Spicy KFC – Korean Fried Chicken (100% Addicting!)

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Spicy, sweet, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside… or just totally ADDICTIVE! These are all adjectives that best describe Korean fried chicken. This KFC recipe uses a thick batter for EXTRA CRUNCH! Coated with a sweet and spicy glaze, finish it off by sprinkling some crushed peanuts.

Still a few weeks ago, I was having some Korean fried chicken at my new favorite Korean restaurant – Gangnam – here in Belgium. KFC is definitely an all-time favorite for all those who know Korean cuisine. I’m usually not into fried food, but an exception is made for Korean fried chicken. Honestly, once you’ve had it, you will NOT be able to live the rest of your life without :’)

This recipe is a variation of my Bite-Size Spicy Korean Fried Chicken. The main difference is that I am using chicken drumsticks hence cooking time greatly varies as opposed to bite-size chicken pieces. For both recipes, I like making a rather thick batter to give the chicken this extra crunch. However, when having drumsticks I like to slightly decrease the batter thickness. It is totally a matter of preference but I personally prefer chicken bites with a thick crunchy coating and drumsticks with just enough crunch to coat the pieces.

KFC is usually enjoyed with a good beer and is the perfect crowd-pleaser. Serve it as an appetizer for parties or just share it with friends and family. You’ll get tons of compliments 🙂

Which ingredients do I need to make this Spicy KFC?

• chicken drumsticks – for this recipe, I use drumsticks and cook chicken a little longer. If using different parts of the chicken such as wings, fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes less.
• garlic clove – mince some garlic to season the chicken
• salt and pepper
• Korean fried chicken mix – use extra fried chicken powder mix to coat the pieces once dipped in the batter. This step is crucial to make your chicken extra crispy!
• frying oil – I usually fry in an old pan (don’t use any newly bought pan, frying at high temperature may damage the non-stick coating) but if you have a fryer, feel free to use it. Just bear in mind that you most probably will have to change the oil right after
• peanuts – crush some peanuts and sprinkle them on top of the drumsticks. It makes them even more irresistible, trust me! For some reason, I particularly like adding peanuts when having wings or drumsticks but not so much with bite-size chicken.

For the batter:

• Korean fried chicken mix – the usual ratio of fried chicken mix and cold water is 1:1. However the batter coating isn’t crunchy enough to my taste so as mentioned earlier, I like to make the batter thicker and use a 1¼:1 fried chicken powder/water ratio.
• cold water

For the sauce:

• Korean oligo syrup – use Korean oligo syrup to make the glaze together with the Korean corn syrup. In case you only have Korean corn syrup at hand, feel free to substitute the oligo syrup quantity with corn syrup.
• mulyeot | Korean corn syrup – similarly you can replace corn syrup with oligo syrup.
• ketchup – use regular ketchup, not anything flavored such as curry-flavored ketchup or so. Ketchup brings this sweetness to the sauce.
• gochujang | Korean red pepper paste – gochujang brings a spicy hint to the sauce.
• gochugaru | Korean red pepper flakes – gochugaru reinforces the slight spiciness of the sauce. If you’d rather have it less spicy, you can either decrease the amount of gochugaru or totally omit it.
• soy sauce – use a regular soy sauce, not a dark soy sauce.
• water

Tips to keep your fried chicken crunchy

One mistake to avoid if you’re preparing it for your guests is to coat it with the sauce in advance and reheat it afterwards. It is best to consume fried chicken when it’s just been fried. Leaving it to rest already glazed with the sauce will moisten the crunchy batter. So just go for the first fry. Right before serving, go for the second fry and coat it with the sauce.

How to prepare KFC?

1. Wash the chicken – Place the chicken in a bowl filled with cold water. Let it sit for 10 minutes. This will wash the chicken off any impurities. Drain the chicken and discard the water.
2. Season the chicken – In a bowl, place the chicken and season it with minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper. Massage the chicken.
3. Prepare the sauce – Combine and mix all the sauce ingredients. You can adjust the spiciness by decreasing the amount of gochugaru. The gochugaru makes the sauce spicier but it is not necessary if you prefer a less spicy taste.
4. Prepare the chicken – In a bowl, mix the Korean fried chicken powder with water.
5. Add the chicken drumsticks to the batter and coat them well. On a plate, prepare ⅔ fried chicken powder (for coating). Place the chicken in. Sprinkle the other ⅓ fried chicken powder on top. Coat each drumstick well. This step will make your fried chicken extra crunchy.
6. Heat up some cooking oil in a pan, pot or fryer. Fry the chicken at 160°C / 320°F for about 6 minutes. Do this per batch if all pieces do not fit. Remove chicken from frying oil and place it on a rack lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
7. Increase the heat to 180°C / 355°F. Use the double frying method: fry the chicken a second time for 5 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown. Since everyone has a different stove, and chicken may fry at a different speed according to your stove, cut one piece to check if the chicken is cooked inside. If not, fry it again a little longer. Remove the chicken from the frying oil and place it again on the rack lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
8. Coat the fried chicken with the sauce – In a separate pan, pour the sauce and cook it on medium heat for about 3-4 min or until the sauce has thickened a little.
9. In a bowl, place the fried chicken and pour the sauce on top. Use a brush to brush the sauce over all chicken drumsticks.
10. Serve – Sprinkle crushed peanuts on top of the fried chicken.

If you fancy other Korean appetizers, try these

• Soy Garlic Korean Fried Chicken – Dakgangjeong
• Korean Spicy Pork Tacos
• Korean Sweet and Crunchy Tofu
• Korean Corn Dogs
• Spicy Korean Fried Chicken (Bite-Size)