Authentic Korean Sweet & Spicy Fried Chicken: Dakgangjeong (Korean Recipe)

Aloha! 🌺 It’s Jihye in Seoul.

Today, I’m thrilled to share a recipe for a dish that holds a very special place in Korean food culture: Korean Fried Chicken.

KFC? Please go home! (No offense, but when it comes to fried chicken, Korea is on a whole other level.) From spicy to soy-garlic, oven-baked to green onion-topped, we have an endless variety. But today, I’m introducing one of the absolute absolute best: Dakgangjeong (닭강정).

What is Dakgangjeong? Dakgangjeong is a bite-sized, boneless fried chicken that is double-fried for maximum crunch and tossed in a sticky, sweet, and spicy glaze. It's usually topped with crushed nuts or sesame seeds, and I love adding chewy Korean rice cakes (Tteok) to the mix for a fun texture!

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🛒 Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 2 pieces of Chicken Breast (Pro tip: Chicken thighs taste much better for this!)

• Marinade: 2 Tbsp Sake, 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce, 1/2 Tbsp Ginger Powder, a pinch of black pepper

• Batter: 1/2 cup (or more) Potato or Corn Starch powder

• 10 Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok) - Optional, but highly recommended!

For the Sticky Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

• 1 Tbsp Ketchup

• 1 Tbsp Jam (Any kind, but strictly NO citrus jam!)

• 1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce (If you can't handle spice, swap this for another Tbsp of Ketchup)
  

• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Mirin (Sweet cooking rice wine)

• 1 Tbsp Honey

• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

• 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

For the Topping:

• Crushed peanuts or toasted sesame seeds

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👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prep the Chicken Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix it with the marinade ingredients (sake, soy sauce, ginger powder, pepper) and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

2. Make the Sauce While the chicken is marinating, mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

3. Coat the Chicken After 30 minutes, toss the marinated chicken thoroughly with the starch powder until every piece is coated.

4. The Secret to Korean Chicken: Double Frying! Deep fry the chicken pieces until lightly golden, then take them out. Let them rest for a moment, and fry them a second time! This double-frying method is the ultimate secret to keeping the chicken crunchy even after it's coated in sauce.

5. Fry the Rice Cakes (🚨 CAUTION!) If you are adding rice cakes, lightly fry them. Warning: Deep-frying rice cakes can be dangerous as they can pop like popcorn! Fry them very briefly just to get a slight crunch. Over-frying will make them rock-hard.

6. Drain the Oil Place the fried chicken and rice cakes on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

7. Glaze and Toss Pour your sauce mixture into a wide, non-stick pan and bring it to a gentle boil. Toss in the crispy chicken and rice cakes, stirring quickly to coat every single piece in that beautiful, glossy sauce.

8. Garnish and Serve Sprinkle with crushed nuts or sesame seeds. Voila!

I’m warning you: It’s SPICY! 🔥 You will absolutely need a cold bottle of beer to go with it. (We call this legendary combo Chi-Maek—Chicken and Maekju/Beer).

If anybody asks if you like fried chicken, now you can confidently say, "Yes, I love Dakgangjeong!" Have a deliciously spicy day! Mahalo! 🌺

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📍 Recipe Information

• Category: Korean Home Cooking

• Difficulty: Medium

• Spice Level: 🔥🔥🔥 (Adjustable)