Sticky, fragrant and with a great chilli punch, these easy air-fried chicken bites are so delicious.
This is such a winning dish that can be prepared quickly and it is great served simply with boiled rice. The sticky pieces of chicken are also fabulous popped inside steamed buns (recipe).
The gochuchang – fermented red chilli paste – is truly gorgeous and adds such a depth of flavour and a wonderful aroma then just crushed chillies or your standard chilli sauce.
Oh, and the sauce itself: it not only makes a fabulous glaze for the chicken, it is also sublime as a dipping sauce in its own right: either as it is or simmered gently to dissolve the sugar.
The Korean dipping sauce
Soaking the chicken?
The soaking is not essential, especially if you just want to eat the dish in about 15 minutes from scratch. However, it does give you the most tender, melt-in-the-mouth chicken! If you don’t want to soak them, simply jump to step 2 of the recipe.
If soaking the chicken, I use buttermilk – but even milk will do – and soak for few hours or, ideally, overnight. You can add a teaspoon or so of gochujang paste to the milk so the flavours start to penetrate the chicken, but the sauce itself is so full of flavour that the chicken doesn’t really need any help!
Korean chicken
Deep-frying v air-frying/roasting
The chicken can, of course, be deep-fried but to be honest the roasting or air-frying of the chicken gives a good enough texture on the exterior and allows the gorgeous sauce to stick to each piece.
A delicious cauliflower alternative
I love making a cauliflower version: air-fry/roast small florets at 190°C for about 5 minutes to start to soften them up before tossing in a little milk and then the cornflour mixture (which sticks to the milk). I then air-fry for a further 10 minutes or so for the coating to take on some colour and go a bit crispy in place before finishing in the wok with the sauce.
Recipe: Korean chicken – serves 2
Korean chicken
Chicken:
- 2 chicken thighs, boneless and skinned, cut into small pieces
- 100ml whole milk or buttermilk to tenderise, optional (see above)
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 1 tablespoon sugar (any type)
- 2 teaspoons cider or wine vinegar
- 1 fat clove garlic, peeled and finely grated
- 1” piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
To finish and serve:
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 spring onion, sliced, for garnish
- a few chilli flakes to garnish, optional
- boiled rice to accompany
(1) Mix the chopped chicken with the milk and chill for several hours or overnight: but no longer than about 24 hours. Place in a sieve to drain: there is no need to pat dry.
(2) Mix the cornflour and baking powder together in a medium bowl and add the drained chicken pieces. Toss well so each chicken piece is lightly coated.
(3) Place a little apart in the air-fryer and cook at 180°C for about 10-12 minutes, turning over after about 5 minutes. You can bake them in a similar way: just make sure the oven is preheated and given them about 15 minutes of cooking time. Either way, they won’t look very pretty at this stage but once glazed they will look magnificent!
(4) Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
(5) Heat a pan or wok over a medium-high heat and add the sauce, stirring it as it comes to the boil.
(6) Turn the heat down and add the chicken pieces, stirring to fully coat them in the sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced and become thick and sticky.
(7) Stir in the sesame seeds and serve with a scattering of spring onion slices and chilli flakes, if using, and freshly cooked rice.
Korean chicken
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