Korean Fried Chicken recipe

Finger-lickin' good Korean Fried Chicken

Yesterday I took Gwen, my Saab, back to the mechanic. Wednesday, as I drove to work, I smelled burning as I got off the freeway.  As I downshifted for the stop light, I found that I couldn't get into 2nd or 1st gear.  I had to really rev the engine in order to drive from a stop into 3rd gear.  Fortunately, work was less than a mile away.  I parked the car and went into work wondering if I was going to have to call a tow truck to get home.  Later that evening, after work, I got back into the car and it worked just fine.  It was fine until I was almost home when the shifting problem reappeared. If you remember, I've only had Gwen out of the shop for 1 1/2 weeks after putting in a new clutch and clutch cable. So I was really unhappy about having to put her back into the shop for a related clutch problem.

I was fortunate; the brand new clutch cable had stretched and only needed to be readjusted. Of course, it's pretty strange that a brand new cable would stretch out within 1 1/2 weeks, but, oh well. We'll try this new adjustment for the next several weeks. Hopefully, it will work permanently, otherwise it'll mean another trip to the shop.

I was overjoyed to not have to pay for this visit. Obviously that meant another celebratory dinner. So I made Korean Fried Chicken.

This recipe comes from Saveur magazine. Although you have to fry the chicken twice in order to get the fabulous crispiness, it's fairly easy to make and incredibly delicious. I doubled this recipe in order to give us LOTS of leftovers. It's VERY messy to eat which only adds to the fun!

This is the brand of Gojujang that I used

Gojujang is a Korean fermented chile paste that tastes a little like chile paste mixed with miso. I think it's only mildly spicy, but you might think it's hotter.

Frying the wings

After the 1st fying

After the 2nd frying

 
Korean Fried Chicken

Canola oil, for frying
5 cloves garlic
1 1 1⁄2" piece peeled ginger
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. gojujang (Korean chile paste)
1 1⁄2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. Asian sesame oil
1 tbsp. honey
2⁄3 cup flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
16 chicken wings (about 1 3⁄4 lbs.)

1. Pour oil into a 6-qt. pot to a depth of 2". Heat over medium-high heat until a thermometer reads 350˚. Chop garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add soy, gojujang, vinegar, sesame oil, and honey; purée. Put sauce into a bowl.

2. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and 2⁄3 cup water in another bowl. Add chicken; toss. Working in 3 batches, fry chicken until golden, 6–8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Return oil to 350˚. Fry chicken until crisp, 6–8 minutes more. Drain again. Toss chicken in sauce.

SERVES 2 – 4