When you hear the letters K.F.C., what comes to mind? Kentucky Fried Chicken? In a few years,
it might be Korean fried chicken! It's juicy, it's crispy, and it's taking the world by storm.
Can you spot the secret to its success? Keep watching to find out!
Like most stories surrounding the history of a specific food, tracing back the journey of
Korean fried chicken to its precise origin is a bit challenging. The general belief seems to
be that Korean fried chicken was dreamed up at some point during the Korean War.
The origins of Korean fried chicken still remain somewhat murky, but its quality is undeniable.
However, Iron Chef's Alton Brown may have the answer for both its creation and its flavor.
"Because it was taught to Korean cooks by African-American GIs after the World War."
This theory makes sense, considering that other famous dishes rose from the ashes of the Korean
War. Budae jjigae, for example, is a popular Korean soup that translates to "army stew"
due to its use of ingredients introduced by the US military. One look at a recipe
illustrates an unlikely fusion: spam and sliced-up hot dogs simmered in a pot with chili paste,
kimchi, garlic, and noodles that are often topped with a slice of American cheese. In the
decades following the war, Western-style chicken restaurants started popping up around the country,
setting the stage to spark a craze for Korean fried chicken.
You can learn a lot about what's important to a particular culture through its language and
unique vocabulary. The glorious mix of hot fried chicken and cold beer is so beloved in Korea that
there's a special word in the Korean language to describe their harmonious combination. The word
"chimaek" joins together the word chicken with the Korean word "maekju" which translates to beer.
In South Korean drinking culture, it's very important to keep eating while you
consume alcohol. And while chimaek is one of the best examples of this,
there's a wide range of drinking snacks – called "anju" – to choose from in Korea. Some
popular anju dishes include grilled pork belly, kimchi stews, mung bean pancakes,
spicy pork, and braised octopus. As it turns out, the Korean tradition of continuing to
eat during longer drinking sessions is a pretty good idea. Consuming food can stop
you from getting too drunk by slowing down alcohol absorption, and eating some fried
chicken or fresh slabs of crispy pork belly sounds like the best possible way to do that.
"Ketchup. Catsup. Ketchup. Catsup."
No matter how you say it, ketchup kinda gets a bad rap. What started out as one of the
first condiments we ever ate seems to become less socially acceptable to enjoy with age.
The tangy red sauce seems tethered to the simplistic diet of childhood with snooty
accusations of having an unrefined palate. We'd like to clear the air and let all of you ketchup
lovers out there know that we see you, we love you, and we're with you. There's no shame in
using any condiment however you like. That said, you might be surprised to learn that ketchup is
one of the star ingredients in Korean fried chicken's legendary glaze, yangnyeom sauce.
While Korean fried chicken is available in a variety of different flavors,
yangnyeom sauce is the bright red glaze you most often see advertised on menus
and pictures. Made with a blend of ketchup, gochujang, minced garlic,
white vinegar, and rice syrup, this sauce has a complex flavor profile that's sticky,
sweet, and spicy. There's no doubt that part of Korean fried chicken's mass appeal is due
to this famously tasty sauce, which perfectly clings to the fried chicken's crispy batter.
While Korean fried chicken originally started out being served in its traditional form in
boxes and buckets, some restaurants are now experimenting with fusion applications of
this dish to great acclaim. That's the beauty of chicken – it's one of those
meats with mass appeal that can seamlessly blend into new dishes in inventive ways.
Bonchon Chicken is a Korean fried chicken restaurant with locations all over the United
States that's pushing the boundaries of this dish. By creating a menu with items that fuse
the tradition of Korean fried chicken with the handheld sandwiches of the West. In the process,
Bonchon is devising new interpretations of Korean fried chicken that make it more accessible.
One of the standouts from the Bonchon menu includes Korean fried chicken sliders with
coleslaw, cucumbers, red onions, and spicy mayo. Another is the Korean taco plate, which comes with
the same ingredients but adds buttermilk ranch and wraps it all up in flour tortillas. If you
dig fried chicken sandwiches and tacos, then don't miss out on these dishes from Bonchon.
Plenty of cooks have secrets that take their dishes to the next level. Having a few tricks
up your sleeve in the kitchen can really elevate the food, whether it's exclusive access to special
ingredients or using a mastered technique. If you've ever eaten Korean fried chicken in South
Korea, you know that the chicken tastes extra juicy for some reason – but you may not know why.
The secret has less to do with skill or a secret recipe and more to do
with the actual chicken itself. Simply enough,
Korea's chickens are actually much smaller than the ultra mega chickens we eat in the states.
"Huh? What the hell is that?"
"I think that's Ultra Mega Chicken?"
"Okay."
The smaller birds in South Korea end up tasting more moist because their miniature
bodies have more clusters of connective tissue. So while it's true that Korean
fried chicken tastes great partly because of its unique sauces, it's also true that it has
something to do with the physical makeup of the chickens themselves. This concentration
of connective tissues is the same reason that Cornish game hens are particularly juicy.
No one likes soggy fried chicken. A big part of the food's appeal is biting into its perfectly
seasoned, crispy exterior with its battered crags of crunchiness. While achieving a sufficient level
of crunch can be accomplished in a variety of different ways, some methods work better than
others. One of the most effective ingredients just might be one that you've never tried before.
