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Probably my #1 favorite fried chicken dish by my Mom is her Korean Chicken. Korean chicken in Hawaii refers to a very specific dish. Deep-fried chicken that has been dipped in a sweet shoyu and vinegar sauce with roasted sesame seeds and green onions. This is so easy to make and it’s a huge hit for big meals or parties. I’ll be surprised if you have any leftovers!
There are a couple of key points to remember while preparing Korean chicken. Make sure you let the flour sit on the chicken until it’s fully absorbed. Otherwise it will just fall right off as it fries. Second, Aloha Shoyu is not required, but it is highly recommended. Aloha Shoyu is a good dipping shoyu because it isn’t strong (which coincidentally doesn’t make it a good cooking shoyu). Since you are essentially dipping the chicken into the shoyu sauce, a good dipping shoyu is recommended.
Aloha with love,
Amy
Ingredients
- 3½ lbs chicken thighs Boneless.
- ¾ c all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds Optional.
- ⅔ c shoyu Aloha Shoyu recommended.
- ¼ c apple cider vinegar
- ¼ c brown sugar
- ¼ c Stevia Use all sugar or your favorite sweetener.
- 3 tbsp chili garlic sauce Or your favorite hot sauce.
- 2 tbsp honey
- ⅓ c green onions
- 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs to bite-sized pieces (about 4 pieces per thigh). You don't really need the skin here as this will be deep-fried and dipped in the shoyu sauce. We removed the skin and large fatty pieces.
- Cover the chicken everywhere with flour. Cover with saran wrap and put the flour-covered chicken into the fridge for at least one hour. The chicken color will change from white to a pale pink after an hour because the flour will have bonded with the wetness around the chicken.Note: if you do not give the flour enough time to bond to the chicken, the flour will fall right off when it cooks.
- Combine the roasted sesame seeds (optional), shoyu, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, Stevia, chili garlic sauce, honey, green onions, and sesame seed oil into a large bowl.
- Fill up a pan with vegetable oil (about a ½-inch high) and adjust the temperature to high. Reduce to medium high as you begin cooking. Add in the chicken one by one and separate as you fry so that they don't stick together.About 1 minute in, you'll see a slight crust begin to form. Flip and make room so that you can add more chicken into the pan.
- Mom cooked each side about 5 – 6 minutes. Once the chicken looks like it's ready to take out, adjust the temperature to high so that the outside of the chicken has a nice brown crust.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and dip it into the shoyu sauce. Plate with a couple of paper towel sheets underneath to collect the drippings so that the chicken stays crispy as the sauce soaks into the chicken.Note: you can dip the chicken one by one in the shoyu sauce, but you can also be like my Mom and dipped a bunch of them together. Either way, it will come out great.
I give this 5 stars I live in hawaii so I had everything to make it came out great thank you
I’m so glad it came out great! It’s definitely one of my favorite recipes from my Mom. Thanks again, Bruce! Aloha with love, Amy.
Fantastic this will be a go to dish for me
Mahalo, Bruce!
Amy, do you have a recommendation on the brand of garlic chili sauce? I live on the mainland and don’t know what kind to buy. What kind do you use?
Aloha Norman, we use a Vietnamese brand that’s commonly sold in most Asian aisles at groceries – Tuong Ot Toi Vietnam. But we’ve also used just regular hot sauce or sriracha – whatever is handy 🙂 Aloha with love, Amy.
Thank you, Amy! Do you have any recommendations on how to use this recipe with an air frier? What temperature and for how long I should air fry these chickens?
Aloha Norman! Unfortunately, I don’t have an air fryer so you’ll have to test it for yourself 🙂 I would think you can look up other fried chicken air fryer recipes online and go from there though. Let me know how it goes! Aloha with love, Amy.
I was afraid it would be too sweet but it ended up being perfect!! The kids and husband loved it!! The hubby said he even liked it better than Zippy’s!! I didn’t have any chili garlic sauce amd.didnt feel Tabasco or saracha was a good choice so I added fresh garlic and a tablespoon of sweet chili sauce!! Turned out good!!
Wuuut, better than Zippy’s? LOL. Tell your husband ‘mahalo’ (thank you) because that is a HUGE compliment! So glad to hear that it tasted awesome. Aloha with love, Amy.
Amy,
Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
~Lani Sur
Aloha Lani! Glad you liked it!
Aloha tita! This recipe was a WINNAH. As a kanaka living in Louisiana I miss the Korean chicken back home. Substituted the chili garlic sauce for 3 TB of gochujang and several cloves of garlic. Will be checking out your other recipes. Mahalo!
Aw, so glad you love it! Gochujang is an excellent sub – love that savory flavor it has!
I lived in walua HI and we would get our chicken from the grocery store there, they use whole thighs with the skin still on that was my favorite part so i did mine that way also it was so good Your recipe made my day thank you.
Aloha Brenda! Glad I could make your day!!