Crispy and crunchy fried chicken

Dakgangjeong 닭강정

Hi everybody! Today I’m going to show you how to make dakgangjeong, a crispy and crunchy Korean fried chicken.

Many of you probably know that I posted it once already, years ago, but the version I’m showing you today is a little easier than the last one, and will be faster to make: I don’t mix a batter, I just coat the chicken in potato starch powder. I also skipped the ginger slices so we can cook the sauce faster.

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In this recipe, both the peanuts and the chilis are optional.

Both versions are delicious in their own way, and both of them are authentically Korean, they’re just two ways of making the same dish, kind of like there are many ways to make pizza. Take this chicken to a party and everyone will give you compliment. “Whoo ah~ this crispy chicken is crunchy crunchy like candy!”

If you love fried chicken, I strongly advise you to try this recipe, my recipe for dakgangjeong with ginger slices (including a vegetarian version), and my yangnyeom-tongdak recipe which has been incredibly popular on YouTube! You’ll love all of them. And all Korean fried chicken should be enjoyed with pickled radishes!

dakgangjeong (닭강정)

Steps:

  1. Mix chicken with seasonings and cover in starch.
  2. Fry in hot oil for 7 to 8 minutes.
  3. Shake off, let sit, then fry for another 12 to 15 minutes.
  4. Coat in seasoning sauce.
  5. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top and serve immediately.

Ingredients

  • 3½ pounds chicken wings (about 1.6 kg), washed and drained
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • ⅔ cup potato starch or corn starch
  • ⅓ cup peanuts (optional)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 to 4 large dried red chili peppers, seeded, cut crosswise into ⅓ inch pieces (optional)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup rice syrup or corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • Grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil, peanut oil)

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Directions

  1. Cut off the tip of each wing and chop the wing in half. After this is done you should have about 3 pounds of chicken, with 24 to 26 pieces.
  2. Put the chicken in a bowl and mix with salt, ginger, and ground black pepper by hand.
  3. Put 2/3 cup potato starch in a bowl and dip each wing in the powder to coat it, one by one. Squeeze each wing to press the coating to it tightly.
    Dakgangjeong (닭강정)chicken wingscrispy crunchy chicken

Make the sweet, spicy, and sticky sauce:

  1. Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons cooking oil, minced garlic, and the dried red chili pepper.
  2. Stir with a wooden spoon until fragrant for about 30 seconds.
  3. Add soy sauce, rice syrup, vinegar, and mustard sauce (optional). Stir with a wooden spoon and let it bubble for a few minutes.
  4. Add the brown sugar and continue stirring. Remove from the heat. Set aside.Korean fried chicken (pepper)Korean fried chicken sauce

Fry the chicken:

  1. Put 4 cups of cooking oil in a frying pan or pot and heat it up for 7 to 8 minutes over high heat.
  2. See if the oil’s ready by dipping a test wing into it. If the oil bubbles, it’s hot enough to start frying. Slide the coated wings one by one into the hot oil and cook for about 12 to 13 minutes, turning over a few times with tongs.
  3. Take the wings out of the oil and shake them off in a strainer. Turn off the heat, and let the wings sit for a few minutes.
  4. Reheat the oil and fry the wings again for another 12 to 15 minutes until they all look golden brown and feel super crunchy through the tongs. If your frying pan or pot is not large enough to fry all the chicken at once, divide it into batches like I do in the video. If you use a larger frying pot to cook them all at once, you’ll have to use more cooking oil.

Korean fried chicken_frying

Korean fried chicken_frying

Dakgangjeong (Korean fried chicken)

crispy-fried-chicken

Dakgangjeong (fried chicken: peanuts)

Coat the fried chicken with the sauce:

  1. When the chicken is done, reheat the sauce until it bubbles.
  2. Add the hot chicken and mix well with a wooden spoon to coat.dakgangjeong (댥강정)
  3. Remove from the heat and transfer the coated chicken to a large platter. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over top and serve immediately. This chicken won’t lose its crunchiness, even by the next day. You don’t need any dipping sauce, but it goes well with Baek-kimchi.

Posted on Sunday, January 26th, 2014 at 10:40 pm. Last updated on August 2, 2021.
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286 Comments:

  1. joonieyah Christchurch, New Zealand joined 5/19 & has 5 comments
    Posted October 26th, 2021 at 9:10 pm | or create a profile.

    i made a vegan version of this today using homemade seitan (wheat protein), it’s SO good!! thank you maangchi!


