Crispy Korean Fried Chicken in a spicy, sweet glaze that is so crispy and sticky you’ll coat everything from wings to baked chicken breasts.
This delicious Asian Food recipe is is a popular alternative to other fried and saucy favorites like Honey Orange Firecracker Shrimp, the delicious General Tso’s Chicken, and of course P.F. Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken.
Korean Fried Chicken is a deliciously crispy chicken with a super sticky and savory bite you’ll love. Plus it takes just 20 minutes to make!
Korean Fried Chicken is a super easy dish to make, even with unique layers of flavor and texture. The spicy Gochujang red pepper paste immediately adds a ton of flavor that is balanced by the sweet and acidic notes of the brown sugar and rice wine vinegar.
It may sound like a lot of flavors going on, but honestly it is just a few ingredients and once you try this blend of flavors, you’ll be topping it on all the different cuts of chicken you can find!
You can also try a few different breading options. Some recipes use baking powder to create a super crispy exterior (but requires a bit of drying time), or you can use a tempura batter. Then there is of course the rice batter used in the Spicy Cashew Chicken. Serve Korean Fried Chicken over Steamed Rice with a side of 5 Minute Crunchy Asian Lime-Peanut Slaw for a quick, better-than-takeout Asian meal right at home.
How to Make Korean Fried Chicken
The cooking process for this sweet and savory chicken is super easy. We’ll be mixing the sauce together first. Then we’ll be deep frying the chicken, and coating it once done for delicious golden brown chicken wings with a sweet and semi-spicy sauce. Coarse ground black pepper is completely optional, but recommended.
- Step One: Make the marinade in a mixing bowl.
- Step Two: Fry the chicken in the cooking oil until it has a crunchy crust. Cook the chicken in batches if needed. Make sure the oil temperature hits 375ºF. Drain on a wire rack.
- Step Three: Toss in the bowl with the sauce, top with freshly chopped green onions and serve hot and ready!
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Frequently Asked Questions
This gochujang sauce recipe and frying method will also work great with shrimp, diced pork loin, or pressed tofu cubes.
Chopped bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, snow peas, and/or a few cloves garlic would be a delicious addition to Korean fried chicken. Sauté the vegetables in a separate pan with a light spray of oil, and add to the sauce at the same time as the drained fried chicken.
The gochujang in the sauce is what makes this chicken taste authentically Korean, so don’t substitute that ingredient. You can, however, add some more Asian flavors by adding garlic, ginger, or sesame oil to the sauce. You may want to quickly cook the garlic or ginger in a lightly oiled pan for 30 seconds before adding it to the rest of the sauce ingredients to mellow out the strong flavors.
For extra crispy chicken, you can double fry the chicken. Double frying helps to crisp it up very nicely. After frying, use a slotted spoon to transfer it from the deep fryer to a wire rack. Refry all the chicken again for a second time.
Chili paste is mainly intended to add a spicy kick, so you can use Indonesian Sambal Oelek instead if that are more readily available. If you’re looking for something less spicy, you can try sweet chili sauce. You can also make your own with ⅓ cup Sriracha, a half teaspoon of rice vinegar, a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, and a teaspoon of freshly grated garlic.
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Key Ingredients in Korean Fried Chicken
Any Asian food store will have all these ingredients. And most large grocery stores will have them in the international section.
- Korean Gochujang: This is the primary flavor in Korean Fried Chicken, so don’t swap it for any other ingredient. You can also find it in your local Asian grocery stores. There is a more Americanized brand as well from Annie Chun’s too if you can’t find the more authentic version.
- Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and it’s always best to use reduced sodium.
- Rice Vinegar: Readily available in almost all grocers these days, this is a great vinegar to keep on hand. It does have a hint of sweetness to it, so don’t replace with any other vinegar except perhaps a red wine vinegar if you absolutely need to.
- Chicken: We’re using skinless and boneless chicken thighs. You can use also use 2 pounds chicken wings, or 2 pounds chicken breasts.
Alternative Cooking Methods
If you’d prefer not to deep fry your chicken, you can try one of the alternatives here. Just keep in mind and make sure the chicken cooks to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- Air Fryer: Line the air fryer with tin foil. Dry the chicken with paper towel and make sure it is at room temperature. Lightly oil the chicken, but not too much. Depending on the thickness of your chicken, air fry at 375ºF for 6 minutes, turn the chicken over halfway through.
- Bake: Similar to air frying, dry the room temperature chicken and coat with a bit of oil. Bake on an oven tray at 400ºF for about 15 minutes, turning the chicken over at the 7 minute mark.
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How to Store Korean Fried Chicken
- Serve: Don’t leave cooked chicken at room temperature longer than 2 hours before refrigerating.
