Family Favorite: Korean Chicken

So yesterday I answered one of those random Facebook "survey" questions: "What food would you want to have 0 calories?" My answer: fried chicken! I love the stuff. I mean, juicy, crunchy, and so versatile...what's not to like? It reminded me that I hadn't made this recipe in ages. I got it when I was back in high school--my brother played baseball and, of course, the parents brought dishes for post-game potlucks. The mother of one of his teammates, Nelson, brought this chicken and everyone loved it so much, she shared the recipe around. Nelson is my classmate but I don't think we've ever talked. Glad our mothers did!


Here's the sauce cast!


I mixed flour with some salt and black pepper for the coating.


I had already deboned a bunch of chicken thighs. To save time you can always buy boneless thighs but they are usually skinless as well. Uh, fried chicken without skin? Sacrilege. 


Now, even though it's called "Korean" chicken, I am sure a lot of people will look at the recipe and say, no, it's not. Let's just call it "Korean adjacent" and avoid the discussion, shall we? There's quite a bit of sugar in the sauce but that's what makes it syrupy and sweet. Mix it with the shoyu.


Chopped green onions and minced garlic go in next. 


Togarashi is a Japanese pepper mix. I like it because it has a bit of heat from the red and Japanese peppers, but it's also very flavorful. Additional ingredients include ginger, black and white sesame seeds, orange peel, and seaweed.


Season the chicken pieces with salt and black pepper. 


I poured about an inch and a half of grapeseed oil into a pot over medium heat. I kind of miss having a deep fryer--the temperature gauge is really handy. The last thing you want to do is fry chicken in oil that's not hot enough.


So I did a small test piece. I floured it all over.


When I laid it in the oil it began to sizzle enthusiastically immediately. Perfect.


It's tempting but don't crowd the pan! Crowding reduces the oil temperature and you really don't want to do that.


As soon as the chicken is cooked, plop it into the sauce and roll it around a bit. 


Then remove from the sauce and place in a serving bowl. Any leftover sauce can be drizzled over the chicken at the end or even over the rice you eat it with. You're going to eat it with rice. It's required.


And there it is! A sweet-salty, lightly spiced, crispy fried chicken. It's a huge favorite in our house--even though it's definitely not 0 calories!

Here's the promised recipe:





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