Yangnyeom Tongdak (Korean Spicy Fried Chicken)

Boy, this is just soooo good......

Wow, this is one of the most sensational tasting fried chicken I've ever had! I could probably finish a whole plate of these! I reckon they taste even better than the ones I've had at the Korean restaurants here in Sydney, thanks to a great recipe by Maangchi.com (which will now be one of my favourite sources for Korean recipes). Apparently, she took three years to perfect the recipe, so no wonder it's so good!

If you've never had this before, they are, in essence, deep-fried chicken wings in thick crunchy batter, coated in a glossy and sticky sweet and spicy sauce. You could say it's like Buffalo Wings, Korean-style. The heat in this dish comes from the use of Korean red pepper paste called Gochujang. You can find them in Korean supermarkets and they usually come in red-coloured plastic tubs with pictures if red peppers on them. I just bought it over the weekend along with other Korean goodies that I can't wait to use!

Some of the goodies I bought from the Korean supermarket.
The red tub in the centre is the red pepper paste.

If you're up for some deep-frying, try out this dish and serve it with a spinach salad . I guarantee it'll be a hit!

Yangnyeom Tongdak (Korean Spicy Fried Chicken)
adapted from Maangchi.com

Ingredients

1.2kg chicken wings (cut in half, exluding wing tips)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup potato flour (or you can substitute with cornstarch)
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg

Sauce:
1 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup rice syrup (or substitute with corn syrup or glucose)
1/4 cup red pepper paste (Gochujang)
1 tbsp apple vinegar (I substituted with 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp apple juice)
Sesame seeds

Method

1. Wash and drain chicken well. Mix with black pepper and salt. Add the flour ingredients, bicarbonate of soda and egg. Mix well by hand to coat the chicken evenly.
2. Heat up sufficient oil in a pan/wok for deep-frying. Once oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches for about 10 minutes each time until cooked. Remove and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
3. It is important to double fry the chicken to get a nice crunchy coating. So, starting with the first batch of chicken, fry them again in hot oil for 3-5 minutes until slightly brown and crisp. Remove, drain and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
4. To make the sauce, heat up 1 tbsp oil in a pan/wok and fry the garlic. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve hot or warm. Great for parties and picnics too!