The Fried Chicken delight is one of the most popular and traditional Korean specialties worldwide. The chicken is so crunchy and juicy and has an amazing combination of spices and sweetness. There is a stickiness that marries everything into an addictive whole. I have added my personal touch and a very special ingredient to enhance the beauty of the dish.
Chicken and Double Fry
For this recipe, you can select either drumsticks or wings, or the combination of both. I am using chicken legs (drumsticks) cut in half. One of the most enjoyable things about eating fried chicken is biting the meat from the bones. Yum! As with my Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken Recipe, I am using Double Fry method to make this dish extra crispy and juicy!
The Special Ingredient
My innovation is to add walnuts! You will be so surprised with how well they look and taste with this Korean recipe. Just look at the photo above and you can see the secret of nutty halves. Once the walnuts are sweetened, spiced, and fried, they truly transform the recipe into a Sweet and Spicy Walnut Korean Fried Chicken.
Here are the Ingredients:
Here is the Recipe:
Sweet and Spicy Walnut Korean Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 700 g / 25 oz Chicken Legs/Thighs
- 1/2 cup / 65 g Walnuts
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Ginger, minced
- 1/3 cup / 45 g Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 cups / 350 ml Vegetable Oil
Seasoning Sauce
- 3 Large Garlic Cloves, minced
- 3 Dry Red Peppers
- 2 tbsp / 1/8 cup Light Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml Vanilla Syrup
- 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- Chili Flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp Roasted Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Use a meat cleaver to cut the Chicken Legs in half. In a large bowl, add the Salt, Black Pepper, and Ginger, and mix well with the Chicken.
- In another bowl, add the Cornstarch and Baking Powder, cover the Chicken pieces one at a time and shake off any extra starch.
- Put the coated Chicken pieces in a different bowl and set aside.
- In a wok or frying pan, add the Vegetable Oil and first-fry one-half of the Chicken on medium-high heat for 12 minutes until slightly browned.
- Remove the chicken and drain. Repeat the process for the rest of the chicken: fry and drain.
- For the second fry (the double fry), return all the Chicken to the wok and fry on medium-high heat for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Drain the Chicken and set aside.
- Fry the Walnuts in the same oil for about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Clean the wok and return to medium heat. Add the Vegetable Oil, Garlic, and Dry Red Peppers and stir for about 20 seconds. Then add the Soy Sauce, Vanilla Syrup, Rice Vinegar, and Chili Flakes. Stir for another 15 seconds until all the sauces are well combined, then add the Brown Sugar.
- Add the fried Chicken pieces and Walnuts. Coat well with the sauce. Before serving, add the Sesame Seeds for garnish.
Video
Notes
- For the highest quality, fry the Chicken in two or three batches depending on the size of your wok or frying pan.
This Korean Fried Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Walnuts is one of my favorite comfort foods. Every bite has many pleasures and you experience the nice crunchiness before the juicy meat, spices, sweetness and nuttiness join in. This is a very addictive innovation that you will often return to.