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  2. MisisC California joined 7/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 11th, 2021 at 2:28 pm | or create a profile.

    I loved and enjoyed watching your cooking video. So fun, specially when you are about to drink a beer,,,hahaha so cute!
    Keep on cooking!

  3. Calliope Denmark joined 4/21 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 6th, 2021 at 1:11 pm | or create a profile.

    I made this yesterday and my sauce was really good until I reheated it. I made it before frying the chicken (as it’s described in the written recipe) and it had a great consistency, but when the chicken was fried and put in the reheated sauce, the sauce became a hard caramel, which was very weird texture-wise. There was nothing wrong with the taste though, but I think I’ll make the sauce while the chicken is frying next time :)

  4. Juron256 Mississauga, Ontario CANADA joined 7/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 4th, 2020 at 4:55 pm | or create a profile.

    What are the temperature for first and second fry do you recommend??

  5. AyaChi236 Brampton, Ontario Canada joined 5/20 & has 3 comments
    Posted May 25th, 2020 at 2:58 pm | or create a profile.

    My Kids love your Dakgangjeong recipe! Its so crunchy and soft inside! It’s perfect to go with beer and soda for kids. I made it without the peanuts because not into nuts but still the taste is perfect!

    Thank you! ♥️♥️♥️


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  6. Virginieqh London joined 5/20 & has 3 comments
    Posted May 17th, 2020 at 2:35 pm | or create a profile.

    I made it today!!! I love it. thank you so much for the recipe ☺️

  7. ilovepastry Toronto, Canada joined 5/20 & has 16 comments
    Posted May 3rd, 2020 at 8:23 pm | or create a profile.

    Thanks Maangchi!

    Tasty recipe indeed~ Much more delicious than some places that sell Korean Fried Chicken even!

    :)

    Cynthia


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  8. Irene.hong INDONESIA joined 4/20 & has 2 comments
    Posted April 21st, 2020 at 9:41 am | or create a profile.

    Everyone loves this until I have to cook another batch!!!
    Thank you, Maangchi!!!


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  9. SNLZ13 belgium joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 8th, 2020 at 3:06 pm | or create a profile.

    is it okay to use chicken breasts instead of chicken wings since my family and i like the boneless version?

  10. Chocu55 Germany joined 9/18 & has 11 comments
    Posted February 24th, 2020 at 12:13 pm | or create a profile.

    I cooked this korean fried chicken and my family really loved it. Its really so delicious. I will definitely cook it again.


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  11. eugenea_nita California, US joined 11/19 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 15th, 2019 at 4:07 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello Maangchi, you are so right about people will love this when you bring this food to a party. Sure enough! People LOVE this so much. Some of them asked if I can make this with the cheese coating like BBQ Chicken has (the cheeseling?). Do you have recipe for that? Please advise. Thank you so much.

  12. AEvvy.10 Brunei Darussalam joined 9/19 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 8th, 2019 at 11:21 am | or create a profile.

    Hello maangchi. I’ve been following your blog for years. and wanna try this receipe korean spicy crispy chicken but its hard to find rice syrup or corn syrup here. and the halal one its hard to find. i havent see corn syrup or rice syrup at store. any suggest to replace rice syrup ?

  13. Kchoi87 Hiram,GA joined 7/19 & has 2 comments
    Posted July 12th, 2019 at 7:35 pm | or create a profile.

    I’ve been following your blog for years and your recipes are wonderful and authentic. My husband is a Korean citizen that moved to the US in 2007 and we have lived in Seoul for a couple of years and your recipes taste just like the Korean food in Korea. My husband ask me to make your crunchy chicken at least once a week :) The Korean government should give you an award for promoting Korean food so well! Take care!

  14. Blessed Singapore joined 4/10 & has 18 comments
    Posted June 23rd, 2019 at 5:49 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, this is a wonderful recipe which I can prepare for home party. May I know long will the crispiness last so I can time myself to make this.

    Can I use air fryer instead? If possible, Im concern on the double frying on how to achieve it with air fyer? Will it be burnt?

  15. BattleBoop USA joined 5/19 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 15th, 2019 at 12:01 am | or create a profile.

    Hi!

    I’ve made this recipe twice now and I love it! I used chicken drumsticks instead of wings. This recipe is now my absolute favorite fried chicken recipe. It was absolutely amazing with rice, cucumber salad, kimchi, and of course a beer. Thanks so much! I will be making this again and again.


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