Feels like we’re trapped in a movie atm with the COVID-19 situation. It’s such a weird time, isn’t it? I think it’s the seventh consecutive week that we’ve been working from home! All the days are just merging together in my mind to be honest and it only feels like it’s been two or three weeks for me.

I’ve been spending my days rather happily, bumbling around the flat, cooking loads more than I usually do and watching more Netflix than I care to admit. One of the many things I’ve rustled up a couple of times and been tinkering this bowl of goodness:

Korean fried chicken!

Crispy yet juicy fried chicken bites dunked in a spicy, sweet and savoury Korean Gochujang sauce – topped with extra sesame seeds and fresh spring onions.

The sticky glaze is everything! It’s based around gochujang, a fermented chilli paste. It’s spicy, smokey and quite pungent actually. You can find it in East Asian speciality stores or on Amazon.

Serve it up with rice, or with some noodles, even throw it in a wrap – it’s basically good with everything. Ofc – there’s totally the option to shovel these bites into your face without any further accompaniments.

I mean, let’s be honest – they’ll only get in the way between you and this mountain of deliciousness.

If you don’t fancy frying the chicken yourself, you can totally substitute for oven-baked strips/wings /whatever you can find in the depths of your freezer!

The sauce is also super simple and customisable. Pop all the ingredients in a pan, and heat through till it bubbles up and gets thick and sticky. Too spicy? Add more sugar. Not spicy enough? Crank up the heat and add more gochujang.

❤

Quick. Simple. Delicious.

Make this soon – it’s soo freaking good.

Enjoy,

– Kay

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 500g chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
• 280ml buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Flour mix

• 250g plain flour
• 25g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp gochugaru (Korean chilli powder). If you can’t find any, chilli flakes ought to do)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Sauce

• 100g gochujang
• 25g soft light brown sugar
• 1tsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp ginger minced
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 50ml water

Other

• 1-litre sunflower oil (or alternative with a high smoke point)
• Sesame seeds and spring onions to serve

Instructions

1. Start by preparing the marinade – in a large bowl, mix the spices into the buttermilk before adding the chicken. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for a few hours, or better yet, overnight.
2. When you’re ready to cook, place a frying pan on a medium heat (I used a cast-iron one as I find it distributes heat evenly) and add your oil, allow it to heat through. If you have a cooking thermometer you’re looking for around 180 degrees.
3. Whilst the oil is heating, prep your flour mixture by adding all the ingredients to a bowl and mixing well.
4. One by one, tap off the excess buttermilk from the chicken cubes and dredge them in the flour mixture. Ensure they’re properly coated and you get flour into all the little nooks then set aside on a plate. [Tip: If you use one hand for the chicken and one hand for the flour – you’ll save yourself a lot of mess!]
5. In small batches, add the chicken to the hot oil and fry for a 2-4minutes depending on the size of your chicken chunks. Goes without saying but be careful!
6. Drain the chicken off on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up the excess oil.
7. To prep the sauce, simply add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan, mix well to combine and allow to heat through for around 5 mins or until sufficiently thickened.
8. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and spring onions and enjoy! Best served hot.