We’ve brought to you two easy recipes so far, the 5-Ingredient Shrimp Wanton Noodles and One-pot Chicken & Mushroom Rice. But if you want to spice things up, then today’s recipe will have you salivating.
Most of us would’ve tried 4Fingers, Chir Chir or the like, and if you’re a spice lover like me, you might have fallen in love with their variations of spicy Korean fried chicken. Now that the circuit breakers are in effect and we’re all stuck at home, why not learn how to make it for yourself?
It’s crispy, it’s spicy, and it’s all homemade—let’s make some Spicy Korean Fried Chicken! If you prefer to follow along in video form, check out our TikTok video of this recipe.
Ingredients
- 10 pcs of chicken drumlets OR 8 pcs of chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbsp of wheat flour
- 2 tbsp of corn flour
Marinade
- 2 tbsp of ginger
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp of black pepper
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp of chilli paste
- 4 tbsp of chilli sauce
- 3 tbsp of tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 dash of salt (to taste)
Tools
- Wok
- Tongs
- Frying pan
- Blender (Optional)
- Knife
- Chopping board
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 30 minutes; Cooking time: 20 minutes
Feeds one to three
- Dice garlic and ginger until finely-minced. Alternatively, use blender for this step.
- Mix the minced garlic (8 cloves) and ginger together with black pepper, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Spread evenly over the chicken drumlets.
- Refrigerate marinated chicken drumlets for 30 minutes.
- Sauté garlic (3 cloves) and chilli paste.
- Turn off heat and mix in chilli sauce, tomato sauce, honey and lemon juice.
- Add a dash of salt to taste.
- Mix wheat flour and corn flour together.
- Coat marinated chicken evenly with mixed flour.
- Prepare wok with oil (enough to cover at least half of the drumlet) and put in drumlets one by one.
- Cook drumlets until golden-brown.
- Coat drumlets evenly with spicy sauce and serve.
Recipe (In Pictures)
Step 1: Dice the garlic and ginger until finely-minced. Alternatively, use a blender for this step.
Step 2: Mix the minced garlic (8 cloves) and ginger together with black pepper, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Step 3: Spread the marinade evenly over the chicken drumlets.
Step 4: Refrigerate the marinated chicken drumlets for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Sauté the minced garlic (3 cloves) and chilli paste.
Step 6: Turn off the heat and mix in chilli sauce, tomato sauce, honey and lemon juice.
Step 7: Add a dash of salt to the spicy sauce to taste.
Step 8: Mix wheat flour and corn flour together.
Step 9: Coat the marinated chicken drumlets evenly with the mixed flour.
Step 10. Prepare wok with oil—enough to cover at least half of the chicken drumlet. Put chicken drumlets in, one by one.
Step 11: Cook chicken drumlets until golden-brown and crisp.
Step 12: Coat chicken drumlets evenly with spicy sauce, and serve.
Even as I fished the freshly-fried chicken drumlets from the oil, I could feel my mouth start to water. Who could resist fried chicken? (I burnt one of the chicken drumlets in my haste to turn up the heat, oops.)
And yes, the sauce tasted every bit as spicy as it looked, perhaps even spicier. I pride myself on my ability to take the heat—I’m that friend who coaxes you to try te la (extra spicy) when it comes to mala xiang guo, and I constantly add chilli, pepper, and any form of spice to my meals.
Sweet, fragrant and tongue-tingling, this Spicy Korean Fried Chicken hit all the right spots. I’ll admit that finishing half the plate of chicken drumlets wasn’t the smartest move on my part. I could feel distinct pinpricks of pain on the tip of my tongue, and I had to hastily gulp down some water.
If you want to make a less spicy version of this, I’d recommend swapping out the chilli sauce for additional tomato sauce or honey—that way, the sauce would be a little sourer and sweeter, and pack less heat.
Will I make this dish again? Probably not for a casual meal; fried chicken feels like a communal dish, the kind that you can share with friends over beer.
Unfortunately, with the current COVID-19 situation, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. Share it with your family if you do try this recipe, or store the sauce separately and space it out over a few meals.
Besides, now that you can make Spicy Korean Fried Chicken, you can forget about ordering in. Remember to tweak that sauce to your tastebuds!
Expected Damage: S$5 – S$6 per 10 drumlets
