CRAZY FOR KOREAN

When I was at school, Henry J Beans was The Place To Be, thanks entirely to their chicken wings. I never really understood it - even as a fatty lover wings always seemed a miserable combination of grease and mess. They're bleeding fiddly buggers resulting in ruined clothes every time! I just couldn't get on board with the wing-fanaticism, that is until I discovered Korean food in Japan - where else?! The chicken was so delicious, so sweet, so crispy and with a wonderful whallop from the chili. The flavours ran all the way through, from the crisp exterior to the melting juiciness of the meat itself. Suddenly chicken wings made a LOT of sense, and I'm not ashamed to say with all of Tokyo's culinary delights (I still salivate at the memory) I became a frequent visitor to that Korean restaurant. Since then I've been on a quest to find a London Korean that's as delicious. My father has taken me on endless trips round the delights of New Malden's 'Korea Town', but while the supermarkets are incredible (well worth a trip) and many of the restaurants delicious, I still couldn't find the chicken winged heaven I was searching for.

Then by accident I came across Holborn's 'Asadal'. Tucked away next to the station, I was convinced I'd discovered a secret taste haven - so unbelievably delicious, but sadly with a price tag to match. Also, it's the largest Korean restaurant in London and full all the time, so a rubbish secret. Finally, my craving taste buds were placated and the restaurant became a small obsession of mine. The thing is I simply can't afford to eat there as often as I'd like, and I need my fix of that chicken! So after a lot of desperate research I can share this recipe with you. Joy to the world! Chicken wings are cheap!

Korean Fried Chicken!

Korean Fried Chicken Recipe

How to...
Marinade
Traditionally there is no marinade - they season the chicken with salt and pepper and that's it. My way makes for a tasty interior AND exterior, hurrah.

Ingredients
6 chicken wings
4 tbsps soy sauce
1 onion chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsps honey
a handful of chopped coriander
pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and cover the chicken in it. You can marinade it for an hour or leave it over night.

Batter it!
The Korean's secret to perfect delicious chicken is that it's twice fried. MMmmmm delicious, BUT also less than healthful so I'm gonna suggest that you fry it once and finish it off under the grill. This also means that the sauce reduces more and becomes extra sitcky on the wings.

Ingredients
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp rice flour
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the batter ingredients. Drain any excess marinade and then cover the chicken in the dry mixture. The marinade will help the flour mix to stick to the chicken.

Fry it!
Ingredients
2 tbsps vegetable oil

In a frying pan heat the oil over a high heat until it is smoking, and then turn it down to a medium heat.

Place the battered chicken in in batches of three, cooking for about 3 minutes on each side or until the flour is becoming crispy and golden

Sauce it!
Put the oven on the fan/grill setting at 220°C.
 
Confession time. In the picture I've not used what I should and would normally use, gojujang (Korean chili paste.) Please forgive me. I didn't have any, and the chili flakes worked fine. I still recommend the gojujang, it has a much deeper and more intense flavour than chili flakes, which just give off a bit of heat.


Ingredients
2 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsps honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 cloves of finely minced garlic
5 tbsps tomato ketchup
1 tbsp gojujang

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl before gently reducing them over a medium heat in a frying pan for 2 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the fried chicken and roughly cover all the pieces. Place all the chicken onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.

HEAVEN!