- Store: Sealed in an airtight container, Korean Fried Chicken will last in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
- Freeze: After cooling completely, lay Korean Fried Chicken pieces in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze 1 hour. Then transfer to a freezer safe plastic bag for 2-3 months. Reheat from frozen in a 400 degree oven for 16-20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs , cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- vegetable oil , for frying
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds , for garnish
Sauce
- 1/3 cup Korean Gochujang red pepper paste
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Toss the chicken in the flour, then dredge into the egg and finally coat in the cornstarch.
- In a large glass bowl add the Gochujang, vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce and whisk until well combined.
- Heat up a heavy bottomed pan with 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
- Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- Drain the fried chicken and add to the bowl with the sauce.
- Toss to combine, garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
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I really liked the flavors, and it was very easy to make. The next time I do, I’ll heat the sause with a little water and corn starch (I found the brown sugar to be a bit gritty). Also, prepare yourself, this makes quite a bit of chicken. And maybe it’s just me, but whenever I dredge chicken like this, I use a lot more flour and corn starch.
I usually don’t post reviews but this recipe is THE BOMB. I made this 2 days ago and me and my fiancé haven’t been able to stop thinking about how great and amazing this dish was. I had fun making it and even more fun eating it and the best part is, it’s still good when it cools down. I deep fried the chicken twice to get it extra crispy and it was just so crispy, sticky, sweet, spicy and amazing. We had some leftover from dinner and we ate it together later that night and it remained crispy and sticky and I was literally sad when we finished it. I have already decided to make it again next Friday. 10/10, thank you SO much for this amazing recipe.
Absolutely loved this korean fried chicken! So crispy and juicy! Served it up with some coconut rice!
I think this is my new favorite dish!! Love the flavor!! The chicken is nice & crisp & love the little kick!
Hi! I want to make this so badly! Another recipe called for garlic chili paste, yours red pepper paste! Are there any substitutes? Thanks! ?
The ingredient is mainly intended to add a spicy kick, so you can use Indonesian Sambal Oelek or Korean Gochujang instead if those are more readily available. If you’re looking for something less spicy, you can try sweet chili sauce or even ketchup.
Other recipes fry chicken twice to make sure of very crunchy chicken. Why don’t you?
Thanks
Nice. We all loved it. Very good and so easy to make.
Made this today, it was just amazing! Loved the flavor, but a bit too spicy for my fam. Although i did add some water and honey in the sauce to make it a little less spicy and it kind of worked. Loving this recipe, definitely doing this again!
I think this would be great for my Christmas party. Could you freeze it and heat it just before serving?
I would freeze a test batch before serving to a party if I were you. Or, prepare and freeze your sauce and then fry the chicken before serving.
Made this recipe today, and it was fantastic. I didn’t tweak a thing and followed the recipe exactly as written. So flavorful!
Thank you so much, Tanny! SO glad it was a hit!
Hello, this recipe looks AMAZING im soooo excited to try it!! I have a quick question- do you think for the chicken it would be possible to do in the airfryer versus straight frying it on the stove?
Thanks!!
I normally don’t leave reviews but I feel this one deserved one. This was FANTASTIC! Hot as all heck but we loved it. The only thing I did different was cook it in the air fryer instead of oil. Will be making this again very soon! Thanks
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it enough to want to leave a review. I take that as a huge compliment.
Do you heat the sauce going to try this out
I don’t because when you toss it with the fried chicken, it’ll warm up. Enjoy!
I have made this formula multiple times, with my sisters on facetime. It is a victor with everybody, and we make some incredible memories making it. Now and again we add some snappy pickled carrots to serve. Much obliged to you for the superb formula!
That’s awesome!
Greetings from London. 🙂
I’ve cooked this multiple times now for family and friends and it always goes down a storm so just wanted to say thanks.
Cheers!
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoy this dish!
This was AMAZING. Followed it to the letter. Twice. Served with scallion rice and steamed broccoli.
Yay!!
Hi, I’m wondering if I could make wings with this recipe?
Sure 🙂
I bought the Korean fried chicken mix at the Korean grocery.I saw Seonkyoung using it. The directions are in Korean. Can you give me the English directions? Thank you so much?
You might be better off inputting it into google translate.
Hi, 2 things happened when I made this first the sauce ended up looking black and secondly the chicken when. Fried went pure white bit crispy, Although still ate it as was amazing soo good, thank you for recipe.
What can i use as a substitute of brown sugar?
You can substitute with white sugar if you have that on hand.
I made this tonight and we LOVED it. Thanks for the recipe!!
You’re welcome!
