Korean Popcorn Chicken Recipe
This Korean popcorn chicken takes 35 minutes. Bite-sized chicken fried until shatteringly crisp and tossed in a sticky gochujang honey garlic sauce.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 16 oz chicken thighs cubed
- Neutral oil for deep frying
For the Batter
- ½ cup potato starch
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¾ cup water
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Optional Garnish
- Sesame seeds
- Scallions
- Steamed rice
Instructions
- Combine the potato starch, flour, salt, black pepper, and water in a bowl and mix into a batter.
- Add the cubed chicken thighs and coat in the batter thoroughly.
- Heat a pot of oil to 375°F. Drop the chicken in and cook until golden brown and crispy, then remove from the heat and set aside to drain.
- For the sauce, combine the gochujang, light soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, water, and garlic in a pan and bring everything to a simmer.
- Add the fried chicken and toss until well coated.
- Serve over a fresh bowl of rice. Optionally garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. But it's your food, you eat it how you like.
Video
Notes
- Double-fry for the signature crunch: once at a lower temperature to cook through, rest 5 minutes, then again at 375°F.
- Rest on a wire rack between fries, not paper towels, so steam doesn’t soften the crust.
- Fry in batches so the oil temperature holds.
- Toss gently in the sauce rather than pouring it over a pile.
- Prep the sauce while the chicken rests so it’s ready the moment the chicken comes out.