Yangnyeom Korean Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.2kg chicken wings and drumettes
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp Korean cooking wine or mirin
• 120g potato starch
• 40g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 150ml cold water
• 1.5 litres neutral oil, for frying
• 3 tbsp gochujang
• 3 tbsp Korean rice syrup or honey
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• Pickled daikon cubes, to serve

Before you cook

• Pat the chicken pieces thoroughly dry with kitchen paper
• Toss the chicken with salt, pepper, grated ginger and cooking wine, then leave it for 20 minutes
• Whisk the potato starch, flour and baking powder together in a bowl
• Mince the garlic for the sauce

Steps

1. Whisk the cold water into the dry starch mixture until you have a batter about as thick as single cream.
2. Drop the chicken pieces into the batter and turn them until each one wears a thin even coat.
3. Pour the oil into a deep heavy pot to a depth of 7cm and heat it to 160C.
4. Lower in a third of the chicken one piece at a time so the pieces do not stick together.
5. Fry for 8 minutes until pale gold and cooked through, then lift the pieces onto a wire rack.
6. Repeat with the remaining two batches, letting the oil come back to temperature between them.
7. Rest all the chicken on the rack for 5 minutes so steam escapes.
8. Raise the oil temperature to 190C.
9. Fry the chicken again in three batches for 2 minutes each, until the crust is deep gold and audibly crisp.
10. Drain the chicken on the rack once more.
11. Warm the gochujang, rice syrup, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar and garlic in a wide pan over medium heat for 3 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.
12. Stir the sesame oil into the sauce and take the pan off the heat.
13. Add the hot chicken to the pan and toss quickly, no more than 20 seconds, so the crust stays crisp.
14. Scatter with sesame seeds and serve straight away with pickled daikon and cold beer.