Korean Sticky Chicken

INGREDIENTS

Chicken and marinade:

  • 4 chicken breasts - sliced into long thick strips
  • 1 tsp rice wine
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp white pepper
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

Crispy Coating:

    • 1 ½ cups (180g) rough tapioca starch
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp ground black pepper
    • ½ tsp garlic salt
    • ½ tsp celery salt
    • 1 tsp dried thyme
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • 1 tsp chilli flakes
    • peanut oil for deep frying - (at least 1 litre/four cups)

Sauce:

    • 2 tbsp gochujang paste
    • 2 tbsp honey
    • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
    • 4 tbsp brown sugar (if you like it sweeter)
    • 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
    • 2 tsp minced ginger
    • 1 tbsp sesame oil
    • ½ tsp Korean chilli flakes 
    • 3 spring onions & sesame seeds for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the marinade ingredients and mix well together, cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 1 hour (up to over night).
  • Heat a large pan of peanut oil (or preheat your deep fat fryer) until hot (you can test by dropping a small cube of bread in there, if it rises immediately to the top and starts to bubble rapidly, it’s hot enough). You’ll need at least 1 litre (4 cup) of oil.
  • Mix together the crispy coating ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Take the chicken out of the fridge. Lift a piece from the marinade and allow the excess to drip off. Dredge the chicken in the crispy coating mixture – ensuring it’s fully covered. Place on a tray and repeat until all of the chicken is coated.
  • Once the oil is hot enough, add in 5 or 6 of the chicken tenders. You can add more or less depending on the size of your pan, just be sure not to overcrowd the chicken.
  • Cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the middle. You can check this by cutting open a piece of chicken, if it’s no longer pink in the middle, it’s cooked.
  • Once all chicken pieces are fried once, re-fry half of them at a time in the hot oil. The 2nd frying will make the chicken extra crispy.
  • Make the sauce. Place the gochujang, honey, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar and sesame oil in a saucepan and stir together.
  • Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
  • Pour over the crispy chicken and carefully toss together, then top with the spring onions, chilli flakes and sesame seeds before serving.