Indus Valley civilization, a Bronze Age civilization in South Asia. Sesame oil comes in regular and toasted varieties. Oil made from uncooked sesame seeds is pale yellow and has a mildly nutty flavor and grain-like aroma. It’s used for frying and during the cooking process. Oil made from toasted sesame seeds is rich, amber in color, and more aromatic. It’s usually added towards the end of the recipe as a flavoring agent.
Recipe Notes
- What’s the best oil for frying? We can all probably agree that fried foods aren’t exactly healthy. However, if you’re treating yourself to some delicious fried food at home, you want to ensure you’re doing it in the best way possible. The best options are olive, avocado, soybean, peanut, and canola oils, all high in monounsaturated fatty acids. This means they’re more stable and fit well with the recommended frying temperatures of 350° F – 375° F. Yes, olive oil works, so long as you’re frying at those optimal temperatures, its smoke point is 410° F. However, olive oil has a strong flavor that might not go with everything. If you don’t think the flavor will go, avocado oil is a great, more neutral oil. If the price tag on avocado oil is too high for a high volume use like frying, canola oil is likely the most cost effective if you get the Field Day 32 oz bottle with Co-op Basics.
Sweet and Spicy Korean Fried Chicken
3
servings30
minutes15
minutes45
minutesDakgangjeong is one of the tastiest versions of fried chicken you’ll come across. It’s twice-fried, perfectly crispy, and coated in a sticky, spicy, and sweet sauce flavored with gochujang and sesame oil. Pair dakgangjeong with plain, short-grain rice and a few cups of green tea.
Ingredients
- Chicken Ingredients
1 lb skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1-2” pieces)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cloves garlic (grated)
1 tbsp rice wine
1/3 cup potato starch
neutral oil for frying
2 scallions (chopped)
- Sauce Ingredients
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp gochujang
3 tbsp sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
1 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
1 clove garlic (grated)
Directions
- In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces, salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, and rice wine. Mix to evenly coat the chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken marinates, combine the sauce ingredients in a pan and bring them to a boil. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a thick-bottomed skillet or dutch oven, add oil, so it’s about one inch high. Set the heat to medium-low and bring the oil up to 330° F.
- While the oil is heating, put the potato starch in a bowl, and using a pair of chopsticks or tongs, lightly coat each piece of chicken in the starch, putting them on a plate ready for frying.
- When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken in batches, don’t crowd, or you’ll bring the oil’s temperature down. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes, turning halfway.
- Set the chicken on a wrack over a paper bag to drain excess oil as each batch is done.
- Bring the oil back up to temperature (330° F) and add the chicken back in (no need to do it in batches this time). Fry until each piece is golden brown, about 4 minutes, turning halfway.
- Set the chicken on a wrack over a paper bag to drain excess oil.
- Heat the sauce back up then put the chicken in a bowl and pour the sauce over it. Use a large spoon the mix the chicken until it's evenly coated. Garnish with scallions and serve with short-grain rice. Enjoy!
