Chef Jeong-sun
Dakgangjeong (Crispy Glazed Chicken)
Small pieces of chicken double-fried until the coating dries and crackles, then tossed through a reduced soy and rice-syrup glaze that sets thin enough to keep the market crunch.
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Padak (Scallion Fried Chicken)
Created by
Hot double-fried chicken under a cold heap of scallion, dressed with mustard, soy, and vinegar so the scallion cuts the fat instead of hiding the chicken.
Main Dishes
Korean
Game Day
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
25 min cook•1 hr total
Yield4 servings
Padak is not fried chicken with a green garnish. The pa, the scallion, is the reason the chicken can be rich without becoming heavy. Cut it too thick and it bites back. Let it wilt on the chicken and you lose the clean edge. Soak it cold, dry it hard, and pile it higher than your cautious self thinks proper.
This is chicken-house food, the kind that lands on a metal table with pickled radish and beer while people argue over a game. I have watched students order it after exams, office workers after late trains, fathers carrying boxes home because the children asked for the one with the scallions. Street and delivery food deserves a notebook too. A dish does not become less Korean because it came in a paper box.
Tonight it asks two things from you. First, shred the scallions properly into pa-chae, long cold threads that cut the fat the way kimchi cuts rich meat. Second, double-fry the chicken and give the pieces room, because a crowded pot makes tired chicken. Notebook 52 says the sauce should wake the tongue, not coat it with sugar. 손맛 is real, hand-taste is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Padak belongs to modern Korean fried chicken and hof culture rather than older court or ritual cooking. Korean fried chicken expanded quickly after the Korean War and especially through the 1970s and 1980s, as broiler chickens, cooking oil, and delivery shops became common. Padak became a widely recognized menu style in the 2000s, with shops and franchises arguing over first claims, but the defining form is stable: huraideu chicken, plain fried chicken, a mound of pa-chae, shredded scallion, and a mustard-vinegar sauce served for chimaek, chicken and beer.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large scallions
Quantity
6, about 180g
roots trimmed
ice water
Quantity
4 cups
soy sauce
Quantity
3 tablespoons
rice vinegar
Quantity
2 tablespoons
lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
maesil-cheong (Korean green plum syrup) (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
honey (optional)
Quantity
2 teaspoons
Korean hot mustard paste (yeongyeoja)
Quantity
2 teaspoons
sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
water
Quantity
1 tablespoon
boneless chicken thighs
Quantity
800g
cut into 3.5cm bite-size pieces
soju or mirin
Quantity
1 tablespoon
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
finely grated
ginger
Quantity
1 teaspoon
finely grated
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 1/4 teaspoons, divided
black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground
egg white
Quantity
1 large
cold water
Quantity
2 tablespoons
potato starch
Quantity
3/4 cup
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1/4 cup
baking powder
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
neutral frying oil
Quantity
6 cups
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 teaspoon
chicken-mu (pickled radish cubes) (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large scallionsroots trimmed | 6, about 180g |
| ice water | 4 cups |
| soy sauce | 3 tablespoons |
| rice vinegar | 2 tablespoons |
| lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| maesil-cheong (Korean green plum syrup) (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| honey (optional) | 2 teaspoons |
| Korean hot mustard paste (yeongyeoja) | 2 teaspoons |
| sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| water | 1 tablespoon |
| boneless chicken thighscut into 3.5cm bite-size pieces | 800g |
| soju or mirin | 1 tablespoon |
| garlicfinely grated | 2 cloves |
| gingerfinely grated | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1 1/4 teaspoons, divided |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1/2 teaspoon |
| egg white | 1 large |
| cold water | 2 tablespoons |
| potato starch | 3/4 cup |
| all-purpose flour | 1/4 cup |
| baking powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| neutral frying oil | 6 cups |
| toasted sesame seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| chicken-mu (pickled radish cubes) (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4-quart pot or wok for frying
- •Deep-fry thermometer
- •Wire rack set over a tray
- •Spider strainer or long tongs
- •Sharp knife or scallion slicer
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Shred the scallions
Cut the scallions into 10cm lengths, then split each piece lengthwise into very thin threads. A scallion slicer is a good modern tool here, but the threads still need to be long and fine. Put them in the ice water for 10 minutes, then drain and dry them very well in a salad spinner or clean towel. Cold water tames the raw bite and makes the scallion curl; water left clinging to it makes the chicken crust soften.
Do not cut the scallion into short rings. Padak needs pa-chae, shredded scallion, so every bite pulls a little green sharpness across the chicken. - 2
Mix the sauce
Stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, maesil-cheong or honey, mustard paste, sugar, and 1 tablespoon water. Taste it. It should be sharper than a dipping sauce you would eat alone, because the fried chicken and scallion will soften it. If you use mustard powder, mix 2 teaspoons powder with 2 teaspoons warm water and let it stand 10 minutes before measuring it into the sauce.
- 3
Season the chicken
Put the chicken in a bowl with the soju or mirin, garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Mix by hand until every piece is coated, then let it stand 20 minutes. This short seasoning takes care of the inside of the chicken; the sauce later is for brightness, not for fixing bland meat.
- 4
Coat for frying
Stir the egg white and 2 tablespoons cold water into the chicken. In a separate bowl, mix the potato starch, flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Dredge the chicken piece by piece, pressing the dry mix into the corners, then set the pieces on a rack for 10 minutes. That rest lets the starch hydrate and cling, so the coating fries up crisp instead of dusty.
- 5
First fry
Heat the oil in a heavy pot to 325 F / 163 C. Fry the chicken in batches for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until the crust is set and pale golden. Do not crowd the pot. If too many pieces go in, the oil temperature drops and the chicken boils in oil instead of frying cleanly. Lift the pieces to a wire rack and let them rest while the oil returns to temperature.
- 6
Second fry
Raise the oil to 375 F / 190 C and fry the chicken again, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden and crisp. The chicken should reach 165 F / 74 C at the thickest piece. Drain on the rack, not paper towels, because a rack keeps air around the crust.
- 7
Pile and serve
Heap the hot fried chicken on a wide plate or tray. Loosen the cold scallion threads with your fingers and pile them high over the chicken. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of mustard sauce over the scallion and chicken, scatter the sesame seeds, and serve the remaining sauce on the side. Eat it at once, with chicken-mu. The contrast is the dish: hot chicken, cold scallion, sharp sauce.
Chef Tips
- •Use boneless thigh meat for the easiest home version. Breast meat cooks faster and dries out faster, so if you use it, cut the pieces a little larger and pull them the moment they reach 165 F / 74 C.
- •A scallion slicer is a safe shortcut. Skipping the cold soak and drying is not. Wet scallion collapses onto the chicken and softens the crust before the plate reaches the table.
- •Korean frying mix can stand in for the potato starch, flour, baking powder, and salt. Taste the mix first, because many are already seasoned, then reduce the added salt in the coating.
- •Do not toss padak like yangnyeom chicken. The sauce goes over and beside it, not all around it. The chicken should stay crisp, and the scallion should stay cold and clean.
Advance Preparation
- •The mustard sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir it before serving, and taste again because mustard softens as it sits.
- •The scallions can be shredded and held in ice water up to 2 hours ahead. Drain and dry them only shortly before serving so they stay cold and lively.
- •The chicken can be seasoned up to 8 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Coat and fry it only when the table is ready, because padak loses its point when it waits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 255g)
Calories
645 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
25 g
Cholesterol
160 mg
Sodium
1580 mg
Total Carbohydrates
45 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
35 g
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