Korean Popcorn Chicken
Korean Popcorn Chicken (Dakgangjeong) is the ultimate snack or appetizer for after school, parties, game day, and more! Bite-sized chicken nuggets are tossed with plenty of seasoning and fried until golden and crispy. Choose to coat them in an irresistible sticky, spicy, and sweet red sauce or serve it on the side!
- Prep time
- 35 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1½ lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch nuggets)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp mirin
- ½ cup rice flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp gochugaru
- 2 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper
- Frying oil
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- ½ tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
- Sesame seeds and green onion (for garnish)
Instructions
- 1
In a large bowl, whisk together garlic powder, 2 tbsp soy sauce, mirin, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Add the chicken and mix well. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- 2
In a separate bowl, mix together rice flour, baking powder, gochugaru, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Drizzle in 2 tbsp water and use a fork to whisk it in. Press any large pieces up against the sides of the bowl with the fork to break it up. Continue until the mixture consists of several tiny beads and resembles sand.
- 3
Set up a large plate or baking sheet for the dredged chicken. One by one, let excess liquid drip off chicken nugget and transfer to flour mixture. Lightly press to coat in flour, then transfer to plate or baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been coated.
- 4
Pour 1-2 inches of frying oil into a heavy-bottomed pot and heat oil to 350ºF. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes or until deeply golden brown with an internal temperature of 155ªF. Don't overcrowd the pot and fry in batches. Adjust heat to maintain an oil temperature of 310-350ºF. Transfer fried chicken to a wire rack inside a paper towel lined baking sheet to rest.
- 5
To make the sauce, add gochujang, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken broth, ⅛ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp pepper to a skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until lightly thickened and dark red. Serve sauce on the side or toss Popcorn Chicken in it.