Are you ready to indulge yourself in this crunchy and sticky Korean style popcorn chicken?
Korean popcorn chicken (Dakgangjeong, 닭강정) is a popular Korean street snack in Korea. The boneless chicken nugget is deep fried and coated with Korea’s special sticky, spicy, tangy and sweet sauce.
I know it was a bit mouthful to describe but because of these reasons, I think it’s totally worth making it! 😉 It’s crunchy and moreish and perfect as a party appetiser.
I used to eat it a lot after school on my way home. The street vendor I used to go to served it in a paper cup and they gave me a toothpick to eat it with, so it was very easy and convenient to eat while walking home.
I don’t know who invented this Korean style popcorn chicken and when, but I want to say to whoever you are, it’s BRILLIANT!
Korean Popcorn Chicken (Dakgangjeong, 닭강정) vs. Korean Fried Chicken (Yangnyeom Tongdak, 양념통닭)
You might be wondering what’s the difference between Korean popcorn chicken and Korean fried chicken? Frankly, I don’t think there’s much difference. In fact, some Koreans use these two names interchangeably.
However, as the name suggests, the popcorn chicken is bite-sized fried chicken and is typically made with boneless chicken fillets. (I prefer thigh over breast as it’s more moist.)
On the other hand, Korean fried chicken is typically made with larger chunks of any chicken cuts. It usually includes bone-in chicken but you can also make them with boneless chicken as well.
Also, I find that Korean popcorn chicken are more tender and sweeter, less spicy and less garlicky.
However, all these facts will be dependent on the cook’s choice in ingredients. Therefore, these two may result in the same outcome depending on who’s cooking it and how. 😉
I personally prefer Korean popcorn chicken over typical Korean fried chicken because it’s easier and more neat to eat.
Anyway, I hope you show some Korean popcorn chicken love this weekend! I’m sure your family and friends will appreciate this!
P.S. Here’s my Korean Fried Chicken recipe if you’d like to try it as well!
Ingredients for Korean Popcorn Chicken (2 to 3 servings)
Main
- 500g/ 18 ounces chicken thigh fillets (or breast fillets), rinsed under cold water, cut into bite sized pieces
- 150g/ 5.3 ounces fresh Korean rice cake, cut in half (if you’re not using fresh rice cakes, separate and soak them in warm water for 10 mins before cutting. Pat dry with some kitchen paper.)
- 1 Tbsp rice wine
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup potato starch or corn starch
- Some cooking oil for deep frying (I used rice bran oil)
Sauce (mix these in a bowl)
- 5 Tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
- 1 & 1/2 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
Optional – to garnish
- Crushed nuts or seeds (e.g. walnut, peanut, pistachio, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, etc.)
- Finely chopped green onion – if you want the nice colour contrast
*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml
**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my essential Korean cooking ingredients!
How to Make Korean Popcorn Chicken
1. Place chicken pieces into a large mixing bowl. Add the rice wine, ginger powder, salt, and ground black pepper and mix them well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken for 30 mins in the fridge.
2. Coat each chicken piece with the starch powder thoroughly. (It’s best doing this in 4 to 5 batches so that they are well covered with the starch powder.)
3. Pour some cooking oil into a deep saucepan/wok and heat until it reaches 175 C/ 347 F (or boiling).
Deep fry the rice cakes in batches until the outer layer turns crispy (under 30 seconds to avoid possible rice cake explosion). Take them out and set aside onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this with the remaining rice cakes.
Deep fry the battered chicken pieces in batches until golden and cooked through (2 to 3 mins). Take them out and set aside onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this with the remaining chicken. (Don’t put too much chicken in one go as it can lower the oil temperature too much.) To make the chicken extra crunchy, double fry them one more time. Set aside.
4. Pour the sauce into a heated skillet. Bring it to boil on medium heat until the sauce thickens a little bit (1 to 2 mins). Stir constantly. Add the fried chicken and rice cakes then coat with the sauce quickly and thoroughly. Garnish with your choice of toppings (e.g. crushed nuts, seeds and green onion). Serve.
Tips
- If you can’t find the Korean rice cakes, it’s OK to leave these out. I included them here because that’s how a Korean street food stall or a restaurant serves these popcorn chicken. If you’re leaving these rice cakes out, maybe add more chicken to match up with the sauce quantity.
- It tastes best when served immediately after cooking. (The crunchiness of chicken is at its peak then.) However, it can be served cold as well. Any leftover meat can be refrigerated in an airtight container for the next day. It might not be as crispy as the first day but it still tastes really good!
- For a little bit of variety, you can set aside some un-sauced double fried popcorn chicken and serve them like that. As the chicken is marinated with ginger powder, salt and black pepper during the initial process, it has a really nice taste on its own. People who can’t eat spicy food really appreciate this!
