Korean Fried Chicken

Oh my dear God. This chicken is amazing. I agree. The best fried chicken ever. The sauce is wonderful too. However it's insanely hot. Those in my home that like the heat; loved the sauce. The rest ate the chicken alone w no regrets. Ty again Chef John. U never let me down!!!

My, oh my! This is some insanely delectable fried chicken!! Now, I've tried some really great fried chicken in my time, but this takes the cake! Crispy, crunchy, flavorful yummy goodness. This is the BEST fried chicken I've ever made. (Makes me almost feel like a professional cook, although far from it. Lol) And my kids absolutely LOVE this! (And I have a super picky eater on my hands) It's to die for with the Korean Fried Chicken Sauce, but still equally as good without. I personally prefer it with the sauce, as it's nice and spicy. And face it, we could all use a little spice in our lives. :-) This will definitely be my go-to fried chicken recipe from now on. I know, some people might think this is a bit time consuming to have to fry this in two steps, but believe me when I say the effort is totally worth it!! I'd give this 10 stars if I could!!

I am making this again for the second time in a matter of weeks. My family just loved it and the sauce. I didn't have a deep fryer so I used my good ole' heavy skillet. At first I was put off because the chicken once battered stuck to the bottom of the skillet, but I figured out that I needed to turn it once intially after a few seconds and it came out great! I am making it for Easter dinner at my family's request! Watch the video, it is very helpful. At first I thought it was just regular hard fried chicken, but I was wrong. The flavors came together so well. Try it, it will soon be a family fav.

Absolutely delicious!! I found that I only needed 2/3 of a cup of cold water, I started out with 3/4 of a cup and my batter was too thin so I had to add some more flour and corn starch to it to thicken it up. We had 2 lbs of chicken and still had some batter left over. I'm thinking I'm going to use it tomorrow with some whole mushrooms since it has the onion and garlic flavor in it. I recommend you watch the video on Foodwishes.com before cooking because he gives some really neat tips that were very helpful. This chicken was moist and crunchy and fabulously tasty! The Korean Fried Chicken Sauce also listed on this site is VERY hot and we love spicy, however, 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes is a nice amount of heat. If you don't tolerate heat at all leave it out altogether, do a taste test and add a tiny amount if you feel it needs a little heat. I made a double batch and only used 1/4 tsp. because my daughter doesn't tolerate spicy and it still had a little bite to it but she said it was tolerable. You can always add more red pepper flakes to individual servings for those who do want more heat so others can enjoy a less spicy sauce. I used half sweet chili sauce and half Sambal Oelek chili sauce (which is spicier than sweet chili sauce) in which both can be found in your local Asian Market. I also think it had too much lemon juice but he does say adjust to your taste. I had to add 2 tsp. of sugar to off set the tart. Next time I will start with 1/2 juiced lemon. Wonderful!

This recipe will be on my repeat list for sure. While I won't say I like it better than any fried chicken I've had it's definitely good. The crunchy outer texture and tender meat inside is a pleasant surprise indeed.

I will definitely be making this again. I followed the recipe exactly. But the leftovers get soft and have to be reheated in the oven which gives them back most of there crispness.

Chef John is the BEST.... 10 STARS with or without the Korean Fried Chicken Sauce!! My "Go To" Batter....AWESOME!! AWESOME!! AWESOME!!

Oh wow !!! This is so delicious !!! I made it twice in a row. Sweet- spicy ,perfect balance , I didn't change a thing ! will definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing

Best ever fried chicken! Light, crispy, juicy chicken sure to please everyone! I added a tiny bit more salt and pepper for personal preference only. Fried in deep cast iron skillet with peanut oil. One large bl/sl chicken breast cut into 4ths and two thighs cut in half each. 3 to 4 mins. per side. Next time I will use remaining batter for onion rings, zucchini, etc. Almost tempura-like. Great recipe, Chef John! Thank you!

This recipe is awesome - my family loved it. It is a keeper.

It tastes really good i made it at a superbowl party everyone liked. This is my fvaorite

Hands down the best fried chicken I have ever mAde. The right amount of flavor and crispyness. It even cooked just right! I couldn't tell what the heat would be at at both times so I just used medium and high heat. Wonderful, even without the sauce. Thank you thank you.this, will be the way I will make fried chicken from now on.

Every speck of breading fell off while cooking the first time. It looked like the same consistency as in the video. Not sure what I did wrong. I'm sure it was a screw up on my part somehow, but I can't figure out where I went wrong. I followed directions to a T! Total waste of time and ingredients here. Oh well.

We love this recipe. I make it and serve it with the Korean Fried Chicken sauce also on this site and my kids fight over it. Absolutely delicious and will stay in our dinner rotation. Thanks for the great recipes.