The secret ingredient in the best Korean fried chicken batter is vodka, which only requires two
tablespoons for every cup of marinade. Because vodka is more volatile than other brines,
it swiftly and fiercely evaporates on the surface of the chicken skin when submerged in hot oil.
This reaction creates more bubbles that harden on the exterior to create an improved texture.
We're willing to bet that using a splash or two of soju – the most popular spirit in the world – will
also do the trick. Once again, it seems that alcohol and fried chicken go together perfectly.
Considering Korean fried chicken's deliciousness, it should come as no
surprise that foreigners agree it's one of the best-tasting dishes the country has to offer.
Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs conducted an online
survey of more than 8,000 residents in 16 cities around the world. The survey
found that most respondents chose Korean fried chicken as their most-preferred Korean dish.
Closely behind Korean fried chicken was kimchi in second place, and bibimbap in third place.
Over 80 percent of the foreigners surveyed reported that they were satisfied with the
overall flavor profile of Korean food. The results also showed that North America prefers
Korea's beef dishes to its pork dishes. Perhaps more interestingly, Tokyo and Rome reported the
lowest level of satisfaction with Korean food. We could speculate about the reasons
for these results, but the bottom line is that out of all the dishes that Korea has to offer,
Korean fried chicken seems to resonate with foreigners the most. While plenty of other
countries cook up versions of deep-fried chicken, there's no doubt that the Korean
style has its own charms with unique sauces, exceptionally tender meat, and tasty toppings.
It's fairly common to garnish fried chicken with different ingredients for extra flavor
and texture. Chopped nuts, thin slices of green onions, and a scattering of sesame seeds are just
a few of the toppings you might see coating a freshly-fried batch of Korean fried chicken.
But there's another common topping that is less of a garnish and more
of an extra coating that covers the entire surface of the chicken…
"Chocolate!"
"Correct, Andy!"
No, Andy, that's actually not correct. It's cheese powder.
That may sound a bit strange at first, but keep in mind, the flavors of fried chicken and cheese
go together hand-in-hand. How often have you dunked a crispy drumstick into some blue cheese?
Or ordered a plate of parmesan garlic buffalo wings? The main difference here is that Korean
cheese powder is typically more yellow in color, and the flavor mimics the sharp notes
of cheddar in macaroni and cheese more than parmesan. The bottom line is this:
If you dig fried chicken and you love the taste of cheese, trying out some Korean fried chicken
tossed in a little sauce and some cheese powder is a surefire way to light up your tastebuds.
If you thought that Korean fried chicken couldn't get any better,
it appears there's already a new twist on the dish that's bound to make your mouth water.
What makes this new interpretation different from traditional Korean fried chicken?
There's an extra step to the cooking process that adds a whole new layer of flavor.
This new Korean fried chicken dish is called "tikkudak". Tikkudak seems to be a mashup that
combines the Korean words that mean fried and grilled with "dak", a Korean word that
translates to chicken. Tikkudak can refer to chicken that gets double-fried and then
baked in a charcoal oven in order to get extra crispy and achieve some assertive notes of smoke.
There's no liquid smoke or artificial flavoring involved. Instead, the wings are sauced fresh
out of the fryer and then baked with charcoal for a couple of minutes. Are you drooling yet?
As if fried chicken wasn't delicious enough, this new variation elevates the dish to unbelievable
levels of heavenly flavor. Whoever came up with the idea to smoke freshly-fried Korean chicken
in a charcoal oven for some extra smokiness deserves an award for culinary greatness.
We all know that Korean fried chicken is amazingly delicious.
But what was the first Korean fried chicken franchise? And how long has it been in business?
The first Korean fried chicken franchise was Lims Chicken,
which opened in the basement of a department store in Seoul back in 1977. The restaurant
proved so successful that it became the country's first fried chicken franchise.
For decades, the chain stayed within the confines of its native homeland, but they
finally decided to branch out into the American market by opening a location in Houston in 2016.
The fried chicken batter at Lims is apparently more similar to tempura than it is to the heavier
coatings you might see at other fried chicken joints. That could definitely be a good thing,
depending on your preferences. The portions are generous, and there are plenty of different
dipping sauces to choose from, including sweet, gochujang, spicy, and honey mustard.
While the menu offers Korean fried chicken, it also offers more traditional Korean dishes too,
so if you're in the mood for a stew or some Korean barbecue, Lims has you covered.
Now that the world is catching on to Korean fried chicken,
the race to dominate the market is underway. Mom's Touch – a fried chicken franchise based
in South Korea – opened up its first location in the US in Los Angeles County in 2021.
They followed up with another location in Long Beach shortly thereafter.
There are currently plans underway to expand the chain further across the country.
Another Korean fried chicken franchise, Bonchon, is also planning for expansion across the United
States. With over 100 locations already in the US, it seems that Bonchon may be
poised to rise to the top of this increasingly competitive market. Between the new twists of
Korean fried chicken being created and new restaurants opening up in the US,
it's pretty clear that we're only in the beginning stage of the Korean fried
chicken craze that's crawling around the globe. And we're totally on board with it.
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