Making sweet and spicy Korean seasoned chicken

What kind of food is seasoned chicken?

Seasoned chicken is a Korean-style chicken made by mixing crispy fried chicken with a sweet and spicy red sauce. The crispiness of fried chicken is combined with the glossy seasoning of red pepper paste, ketchup, garlic, and oligosaccharide, making it a great snack or filling meal. In Korea, it is well known as a representative delivery chicken dish, but it is relatively easy to make at home using boneless chicken.

If you search for seasoned chicken in 10,000 Recipes, you will see various ways such as seasoned chicken sauce, boneless seasoned chicken, oven seasoned chicken, and ways to use leftover chicken. Today, we have organized the most basic homemade boneless seasoned chicken based on the method of making the batter crispy and briefly boiling and mixing the sauce.

Ingredients Preparation

For 2 to 3 servings, prepare 500g of chicken thigh or chicken tenderloin, 1/2 cup of milk, a little salt, a little pepper, 1 cup of frying powder or potato starch, and 1 egg. The chicken thigh meat is soft and moist, and the chicken tenderloin is light, making it ideal for use as boneless chicken. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and soak in milk for about 20 minutes to reduce odor.

Seasoned chicken sauce is made by mixing 1 tablespoon of red pepper paste, 3 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of oligosaccharide or starch syrup, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of water. If you like spicy food, you can add a little red pepper powder or Cheongyang pepper.

fried chicken

Drain the chicken soaked in milk through a sieve and lightly press it with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper, mix with eggs, and evenly coat with frying powder or starch. If the powder clumps too thick, the texture may become heavy, so shake it so that it has a thin coating on the outside.

Heat the oil to around 170 degrees, add the chicken and fry until golden brown. If you add a lot at once, the oil temperature will drop and it will become soggy, so it is best to fry it in portions. If you want a crispier texture, cook it first, cool it briefly, and fry it briefly again in oil at about 180 degrees.

Mix seasoning sauce

Add the previously mixed sauce to the pan and boil over low heat. When the sauce is bubbling and shiny, reduce the heat, then add the fried chicken and mix quickly. If you boil it for a long time, the crispy batter can quickly become soggy, so it is best to boil the sauce briefly and add the chicken last.

Once the sauce is evenly coated on the outside of the chicken, turn off the heat and add sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, and finely chopped green onions. If the sauce is not sweet enough, add a little oligosaccharide, and if the sauce is too thick, add a spoonful of water to adjust the consistency.

Tips for enjoying delicious food

Seasoned chicken tastes best when it’s warm right after it’s done. If you serve it with a sour side dish like chicken radish or pickles, the sweetness and spiciness of the seasoning will feel more refreshing. If you heat the remaining seasoned chicken slowly in a pan over low heat rather than using an air fryer, the sauce will burn less and it will be easier to keep it moist.

If you want to eat it with rice, you can cut the remaining seasoned chicken into small pieces and make fried rice with seaweed powder. Seasoned chicken, which is crispy, spicy, and sweet at the same time, is a menu that best shows the charm of Korean chicken.

If you need to prepare the fries in advance, it is best to keep the sauce and chicken separately and mix them right before eating. This will make the batter less soggy and give it a freshly made texture when served to guests or as a weekend snack.