Korean fried chicken with spicy gochujang sauce - dakgangjeong

Serves: 2

If they like it, it serves 2 otherwise

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Totaltime: 25 minutes

Dakgangjeong (닭강정) is a popular Korean fried chicken dish characterized by its exceptionally crispy texture, bite-sized pieces, and a sweet and savory (or spicy) glaze. Unlike traditional Korean fried chicken (yangnyeom), dakgangjeong is typically double-fried to achieve a crunchier, cracker-like coating that stays crisp even when coated in sauce

Ingredients

1st marinade:

8 oz chicken (2 fillets)
1 cup milk
2nd marinade:

salt
pepper
1 clove garlic
1 small piece fresh ginger
1 tablespoon milk
Breadcrumbs:
1 cup cornstarch (+/-) or potato starch
2 cups sunflower

Sauce:

2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 small piece fresh ginger
3 tbsp. mirin sauce
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste)
Toppings (your choice):
Chopped almonds
blond sesame seeds
snipped chives

Preparation

Cut chicken into medium-sized pieces.
Place chicken pieces in a container filled with milk. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Drain chicken. Save a little milk. Mix chicken with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and ginger, and spoonful of milk. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the sauce:
Pour the sesame oil into a frying pan over medium heat, add the soy sauce, mirin, cider vinegar, honey and brown sugar. Add the garlic, crushed ginger, gochujang and pepper. Mix well.

Bring the sauce to the boil. When it begins to bubble, lower the heat and thicken the sauce, stirring regularly for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cover chicken pieces with cornflour. Coat well, then place on a plate (the cornflour will absorb the chicken's moisture and adhere better).

Heat oil in a saucepan or deep fryer. The oil should reach 170°C.
Dip the chicken pieces in the oil for 3 minutes (don't put all the pieces in at once, and watch out for splatters).
Remove pieces when golden and place on a plate with paper towels.

Fry the pieces again for 1-2 minutes. This time you can fry more in one go. Return to paper towels.
Coat chicken pieces in sauce. For added flavor, sprinkle with crushed almonds, sesame seeds and chopped chives.