Huraideu-chikin (후라이드치킨, Korean Double-Fried Chicken)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart Dutch oven, deep wok, or heavy pot
• •Deep-fry thermometer clipped to the pot
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed sheet pan
• •Spider skimmer or long metal tongs
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut even pieces

   Separate wings and drumettes, or cut a whole chicken into 10 to 12 pieces. Halve large breasts crosswise and score thick thighs once to the bone. Pieces around 60 to 90g cook together; large pieces beside small ones leave you choosing between burnt crust and raw meat near the bone. Pat off loose moisture and check for bone fragments.

2. 2

   Brine the chicken

   Whisk the milk, soju or cheongju, 18g salt, sugar, grated garlic, grated ginger, and black pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken, turn every piece through the brine, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour for wings or 1 1/2 hours for whole cut pieces. This seasons before the coating ever touches the meat; salting only the outside gives you a loud crust and bland chicken. Discard the brine.

   No milk is no problem. Use 2 cups cold water in the same measure, but keep the salt. The salt is the brine's real work.
3. 3

   Dry it well

   Drain the chicken, wipe away clinging garlic, and pat every piece very dry. Set the pieces on a wire rack for 20 minutes at room temperature, or refrigerate uncovered up to 6 hours. Surface dryness matters because wet chicken drops the oil temperature, loosens the batter, and makes the crust heavy.

4. 4

   Mix the coating

   Whisk together the potato starch, cornstarch, flour, baking powder, 5g salt, white pepper, and garlic powder. Move 1/2 cup of this dry mix to a shallow bowl for dusting. Whisk the remaining dry mix with the ice-cold water and the soju or vodka, if using, until it looks like thin yogurt. It should coat your fingertip lightly and drip away; if it sits like paste, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a heavy pot so it is about 3 inches deep and does not come more than halfway up the sides. Clip on a thermometer and heat to 325F (160C). Set a wire rack over a sheet pan beside the stove. A thermometer is not fussing here. Korean chicken lives and dies in a narrow band of heat.

   Keep children and wet tools away from the frying area, and lower each piece into the oil gently. Water and hot oil do not forgive carelessness.
6. 6

   Coat before frying

   Working with a few pieces at a time, dip the chicken into the thin batter, let the extra run off, then roll it lightly in the reserved dry mix. Press only enough for a thin, uneven coat to cling. Do this just before frying, not half an hour ahead, or the starch turns damp and gummy.

7. 7

   First fry

   Fry the chicken in 2 or 3 batches, keeping the oil between 315F and 330F (157C to 166C). Wings and drumettes take 8 to 10 minutes; larger bone-in pieces take 10 to 12 minutes. The crust will be pale gold and set, not deeply colored. Move the chicken to the rack and let it rest at least 10 minutes while the next batch cooks. The first fry cooks the meat and builds the shell.

   Do not crowd the pot. If the oil falls below 300F (149C), pause and let it recover before adding more chicken.
8. 8

   Second fry

   Raise the oil to 375F (190C). Fry the rested chicken again in batches for 2 to 4 minutes, until the crust is deeper gold, dry-looking, and hard under the tongs. The meat should register 165F (74C) for breast pieces and at least 175F (79C) for dark meat. Move it back to the rack and rest 3 minutes so the crust stays crisp instead of trapping oil.

   Color alone lies. Use an instant-read thermometer at the thickest part of the meat, avoiding the bone.
9. 9

   Serve plain

   Mix the pepper salt in a small dish. Pile the chicken on a platter and serve at once with chikin-mu. Keep sauce off this batch. Huraideu-chikin is judged plain, with the meat seasoned through and the crust thin enough to crackle between your teeth.

Chef Tips

• •The best home shortcut is buying wings and drumettes. They cook evenly and give the crust-to-meat balance Korean chicken shops chase. A whole bird is proper too, but the pieces must be small and even.
• •Korean chicken frying mix, chikin-twigim-garu (치킨튀김가루), can replace the starch, flour, baking powder, coating salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Use 1 3/4 cups, reserve 1/2 cup for dusting, and make the same thin batter. Taste the mix first; if it is salty, omit the extra coating salt.
• •Keep the sauce away from this batch. If the table wants yangnyeom (sweet-spicy sauce), put it in a small bowl beside the chicken so the second fry still speaks.
• •Leftovers belong on a rack in a 400F (200C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes. A microwave softens the crust you worked for.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can be brined up to 2 hours ahead with the recipe as written. Do not leave it overnight at this salt level, or the meat turns too salty and tight.
• •For a cleaner schedule, brine, drain, and dry the chicken uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator up to 6 hours before frying. Cold, dry skin takes the batter well.
• •The dry coating mix can be combined up to 1 month ahead and kept airtight. Add the ice water only at the last minute.
• •Chikin-mu can be made a day ahead: cut 300g Korean radish into 1.5cm cubes and cover with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Chill at least 2 hours, or keep refrigerated up to 1 week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)