Kkanpunggi is spicy garlic fried chicken stir-fried with vegetables and a sweet, sour, spicy sauce. It’s a Korean Chinese dish, originating in China but modified to suit Korean tastes, with Korean ingredients.
I can remember eating this only a few times as a kid. When we went to a Korean Chinese restaurant, I almost always ordered jjajjangmyeon! But I can remember having it once and admiring the beautiful balls of chicken the restaurant made. In Chinese, kkan means dry, pung means stir fry and gi means chicken.
In my version I infuse the cooking oil with coarse red chili flakes, garlic, leeks to make the lightly fried chicken spicy, garlicky, and leek-y. You can use the oil for other stir-fried dishes featuring vegetables, mushrooms, or meat. Someday I’ll post the shrimp version of this recipe, it’s also delicious. And if you want a nonspicy version, just leave out the spicy stuff.
This dish is fast to make: it fries quickly because it’s made with boneless pieces of chicken. It also creates a delicious aroma that will fill your kitchen. Few people can resist kkanpunggi!
Ingredients
Makes 2-3 servings
Chicken:
- ½ pound chicken breast (about 230 grams), cut into bite size small pieces
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup potato starch
- 1 egg white (If you use 1 pound chicken, use 1 whole egg)
Spicy garlic- and leek-infused oil:
- ¼ cup vegetable or corn oil
- ½ cup thinly shredded leek
- 4 garlic cloves, cut into halves
- 1 tablespoon coarse red chili flakes
Vegetables and seasonings:
- 1 green chili pepper, deseeded, sliced thinly
- 1 fresh red chili pepper, deseeded, sliced thinly
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ½ medium sized onion, chopped
- 3-4 small dried red chili peppers
Sweet and sour sauce (all mixed together in a small bowl):
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons rice syrup (or sugar)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
Oil:
- 1 cup cooking oil (grapeseed oil, vegetable oil, or corn oil)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions
Prep the chicken
- Combine the chicken, ginger, soy sauce, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Mix well with a spoon and let sit for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Add the egg white and ½ cup potato starch. Mix well by hand.
Prep the spicy garlic- and leek-infused oil
- Heat up a small pan with ¼ cup cooking oil. When the oil is heated, lower the heat to medium and add the garlic and leek. Stir them with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes until the garlic and leek turn light golden brown and crispy.
- Take the garlic and leek out with tongs and put them in a small plate.
- Turn off the heat and add the chili pepper flakes to the hot oil. Stir it and let it cool for a few minutes. Strain the oil.
Fry the chicken
- Heat up 1 cup of cooking oil in a 12 inch skillet or frying pan for 3-4 minutes over high heat (335-350°F).
- Turn down the heat to medium high and fry the chicken. When the bottom of a piece of chicken turns crunchy and light golden brown, turn it over with your tongs. It’s ok if the skillet is crowded, but split the chicken pieces with your tongs if they get stuck together. Keep rotating the chicken pieces and turning them over so they’re cooked evenly, about 5 minutes.
- Take them out and strain, and turn off the heat.
- Heat up a large pan. Add the spicy garlic leek infused oil. When the oil is heated, add the onion, green onion, red chili pepper, green chili pepper, and the small dried red chili peppers. Stir over medium high heat until the onion starts turning crispy for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sweet and sour sauce and stir it for about 20 to 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
- Reheat the oil in the skillet and fry the chicken one more time for about 3 to 5 minutes, turning over with your tongs until it’s very crunchy and golden brown. Strain.
- Reheat the sauce until it’s sizzling. Add the chicken, the fried leek and garlic, and a drop of toasted sesame oil. Stir and mix to coat the chicken.
Serve
- Serve right away. Goes well with Coke : )
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Maangchi-ssi, I’d like to ask something which is quite bothering me. Maybe some other readers have already asked about this. But, I’m terribly sorry if I’m lazy enough to scroll their comment
On the “1 egg white” ingredient, you wrote “if you use 1 pound of chicken, use 1 whole egg”. So, does it mean:
1. Use 1 whole “egg-white”
or
2. Use 1 whole “egg-with-the-yolk-included”
Egg white is better if you want it really crunchy. Whole egg makes it less crunchy
I’ve been making a lot of your recipes this week. This one has been my favorite. I think the acidity of the vinegar or perhaps the spice of the pepper being cooked filled the house with such a strong aroma that it made my husband’s eyes water! The chicken turned out delicious and tender, but not too spicy at all. Loved it!
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Your kkanpunggi looks fantastic!
Sorry, I posted this twice by mistake!
