Dakgangjeong - Soy Garlic Fried Chicken

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

900 g boneless chicken thigh fillets (2 pounds, cut into bite size pieces)

2 Tbsp rice wine

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ginger powder

A few cracks ground black pepper

1 ½ cups corn starch

cooking oil (for deep frying, I used rice bran oil)

1/4 cups soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp rice wine

1/2 Tbsp minced ginger

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

A few cracks ground black pepper

3 dried chilies (optional)

2 green onions (optional, white part)

2 tsp corn starch

2 tsp water

toasted sesame seeds

green onions (, thinly sliced)

Directions

Deep Frying Method

Combine

In a large bowl, place the chopped chicken and add rice wine, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, ginger powder, and ground black pepper. Combine them well. Set aside.

Dredge

Place the corn starch in a large bowl. Dredge the seasoned chicken pieces in the corn starch and evenly coat them.

Deep Fry

In a deep saucepan (or fryer) add a generous amount of oil and heat it until the oil temperature reaches 175 C / 347 F. Start adding the chicken carefully and fry them until they cook. (It takes 4 to 5 mins depending on the size of chicken). Do not overcrowd the pan, and cook in batches if needed. (It might be useful to use a grease splatter screen if you have one as it minimises oil splatter.)

Twice Deep Fry

Take out the cooked chicken and place them onto some kitchen paper to soak up excess oil. Quickly scoop out any floating debris from the oil using a skimmer. Deep fry the chicken again when the oil temperature reaches 175 C / 347 F. Fry them until the batter is golden and crisp. (The second time frying is shorter than the first time, 2 to 3 mins.) Set aside.

Make Sauce

In a separate pan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Bring it to boil over medium low heat while stirring often. Once the sauce starts bubbling, take out the chilies and green onion pieces. In a separate bowl, combine and mix the slurry ingredients then pour it over the sauce. Stir often. Once the sauce thickens or turns to glaze (within 1 – 2 mins), remove from the heat and cool down for 5 mins.

Baste

Place the double fried chicken onto the lined baking sheet, then using a cooking brush, gently baste the chicken with the sauce. Once all the chicken is coated with the sauce, garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve.

Air Fryer Method (Frying Only)

Spray cooking oil on air fryer basket.

Line Up

Place the chicken pieces, without overlapping, onto the basket. Spray some oil lightly over the chicken pieces. (While it is optional, chicken browns better with extra oil coating.)

Air Fry

Cook at 200 C / 390 F for 6 to 7 mins. Turn them over and spray oil lightly to cover the dried white spots (from corn starch). Cook for another 6 to 7 mins, or until golden brown.

Nutrition

• Calories: 549 kcal
• Total Fat: 9 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 214 mg
• Sodium: 1601 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 63 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 15 g
• Protein: 46 g