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Korean Style Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
MAIN
- 500 g chicken thigh fillets (18 ounces), rinsed under cold water, cut into bite sized pieces, or breast fillets
- 150 g fresh Korean rice cake (5.3 ounces), cut in half (if you’re not using fresh rice cakes, separate and soak them in warm water for 10 mins before cutting. Pat dry with some kitchen paper.)
- 1 Tbsp rice wine
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup potato starch or corn starch
- Some cooking oil , I used rice bran oil
SAUCE (MIX THESE IN A BOWL)
- 5 Tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
OPTIONAL – TO GARNISH
- crushed nuts or seeds (e.g. walnut, peanut, pistachio, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, etc.)
- finely chopped green onion – if you want the nice colour contrast
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces into a large mixing bowl. Add the rice wine, ginger powder, salt, and ground black pepper and mix them well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken for 30 mins in the fridge.
- Coat each chicken piece with the starch powder thoroughly. (It’s best doing this in 4 to 5 batches so that they are well covered with the starch powder.)
- - Pour some cooking oil into a deep saucepan/wok and heat until it reaches 175 C/ 347 F (or boiling).
- Deep fry the rice cakes in batches until the outer layer turns crispy (under 30 seconds to avoid possible rice cake explosion). Take them out and set aside onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this with the remaining rice cakes.
- Deep fry the battered chicken pieces in batches until golden and cooked through (2 to 3 mins). Take them out and set aside onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this with the remaining chicken. (Don’t put too much chicken in one go as it can lower the oil temperature down.) To make the chicken extra crunchy, double fry them one more time. Set aside. - Pour the sauce into a heated skillet. Bring it to boil on medium heat until the sauce thickens a little bit (1 to 2 mins). Stir constantly. Add the fried chicken and rice cakes then coat with the sauce quickly and thoroughly. Garnish with your choice of toppings (e.g. crushed nuts, seeds and green onion). Serve.
Notes
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Love the recipe. My wife made this and we loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Popcorn Chicken (with the sauce from your KFC recipe) has become our family’s absolute favourite dish. No restaurant has ever been able to match the crispiness and flavour of this marvelous recipe. Served with rice, Kimchi, cucumber-lime-salad and a cold beer – heavenly!
Just cooked this for the family, everybody absolutely loved it. Will definitely be making this again. (with slightly more sauce) .. thank you for the recipe.
Great recipe, thankyou!
Hello. Can i make this without rice wine? Thank u
You could but if you’re looking for other cooking rice wine substitutes, you can also consider cooking sake (without additional sugar as this recipe already contains enough sugar content), dry sherry, dry white wine and verjuice (non-alcoholic). Hope this helps.
thank u for the answer. i want to ask again, what kind of soy sauce used in that recipe? is it sweet soy sauce or salty soy sauce?
I used regular kikkoman soy sauce. https://amzn.to/2JyCI4W
I love this recipe! I’ve shared my food with my friends and they love it! Thank you 😍
This is soo good. Have made many times and is always a winner. It tastes just like the chicken I had in Seoul. Making this on Saturday as part of a Korean birthday dinner for my son as it is his all time favourite.
Thanks for a great recipe.
How do you make the sauce
You combine all the listed sauce ingredients in a bowl then heat it up in a skillet (step 4). See the recipe above. 🙂
The deep frying is a lot of effort, but the result is amazing! I skipped the garlic (on the FODMAP diet), but it’s still delicious.
Can you marinate the chicken overnight?
You mean in step 1? Yes, that should be fine. 🙂
So delicious, thank you! I made the sauce in the Thermomix, here is the conversion if you would like to add it 🙂
Add 1 clove garlic
Chop 5 sec speed 5
Scrape down sides of bowl
Chop 5 sec speed 5
Scrape down sides of bowl
Add to bowl
120g tomato sauce
60g honey
40g gochujang
30g brown sugar
20g soy Sauce
10 g sesame oil
cook
5 min 100 degrees speed 2
Thanks for sharing your Thermomix tips!
I’ve tried a number of recipes for Korean fried chicken and this is the best I know of. Excellent sauce without being too spicy for friends and family who can’t handle the heat.
The only change I make is oven baking the chicken instead of deep frying. It’s a bit healthier, but really I find deep frying a hassle so I prefer cooking in the oven where I can. Otherwise I stick to the recipe to the letter.
How long did you bake the chicken for and at what temp?
Excellent! Easy to make and delicious. I love the spicy kick.
My family LOVED this dish! I served it with rice and thinly sliced cabbage. I thought it was great but a tad too sweet for myself. The children were all muttering… “mmmm, this is so good” between bites lol. Thank you 🙂 I just left out the chilli paste (children can’t handle spice) and rice cakes.
This recipe is amazing, love it. I’ve done it so many times now. It’s my husband’s & my favourite dish.
Great to hear! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Tried it. Delicious.