This was delicious. Made according to the recipe. Chicken thigh was very crispy on the outside and very moist inside. I can't wait to make it again. The sauce has a ketchup flavor up front but oh so good. I did reduce the hot spices by 1/2. Perfect for us. My wife says "Let's have it again tonight!"

This was a big hit but I think I can make it turn out better the next time. The problem I have is that Im only cooking for two and cut most recipes down. I tried to fry this chicken in too small amount of oil and I think the temperature dropped during the frying process so it turned out a little greasy. Next time Ill use a little more oil and fry fewer pieces at a time.

For those looking for the sauce, search Korean Fried Chicken Sauce. It's usually found below the original recipie

People keep posting how great the sauce is ... the sauce recipe is not posted here with the chicken recipe. Can someone post it? Thanks!

It was amazing. It put fried chicken on a whole new level. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and it was still delicious.

This tasted really good and the chicken was really crispy. I used party wings instead and served with Mac & cheese.

This was a serious departure from the Scarsdale diet that my wife and I were on (so cooking and eating are our passion!) It is every bit as crunchy as Chef John describes. Without some sauce it is a bit lacking in flavor but then you get to spice it up how you like. I did NOT use a deep frier but 1/2 inch of canola oil in a skillet which worked just fine.

I am a deep frying virgin! I tested this recipe, as I have a luxury vacation rental, and I am always on the look out for simple and delicious food for my staff to cook for guests. The chicken was tender, crunchy, and delicious. I followed the directions exactly as stated, although I can't be sure of the timing on the frying. I didn't pay close enough attention to that! Didn't seem to matter, everything was cooked and still moist. I didn't make the sauce. I live in a small pueblo in Central America, so these ingredients weren't on hand. I ate mine with Sriracha sauce, and it gave a nice zing to the meat, plus it was super easy. I cooked 3 thighs, and one large breast (both sides). I had ~20 pieces after cutting to make everything a similar size. I grated the onion and the garlic. Next time, I'm going to try to Ninja them, as that would be easier. (My grater is a cheapy one, so it's not as sharp as it should be) I had lots of batter left. Next time, I would put half the dry ingredients in a baggy, and save them for the next batter. I wouldn't have minded the batter being a bit saltier, and even spicier. Next time, I might try putting cayenne in the batter This batter looks like tempura to me, my chicken looked quite pale. Some pieces I fried a third time, and they were fine! Still moist. Again, without a thermometer, it's possible my oil wasn't as hot as it should be. I used my wok for frying and that worked out great.

Loved it!

I made this in my air fryer so it took several batches for the first go round of frying. I got lazy for the second round so I just piled them all in at once so it was probably not as crispy as it should have been but still very good. Also I did not have all the ingredients for the sauce so used what I had and altered it to our tastes both very good.

Absolutely will make again.

Awesome crispy recipe! I followed this recipe as written using the suggested substitute for the self-rising flour I did not have on hand. The only deviation I made was in using small pieces of sliced skinless chicken breast meat instead of quarter skinless thigh meat. This recipe doesn’t suggest any particular oil for frying, I used a combination of olive, coconut, and vegetable oil. I also used my cast iron dutch oven with about 2-3” of oil. This chicken had great flavor and a wonderful crispy battered crust. I will make this again, for sure. Some tips I offer are: Use plenty of oil, make sure your oil is HOT. Don’t put more than 4-5 small pieces at a time into hot oil. Batter is runny, allow excess to drip off prior to setting in hot oil. Don’t worry if the crust is not brown after first fry...it will be a beautiful dark and crunchy after the second fry.

Chef John will never steer you wrong! This recipe absolutely makes the best fried chicken! If you are a chicken wing lover, use this method to make truly addictive wings...the coating will soak up your favoirire sauce without losing any of the crispy texture.

I’ve made this recipe so many times my family just says, “will you make that chicken?” The first few times I made it I had a lot of batter left. I now make about triple the recipe, keep the dry ingredients in a air tight container, the use about one cup, add ice water and that is plenty for a package of ‘wings’ about 14-16 pieces. I’ve made this recipe with boneless thighs as the recipe calls for, bone-in thighs, legs, and our favorite is the wing package. I bought a deep fat fryer just for this recipe. It was so worth buying. Enjoy! P.S. The sauce that goes with this is fabulous. Just be sure you really like HOT if you add 1 tsp. red pepper flakes. I use about 1/4 tsp and that is perfect for us and we like spicy and hot. Another Chef John winner all around. Thank you so much!

Very light tempura type batter. Was very good and a welcome change from my southern style fried chicken!!! The only difference I made was to add some crushed ginger to the marinade. I think the thighs made all the difference. This would be too light a flavor for breast meat. Yummy light chicken!

I made exactly as instructed. Watching the video it's a major component to the nuances of success.

Loved it, will definitely make again!