Great Recipe, the double fry works amazing. I made with bokchoi, beansprouts, tofu and rice. AMAZING
Thanks for being inspiration Maangchi
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The kkangpunggi I made for lunch today. This morning it was snowing in Germany an I thought about your kkanpunggi video and found you are right: comfort food is the best thing to make on a grey snowy winter Sunday like today.
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Hi Maangchi,
This looks so tasty! I think it’s the same as Kung pao chicken I used to get in Chinese restaurants. They also served Kung Pao beef, which was good too.
Very good! Made with rice and your Kimchi Salad which was also delicious. Thank you for the recipe, super crunchy!
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Yummy!
Yum! I finally made it well! I’ve made it before, but this time, I finally achieved it. It was so good. Thank you for the recipe Maangchi.
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It looks amazing, sweet and crunchy! Congratulations!
Dear I have tried this recipe turned out very nice amazing love ittttt will try more of your recipes
PS: no wonder about the fork lol am from Algeria north Africa we do not have sticks
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Well made kkanpunggi! Congratulations!
If there were an Oscar style award for cooking, you deserve it. I made this tonight and am blown away. You make it look so easy. This was one amazing dish. Thank you.
Wow, thank you so much for the compliment! I’m so happy that your kkanpunggi was a big hit!
Hiii Maanghi-ssi! annyeong! I WANTED TO KNOW WHETHER THERE IS ANY SUBSTITUTE FOR RED CHILLI FLAKES AS I RAN OUT OF THEM. PLZ HELP.
THAAAANKS’ LOVE FROM INDIA
Maangchi, I made this recipe a few nights ago. I quadrupled the recipe and 5x the sauce.and quadrupled the Chili oil. But my chicken didn’t turn out crispy. When I fried it the first time, it used up most of the oil, so the second re-fry I added more oil but it was coconut oil because I ran out of grapeseed oil. It didn’t seem to get any more brown and I cooked it longer than you specified in the recipe to make sure it was crispy. But it wasn’t. What went wrong? Here’s what I suspect: I used 2 whole eggs. Was it too wet? I used 4X the potato starch which should have been the right proportion. But maybe it wasn’t as dry as it needed to be? What do you think? Thanks for your input. The flavor was good though. My husband and son loved it But it did take me 3 HOURS to make it!! I have a photo but it’s too large to fit. Not sure how to make it smaller. By the way, you are adorable <3
“When I fried it the first time, it used up most of the oil” sounds like the oil wasn’t hot enough. And yes, maybe the eggs were too large. You’re definitely on the right track! :-)
– use more oil
– heat it up higher (put in a piece of wood; when bubbles come up steadily, it’s OK)
– reduce the amount of meat you fry in one portion.
Good luck!
Bye, Sanne.
Hi Carrie. The oil must be very hot before adding anything to it otherwise what you add to the oil will only be absorbed and therefore soggy and way too oily. And as Maangchi suggested, fry in smaller batches so the temp of the oil doesn’t drop too much. Good luck
Hi Maangchi
Im a fan to your cooking tutorial on youtube, jinjja jinjja mouth-wathering.
This is my first time tried your KFC recipe (i’ve made your baechu kimchi and kkakdugi ). I’m cooking with my 남자 친구. I used a tablespoon sugar and honey. The combi of spicy, salt, sour and sweetnes of the dish 노무 조하합니다. Serving with lettuce and syrup-squash.
Greetings from an Indonesian girl from Surabaya, who love all about Korean soooooo much.
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Your cooking skill is awesome! The kkanpunggi looks amazing!
Made one for my family today, it tastes sooo delicious Maanchi! :D
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Yes, it looks so crunchy, sweet, and spicy! Yum!
Hi Maangchi!
Is there anything you can replace the leek with? My mother lives in Bangladesh and we don’t have leek.
Cheers
Substitute for Leeks. For 1 cup of leeks substitute 1 cup chopped green onions OR 1 cup dry yellow or white onion or 1 cup chopped shallots.
This was the first recipe from Maangchi that I made. It was crispy and delicious. it was also approved by my partner who can be a little bit harder to impress. I’ve made it several times since I’ve learned how to make it.
Oh my this was so good! I forgot to take a picture before I ate this. I can’t wait to try more of your dishes :)
Hi Maangchi!
I’m a fifteen years old boy who falls in love with dishes you make!
I have some problems about this recipe.
1) Can i use corn starch instead of potato starch?
2) Can i use honey or sugar instead of rice syrup?
Sorry for grammars :( English is not my native language.
