Spicy garlic fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy garlicky sauce. Stays crispy even after coating it in the sauce.
Kkanpunggi (깐풍기) is a Korean Chinese dish, but it has been modified with Korean ingredients to suit the tastes of Koreans. This dish is always on the menu if you visit a Korean Chinese restaurant. I love getting a big plate of Kkanpunggi to share with friends while we each order our own dishes (I usually get jajangmyeon with this). Now, I’m helping you save $30 and provided you an easy way to make this at home.
Kkanpunggi is usually coated in potato starch before frying. I decided to use tapioca starch today, because it makes the chicken even more crispy, just like my Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken recipe.
We are also going to fry the chicken two times, to make it even crispier.
The final step is to make a super simple sweet and spicy garlicky sauce. Bloom the aromatics and bring to a boil. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce and you’re done.
Note: the chicken will be less crispy as it cools down, so I would highly recommend eating it hot for the best texture.
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Kkanpunggi (Korean Spicy Garlic Fried Chicken)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 lb boneless chicken thigh (cut in small bite size pieces)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- Few cracks of ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
Sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar or rice/corn syrup
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp water
Frying + Assembling
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- Frying oil, plus more for stir fry
- 6 garlic cloves (minced)
- ¼ onion (diced)
- ¼ red bell pepper (finely diced)
- 1 jalapeño (seeded and finely diced)
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Marinade
- Marinate the chicken with all the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes.
Sauce
- Meanwhile, mix together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Frying + Assembling
- Coat each chicken piece in tapioca starch.
- In a deep wok/pan over medium-high heat, heat up the neutral oil until it reaches 350°F/180°C.
- Fry the chicken for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove, and deep fry for a second time for an extra 2 to 3 minutes. This makes it even crispier! Remove and place the chicken on a wire rack.
- Using a clean wok, heat up 1 tbsp of neutral oil. Bloom the garlic and onion and then add in the diced red bell pepper and jalapeño. Quickly stir fry. Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
- Add in the fried chicken and toss to let the sauce coat.
- Plate and top with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!
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