Today’s succulent recipe is in partnership with my friends at the United Soybean Board through Kitchen PLAY. All opinions and thoughts are my own. If you love fried chicken, you’ll be blown away by Korean Fried Chicken! Crispy chicken strips tossed with a sweet spicy Korean Sauce for another level of flavor!
Let’s talk flavor, and lots of it. And we’ll talk everything you need to know about frying and using soybean oil for your everyday cooking!
10 years ago, I used to live in downtown Toronto and met a Korean mom whose daughter went to the same daycare as mine. She made all sorts of Korean food and this recipe struck me. It was SO good!
So What is Korean Fried Chicken?
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
The idea of Korean Fried Chicken is to fry chicken until crispy and then drizzle it with a special sauce.
The sauce is a blend of ginger, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey and a special Korean chili sauce (Gochujang).
While classically it’s made with whole chicken, I’m using chicken strips today for convenience.
You can add extra spice to the sauce; however, I’ve kept the green chiles on the side. That’s because my kids love this chicken recipe too and I kept it mild for them.
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE
Recipe Video
So, once you have your chicken strips, you’ll drench them in flour and then in a flavored egg mixture.
You can definitely use just eggs (like most fried chicken recipes), however, by adding all these flavors to the egg mixture, you end up with incredibly tasty chicken strips.
Then you’ll dredge the chicken back in the flour mixture and it will look clumpy. That’s what you’re looking for. Clumpy chicken means crispy crust.
Next, pick your oil. I love using soybean oil. Most of the bottled vegetable oil at the grocery store is 100% soybean oil, which is one of the few non-fish sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Fry the chicken in soybean oil a few pieces at a time. Fry them for 5-7 minutes depending on how thick your strips are.
Move them onto a paper towel to dry.
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN SAUCE
Mix in a bowl ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, cilantro, Korean chili paste, brown sugar and honey. Season that with salt and mix.
Now take the sauce and drizzle it on the chicken strips, tossing them lightly.
Serve right away with extra chopped cilantro and scallions. Seriously delicious! Korean Fried Chicken is an elevated fried chicken that will be a staple at your home!
I love making extra sauce, which I use on a busy day tossed with stir fry veggies and chicken over noodles.
How Soybeans are Grown
Aside from why I love using soybean oil in my cooking, which I’ve mentioned above, I also LOVE sustainable agriculture.
Since 95% of U.S. soybean producers partner with the USDA to implement conservation practices on their farms, you can be certain that U.S. soybean farmers employ sustainable practices.
This includes crop rotation, reduced tillage, and water management. These practices lead to a reduction in soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy use, as well as improved water use efficiency.
So, when you use sustainably grown soybean oil, you’ll be supporting local, hard-working farmers who put their heart and soul in what they do.
At the grocery store, just look at the label of the oil you’re buying. Most bottles of vegetable oil will be soybean oil, and if not, make sure it is.
Use it for baking, frying, cooking and just about anywhere you can use neutral tasting oil.
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN TIPS
- Use chicken strips because they marinate and cook faster.
- Make the sauce ahead of time, up to one week, and keep it in an airtight container in your fridge until ready to use.
- Pick soybean oil for your cooking, baking and frying! It’s sustainably grown, loaded with omega-3, has a high smoke point and is neutral tasting.
- Season the eggs when you’re coating the chicken. This adds so MUCH flavor!
- To prepare the fried chicken in advance, finish coating the chicken strips entirely and then freeze the strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Once frozen place them in a baggie. Fry the strips frozen but add 2-3 minutes extra frying time.
- Add extra spice to your sauce or marinade to suit your taste.
- Leftover Korean fried chicken makes a great dish with rice and extra sauce or served with stir fried noodles and veggies.
- ENJOY!
CHICKEN RECIPES
Try these chicken recipes with Soybean Oil too!
Spicy Sweet Sriracha Mango Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Chicken Breast Skewers
Zaatar Chicken Salad with Fried Halloumi Cheese
Pecan Crusted Baked Chicken Tenders
Korean Fried Chicken Strips
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken strips boneless and skinless chicken cut into 1-inch thick strips, about 3-4 inches long.
Marinade
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 2 tablespoons Korean chili paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Chicken Coating
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Korean Chili Sauce
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1/4 cup honey
Frying
- 3 cups soybean oil
Garnish
- 1/4 cup cilantro minced
- 2 scallions copped
- 1 lime sliced
- 1/4 cup green chilies
Instructions
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Prepare the chicken marinade by mixing all ingredients in a wide bowl.
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Season the flour and set it aside.
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Prepare and cut your chicken into strips.
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Coat the chicken in flour lightly and shake off any excess flour. Then place the floured chicken strip into the egg mixture and coat well. You can leave the chicken in the egg mixture for up to 4 hours to marinate or continue right away.
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Remove the chicken from the egg mixture and place it back into the flour mixture, this time coating it with as much flour as possible.
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Repeat with the remaining chicken strips.
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Heat up the soybean oil in a deep and wide pan until the temperature reaches 373 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use an oil thermometer or monitor the oil by sprinkling in a pinch of flour and if it starts to effervesce, then it’s ready.
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Start frying the chicken strips, 4-6 at a time depending on the size of skillet you’re using.
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The chicken should fry for about 6 minutes until golden. Once all chicken strips are ready, make the sauce.
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Make the sauce by mixing all ingredients together in a bowl.
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Serve the fried chicken and drizzle about half of the sauce over it. Toss the chicken lightly and serve with the garnishes.
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Keep the extra sauce aside for dipping or extra drizzling.
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Enjoy!!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Korean Fried Chicken Tips
- Use chicken strips because they marinate and cook faster.
- Make the sauce ahead of time, up to one week, and keep it in an airtight container in your fridge until ready to use.
- Pick soybean oil for your cooking, baking and frying! It’s sustainably grown, loaded with omega-3, has a high smoke point and is neutral tasting.
- Season the eggs when you’re coating the chicken. This adds so MUCH flavor!
- To prepare the fried chicken in advance, finish coating the chicken strips entirely and then freeze the strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer.
- Once frozen place them in a baggie.
- Fry the strips frozen but add 2-3 minutes extra frying time.
- Add extra spice to your sauce or marinade to suit your taste.
- Leftover Korean fried chicken makes a great dish with rice and extra sauce or served with stir fried noodles and veggies.
ENJOY!
- Sources to Read
https://www.soyconnection.com/soy-for-the-food-industry/consumer-insights
I love korean fried chicken, so these strips were definitely a win for me! And that garlic ginger sauce is so good.
These Korean fried chicken strips look delicious and bursting with flavor. These are going to be a family favorite at our house.