Yes, you can use cornstarch instead of potato starch and honey or sugar will work well, too Good luck!
From the moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I had some friends over yesterday for lunch and I made it for them. It turned out great, and they loved it. They only eat kosher meat, so they can’t have this in Korean restaurants. I made them a full Korean meal, with this kkanpunggi, bulgogi, doenjang jjigae, kimchi, side dishes, sikhye etc. It all turned out great and we had a lot of fun. Thanks Maangchi!
This is my first Korean dish ever. I am mostly used to cooking British food. It is very different :)
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Congratulations! It looks crunchy and delicious!
I have been eyeing off this recipe for a while finally got to make it.
It tasted amazing.
I changed it a little,I didn’t use leek just garlic and chilli in the sauce.
And used corn flour instead of potato starch.
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wow, yours looks amazing!
Maangchiiiiiii! I love Ur recipes! I need Ur help finding thin narrow tongs like the ones u use in this video! I have looked EVERYWHERE to no avail. Walmart, target, eBay, Amazon, every online kitchen appliance store and nothing. Please let me know where to buy I would really appreciate it. Hugs and kisses! Love Ur channel.
I bought them at IKEA. Check your local IKEA store. : )
Maangchi,
I made this for the first time last night and my family LOVED it. I quadrupled the recipe because I have a husband and son who eat big, and there is none left! Thank you so much! So delicious.
Hi Maangchi
I love to watch you on youtube and I admire your passion for food. This is the first time I have tried your recipe and the result was amazing. It must be the best dish I have made This year. I did not have rice sirup so I just added sirup and a little bit of mirin. It turned out very well. I love the combi of salt, sour and sweetnes of the dish. It reflects our life.
A million thanks for your inspiration.
Greetings from a vietnamese girl from Denmark.
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yes, it looks so tasty!
My onion tears and grease burns are nothing compared to how amazing this turned out. You’re my spirit animal, Maangchi!
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Onion tears? Use a really sharp knife (that goes for any food processor, too!), and/or cut the onions first lengthwise and then diagonally.
That way, the cells aren’t damaged that much (knife) and the juices haven’t that much time reacting with oxygen (latter method).
Bye, Sanne.
Your kkanpunggi looks exactly like mine! Yummy!
I love watching your cooking videos. You have inspired me to do a Korean food night with all my friends!! Love your videos. Thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge. :)
Absolutely love this recipe. so delicious, thanks for sharing!
Hi Maangchi, is corn syrup OK as a substitute for the rice syrup in this recipe? Thanks!!
Yes, corn syrup will work well, too. Good luck!
I have made this dish a few times since you posted it and every time my husband tells me how great it is. I used thigh instead of breast because he doesn’t like chicken breast and it still turns out amazing. We go to a Korean Chinese restaurant here in Atlanta, but he said he can’t order this at the restaurant anymore because this recipe is so much better. He also told his mother that he likes this dish and she has requested that I make it when we visit Korea this summer. I am always a little nervous to cook for his mother but using this site for a couple years now has made me feel more confident in cooking Korean food! So thank you for that, and I am sure my husband is thankful towards you too! :)
I’m so happy to hear that your husband loves your cooking! Your mother-in-law will be impressed by your delicious food. Please update me later!
I made this tonight and it came out excellent! I will try to include a photo.
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Your kkanpunggi looks very crunchy, spicy, and delicious!
I made this for dinner last night. It came out exactly like your pictures! So delicious. I didn’t have potato starch, so I substituted rice flour. My husband requested it again very soon.
I’m cooking this tomorrow night for my friends. I cant wait to try it. Is there any other dish you recommend serving with it?
Hi Maangchi, this was the kind of recipe I was looking for! It made a perfect dish during the Lunar New Year. My kids loved it! Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad to hear that your children loved your kkanpunggi! Happy cooking!
I made this for my family today, Maangchi, it was beautiful! I used Corn Flour (UK version of Corn Starch) as I couldn’t get Potato Starch, didn’t turn out as crispy as yours did in the video, but it tasted amazing! I’m definitely making it again!
I’m happy to hear that you still enjoyed this dish even though you used corn flour instead of starch. Happy cooking!
Hi Maangchi :) I prepared this yesterday and it was spicy & delicious! Thank you very much! :)
yaho! : )
Hi Maangchi! I was wondering if I can substitute the chicken for diced pork loin? If so how much would you recommend I use?
Pork loin sounds good to me!
Can I use corn starch instead of potato starch? Does it affect the taste a lot?
Yes, you can use cornstarch, too.