Sweet And Spicy Korean Fried Popcorn Chicken Recipe

Fried chicken is a beloved comfort food found in so many different cultures. In fact, some of the most popular styles of fried chicken are a melting pot of different culinary influences. On the rise in popularity here in the U.S. is the Korean style of fried chicken, distinguished from American fried chicken by an ultra-crispy outer shell as the result of a double-fry in hot oil. This external crispiness comes from a thin, potato starch-based batter which first seals the juices into the chicken, then gets a crackling crunch from a second fry at a higher temperature. The hot fried chicken is coated with a sweet and spicy glaze making it extra finger-licking great.

Recipe developer Julie Kinnaird shares with us her version of sweet and spicy Korean fried popcorn chicken with a side of vibrant radish pickles. Kinnaird prefers using boneless and skinless chicken thighs for this recipe, which she first brines to maximize both flavor and moisture content in the meat. The bite-sized cuts cook quickly and make for a perfect appetizer, snack, or light meal. The chicken is finished with a zesty gochujang-based sauce that works as both a glaze and a dip for the crunchy chicken nuggets.

For the chicken brine, you will need cold water, dark brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic and onion powders, smoked paprika, and ground black pepper. Boneless and skinless chicken thigh pieces go into this brine. For the radish pickles, use your favorite radish variety (French breakfast radishes pictured here) and add to a brine of water, white vinegar, granulated sugar, and kosher salt. These make a tasty and refreshing garnish for the fried chicken, along with thinly sliced scallions.

To fry the chicken, you will need avocado oil (or another vegetable oil with a high smoke point). You will first dust the chicken pieces in a combo of potato starch, rice flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. After this step the chicken goes into a batter made from cold water, more rice flour and dark brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. To finish, make the sweet and spicy sauce with Korean gochujang paste, more of the dark brown sugar, ketchup, mirin, gochugaru flakes (which are great on fries), and soy sauce. 

To make the brine, mix together the cold water, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper in a bowl until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag, add the brine, and seal tightly, pushing out excess air.

Refrigerate the chicken for at least 4 hours and up to 24.

While the chicken is brining, start the radish pickles by combining the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.

Place the radish slices in a glass jar and pour the hot liquid over top. Cover and let cool at room temperature.

Refrigerate the radish pickles until ready to use.

For the sauce, combine the gochujang, brown sugar, ketchup, mirin, gochugaru flakes, and soy sauce in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer. Keep warm while frying the chicken.

For the dusting flour, add the potato starch, rice flour, baking powder, and salt to a Ziploc bag, seal and shake well.

For the batter, combine the water, rice flour, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.

Remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag, pat it dry with paper towels, and discard the brine.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fit it with a rack.

Add the chicken pieces in batches to the dusting flour, coating as thinly as possible, and transfer them to a platter.

Dip the chicken in the batter for a thin coating and transfer it to another platter.

Return the chicken to the dusting flour and shake well to coat.

Pour the avocado oil into a deep heavy pot and heat to 350 F.

Fry the chicken in batches for 3 minutes at a time.

Remove the fried chicken pieces with a slotted spoon to the prepared rack.

Once all of the chicken has been fried, increase the oil temperature to 375 F.

Fry the chicken once more until golden and crispy, removing it to the rack when finished.

Add the warm sauce to a large mixing bowl and toss the hot chicken to coat.

Serve the chicken immediately with the radish pickles and garnish with the sliced scallions.

Several steps in this recipe can be done in advance to maximize ease of preparation. First, your chicken can be brined, drained, and then frozen in the Ziploc bag for frying at a later date. Simply thaw the bag in a refrigerator overnight and proceed with the recipe from there. Your radish pickles can also be made up to 1 week in advance (and they get tastier with a few days of sitting in the pickling liquid). The dusting flour and batter can both be made in advance, along with the sauce. Keep the batter and sauce covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day, bringing it back to room temperature before using. 

If you have leftovers or want to fry the chicken in advance of serving, an air fryer is a brilliant tool for bringing the chicken back to its hot and crispy best. Place the fried chicken pieces in a single layer in the air fryer before dousing them with the sauce and crisp them until hot (about 10 minutes at 400 F). If your chicken already has a nice glaze, it will also reheat well in the air fryer or on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 375 F oven.

Brining meat may seem like an unnecessary extra step, but applying a brine solution is a terrific way to add both extra flavor and moisture before cooking. A typical brine mixture consists of a ratio of water, salt, and sugar along with additional flavorings specific to the recipe being prepared. When meats are soaked in brine, the process of osmosis, or the brine solution passing into the meat fibers, begins. The salt tenderizes the meat muscles by breaking down the proteins and fibers. The salt also removes any impurities from the meat during the brining process.

Kinnaird says that for a recipe like this where you use the double-fry technique to achieve an extra crispy crust, having as much moisture packed into the chicken as possible is key for preventing it from drying out. The addition of spices to the brine allows them to penetrate more deeply than a dry rub, so you also get the ultimate flavor packed into your chicken.