We absolutely will be making this over and over again. Excellent, juicy, flavorful bites of chicken. The batter is so good. Be sure to make the Korean sauce to dip in. A new favorite here!

Delicious and easy recipe! I'll definitely use the breading batter for other recipes now.

Awesome! The garlic & onion marination take this recipe to another level! Two step frying was a great trick to get supper crispy chicken, definitely in my top 2 fried chicken recipes. The sauce recipe that goes with it is very good but you might prefer some other dipping sauce to go with this. Using thighs made this a boneless chicken paradise

Loved this fried chicken. It was very crispy, juicy and fluffy. Soooo good. I mixed some hot sauce and honey and it was perfect. I will try it with the sauce next time.

Delicious, flavorful and great crunch! Everyone loved it.

My husband loved it! I was crunched for time so I did the chicken in the seasoning step in a vacuum bag to speed up the process. Instead of 4 hours I was ready to cook the chicken in 1!

I did everything exactly like the recipe and it was the most wonderful fried chicken I have ever had. I don't understand the reason for cooking it twice but it worked.

Couldn't get mine quite as teeth shatteringly crunchy as depicted in Chef John's video, perhaps because I didn't have enough corn starch on hand. Definitely delicious though!

Amazing. Worth the mess and the fried food smell.

Great!

This is a great receipe. There is also a receipe for Korean BBQ sauce.....great combo

I'm sorry this was ok. It was crisp.

Crunchier deliciousness

it was good had to do some substituting

LOVE THIS!!!

so amazing!!!

No changes to the original recipe and will make this again.

Tasted good was crunchy . My mistake I used a small fryer (really small ) just want to know how to cook the first and then save it for a future date . Said on video it would discuss on blog but did not find anything about this

I used half of the crushed red pepper flakes. I served over rice with chopped up water chestnuts put in the rice after it was cooked just to warm them up. Next time I will also make some Broccoli, seeing how we had plenty of sauce left. Wife and I loved it and will definitely make again and for others.

Great recipe made at my restaurant customers loved it

Yum! My whole family loved this chicken. Crispy, juicy, delish!

Recipe is awesome with chicken tendered fingers or nuggets and even boneless chicken thighs for sandwiches. This version I used wings along with CJ's Korean Chicken Sauce this recipe satisfies everyone. The batter comes out perfect every time and even the little battered chunks that cook up are Primo. Thanks CJ, again!

Amazing crispy on the outside, moist on the inside fried chicken. Very tasty and fairly easy to make in a deep fryer. I only fried the chicken pieces for about 2 minutes for the second frying. Tasted great with or without the Korean Fried Chicken sauce.

Super! Fool proof and delicious.

It was crunchy and delicious, as promised. I will make it again!

The dish was very tasty, but left my kitchen in a huge mess. I had to fry these in many batches. Be prepared for the disruption then enjoy your meal!

love this recipe, made this a couple times, very easy, very successful, and absolutely delicious

Fabulous!! My new approach to frying chicken. Telling all who will listen.

This was OK but when I lived in Korea there was a fried chicken that was fried three times and much better. To people allergic to or cannot eat shrimp for whatever reason, like myself, be aware that most versions of sambal contain shrimp. There is a sambal from Malaysia that does not but I cannot remember the name and am not sure if it is available in North America. 'nuf sed. plamuk aka travellingchef

Great chicken, worth the mess! I will use this batter from now on! Served it with the suggested sauce over potatoes. It needed that starch to help cut the heat. I loved it, my mouth is still tingling!

Delicious! It was my first time making fried chicken (!) and other than having a little trouble controlling/regulating the oil temperature—I didn’t have a deep fryer, so I just used a Dutch oven, whose heat retention could have made it trickier to more quickly change the oil temperature—I would call it a success! The flavor was great. The coating worked like a charm and didn’t fall off at all. Husband and 4 kids aged 9-42 loved it. Since I wasn’t in a ketchupy mood, I didn’t end up using the Chef John’s Korean fried chicken Sauce recipe but another highly rated Korean Fried Chicken sauce recipe here from AR that uses gochujang instead. We weren’t crazy for that sauce, so some of us just ate the chicken sans sauce. Next time I will make the Chef John’s sauce to go with this.

This chicken is out of this world. I followed exactly the recipe and it came out exactly as Chef John said. I wonder if I could change the self-risen flour for yuca flour and add the baking powder?

I hate to deep fry because of the mess and will only do so when I think the recipe will be worth it. Chef John recipes are usually winners and this one did not disappoint. The chicken was juicy inside and crispy good on the outside. Served with the Korean sauce as suggested. YUMMY.

I made this the other night and everyone raved about it. Definitely pair with the Korean Chicken Sauce and you have yourself a fantastic meal. Served this with Coconut rice and Chinese green beans.

Yummmmmm!

Super crispy and delicious without being complicated. Got rave reviews from the fam. I halved the sauce and still had plenty.