I am a huge fan of the hotter, the better! A girl I used to work with had a Korean mother who made me some kimchi that I requested so hot she sent word for me to come put my hands in the mix cause she wasn’t going to burn hers anymore. I would like to get a good kimchi recipe so I can make it and I’ll adjust the heat level to my extreme taste for hot and spicy.
I love it!! I’ll add kimchi to my research list. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion.
Excellent We love this. Made extra sauce and use it on other meats.
Sweet Mama take a bath. That is some top shelf chicken! So good. Followed the recipe exactly. Wouldn’t change a thing. Excellent, and have told everyone I know about it. Thanks!
Haha, I love it!! Thanks!
Wal-Mart only had Momofuku’s SSAM sauce (closest thing to Gochujang I could find) do you think it would be an alright substitute?
I’ve never tried it so if you decide to give it a go, I’d love to know what you think. Thanks!
Hi Sabrina,
This recipe looks delicious, but I have never tried the paste you use. How spicy is it say on a scale from one to ten. ( I like mild spice, )
Thanks, Nina
I’d say about a 4. 🙂
Tweaked this a little due to what was available . I used Sriracha , red wine vinegar, grated ginger, grated garlic , brown sugar , soy sauce, and a splash of lemon juice and cooked the sauce a little but it tastes amazing thanks for the inspiration!!
You’re welcome, Bradley. So glad you were able to adapt to what you had on hand.
I made it once exactly as you say, and today I tried again changing all the coat for just cornstarch and double frying the chicken. The result was extra-crispy and delicious!
Greetings from Spain!
Oooh that sounds so delicious! I want to try that too! Thank you for the review and now I just want to eat Spanish food!
can i use chicken breasts instead
Sure 🙂
I made this last night. It was so delicious – I made tons and it was all eaten. I used potato starch instead of cornstarch because I prefer the taste, otherwise I did exactly what you said. We had it with rice and green salad. Thanks Sabrina! From Pil in Tasmania.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and letting me know how much you enjoyed it, Pil! I appreciate the 5 star rating.
Hi. Instead of the paste, can I use McCormack Korean red pepper? It something I bought in the spice aisle.
I think they have a different consistency. The paste is thicker than the spice blend. I’m not sure it would work. If you decided to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
Korean red pepper is just the ground up Korean pepper, the Gochujang has been fermented. different flavor all around.
Was wondering what I could use blade of the gojuchng (?) pepper paste – I don’t have it on hand…? Thank you for any guidance! Beth
It’s really hard to duplicate the complex flavor of the paste. It’s availabe on Amazon if you are still needing to find it.
Here’s the link:
http://amzn.to/2w5FX7n
Hi, regarding the sauce portion of the recipe, I added 1/3 cup of the pepper paste, and it’s really spicy and opaque, doesn’t look like your recipe one at all, am I doing it wrong?
I’m not sure what it could be. Did you change any ingredients or amounts? If you’d like, you can email me at contact @ dinnerthendessert .com and we can try and troubleshoot to figure it out.
Hi Sabrina. Curious what kind of oil you would recommend. I am so looking forward to making this! My teen loves to eat Panda’s orange chicken. Want him to take a break and try the korean way!
I used canola oil for frying 🙂
I will be using avocado oil when I try the recipe. It’s neutral and allows all flavors of a dish to come through.
The next time I do this, I am SO tagging you on the ‘gram. Thank you so much for sharing this. I made a couple of small edits: for the bird, I skipped the egg wash and dredged in a mix of half potato starch and half rice flour (I tried it with the egg and cornstarch the first time out and the texture was a little off but I see how it works for thigh or breast pieces rather than party wings). For the sauce I added sriracha, ginger paste, and chopped garlic. my husband went wild, my coworkers went wild and I am THRILLED to have another copycat dish in the bag!
Yes, tag away!! Thank you so much for all the positive feedback! Love it!
I thought this recipe was baked not fried.
Sorry if there was any confusion but these are fried.
I want to try this with chicken wings tonight
it’s gochujang not gojuchang
Thanks for catching that!
pretty sure i’d devour this entire recipe!
It’s hard to share….the struggle is real, haha!
Swooning over how delicious this chicken looks! I have to make it soon!
Thanks Anna!
I love quick savory meals! Perfect for our busy weeknights!
Definitely, we all need a break once in a while!
Wow! What a great chicken dish! I want to devour some right now!
Thanks Amy!
Oh wow! I need this and a fork, stat! This is just the kind of dish I crave – it looks amazing!
I am looking at the sauce portion of your recipe. The instructions list water as one of the 5 ingredients to be combined. But, the list of ingredients does not include any water. I could improvise, but would prefer to have the proper amount.
How much water should be added when making the sauce? Thank you!
Skip the water, I dropped it from the recipe after additional recipe testing and forgot to remove it from my directions. Sorry about that!