I really liked it, but I think I will add a little heat to the batter next time.

"CRUNCH Crackle Crunch" sorry mouth was full fingers are greasy but DA** that was awesome fried chicken!!!!

I dont know what at the hoopla is about re this Korean chicken. It is good but not exceptional and I, like Chef John am a chicken lover. The next time I make it I will not take the time to put shredded onion etc on as I did not see the difference from leaving it out. I will put some seasoning in and use the batter. The sauce was good. The very best chicken you can buy is broasted chicken. There are some in the USA and we have eaten at lots of these restaurants. It is a franchise and the first one that comes to mind is in Lake Havasu, City, AZ. “Scotty’s broasted chicken”.

Yes.

So easy to make and absolutely delicious! Thanks Chef John!

This recipe is right on the money! I used AP flour and baking powder (I didn't have self-rising flour on hand). The chicken was perfect, just like Chef John demonstrated on the video. He ROCKS, and I will definitely add this recipe to my repertoire!

Here is a few tweaks that if anyone's is reading can do. Instead of the cornstarch try using potato starch it will stick better to the chicken and try adding instead of water egg whites

Just the best for a get together ,my guest wanted the secret for the extra crunchy crunch!

I made this recipe like written except I used Chicken breast. It was very good. My husband and I really liked it. The chicken was juicy and not dry at all. The marinade was simple. The chicken cooked up fairly quickly and I used a dutch oven to fry the chicken. I also used BBQ sauce as a dipping side. I did not see anything that made it stand out as Korean though...It had an Asian dipping sauce but that was about it....still a good recipe.

Really good fried chicken, especially with the Korean sauce. I will definitely make again

Followed this recipe to the letter and it was a crispy, delicious hit, and so worth it!! We had it for supper tonight, paired with the Korean Fried Chicken Sauce [delish!!] and Korean cucumber salad [really helps to lower heat factor for those who find the sauce to be too peppery hot]; both recipes found on this site. I made double the recipe thinking there would be enough for lunches tomorrow but no such luck... The little bite sized pieces are truly addictive. I ate 4 pieces before sitting down to dinner. Think I'll make bigger, less 'snackable sized' pieces next time; though not sure that will help. Thank you Chef John!!

I made this today and I topped a salad with the chicken and it was the crispiest juiciest chicken I have ever made

love it with or without the sauce

I was disappointed - didn't try the sauce, though. It WAS tender, but that's about all I could say for it.

Crispy and crnchy with tender chicken inside. Really wonderful technique. We found the garlic a bit on the heavy side so will reduce it by half next time.

Very tasty. The chicken was crunchy and delicious, the sauce complemented the chicken with the right amount of spice. My husband loved it . Definitely will be making again.

Crunchy crust. Just the right amount of pepper. Can’t wait to make for friends

Followed recipe to the letter, didn't change a thing. Doesn't need it... DELICIOUS!! Will make it again and again.

This Korean Fried Chicken is so delicious! thanks for sharing : )

My husband thought he had died and gone to heaven. Served with Korean fried chicken sauce and Asian slaw.

my fault on this one, i was so tired that i used garlic and onion salt instead of the fresh ones. i didn't over salted this recipe though but it lacked the garlic taste that i love. I'm sure it is as delicious as chef John's if i used the fresh garlic and onion. as for the garlic and onion salt, I'm used to just eye on the amount since i have been cooking for years. as for the sauce, i used the ready made one in the bottle that you can find at the asian supermarket, sweet with a little heat. hubby liked it but i know, i could've done better. thanks Chef John for another amazing recipe!

Much too greasy-not enough flavor(marinated 6 hrs) Way too much time consuming

Fixed this for dinner to night with some ramen noodles...:the kids loved it!

I made this recipe exactly as written. Marinated overnight. Very good. I served it with sweet and sour sauce. Everyone loved it!

I wont make this because of the cornstarch -it is evil ingredient and if I can suggest - you should always offer a substitute. We humans cant really digest the stuff. I would like to try this -can you recommend a substitute for the cornstarch or can I omit completely? Tx

Great very great

Be sure to make his Korean fried chicken sauce to go with it. A MUST! Delicious.

Really good fried chicken, especially with the Korean sauce. I will definitely make again

It turned out really well juicy and crispy, will definitely cook this again.

Really loved this recipe. My onion was a little strong but the crunch on the chicken was unbelievable.

I tried the same recipe using chicken wings , and it was perfect. My husband and the rest of the family loved. Actually my husband think these wings were better than those we eat in the expensive restaurants. You just make sure to use medium heat and cook long enough to ensure they are done right. I opened one of the wings with knife to check it. I sever ed it with the sauce that chef John described.

Great recipe! The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I didn't have the ingredients to make the sauce to go with it, but I will definitely be making this again.