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Looking for the best party snack for your Super Bowl party? Look no further - you’ll love these Crispy Korean Chicken Bites!
I recently shared my Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe and wow I was in love! I had it for three days in a row, and I just couldn’t get enough of it! The week before that, I also shared my Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings recipe! Can you tell that I just love crispy chicken?
One of my true love has to be boneless bites. Almost every time I go to Pizza Hut, I just have to get the boneless bites! Chicken wings and fried chicken rock, of course, but what I love about boneless bites is not having the bone get in the way of the meaty goodness!
I wanted to share a boneless bite recipe on the blog, but I wanted to do something different. I had so much fun trying out the Jamaican Jerk Wings that I was eager to do something new. In my area, Korean food has become very popular. I haven’t visited any of the Korean fried chicken places yet, but after having made it myself, I definitely need to head on over! I’m eager to try Korean corn dogs! Have you ever had them? Let me know in the comments! They look so awesome!
Don’t forget to watch the video to get a full picture of how to make this awesome Crispy Korean Popcorn Chicken!! You’ll see exactly how to make the batter for our fried chicken and watch the entire frying process. Furthermore, you’ll see how the sauce comes together. If you’re not already subscribed to me on YouTube, then I really recommend you do so! If you hit the bell icon, you’ll be notified every time the corresponding video goes live with the written blog post! I love filming the recipes since I find watching the demonstration is a nice complement to the written recipe and you’re set up for success! Let’s get cooking!
Questions You May Have!
What is Korean fried Chicken?▼
Korean Fried Chicken, also known as“KFC” and called chikin in Korea, refers to fried chicken that’s prepared in South Korea. Korean Fried Chicken differs from the American fried chicken because unlike the American fried chicken, which is marinated in a buttermilk mixture with spices and then dredged in flour, the Korean fried chicken is lighter and crispier with a thinner coating. The batter is made with corn starch or potato starch. Furthermore, unlike American fried chicken, Korean fried chicken is double deep fried, served with a spicy glaze.
Technically, there are two types of Korean fried chicken. They are:
- Dakgangjeong: The basic Korean fried chicken recipe, which is a soy garlic fried chicken.
- Yangneyeom: This resembles more of what we’ll be making today. This fried chicken is paired with a spicy and sweet sauce, which I’ll be showing how to make this in this recipe.
What chicken should I use for korean boneless bites?▼
For this recipe, I’m using skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. I’ll be de-boning the chicken so that they’re boneless bites, of course! You could also use skin-on chicken breast for a lighter variation of these boneless treats, but I’m using chicken thighs since I find them more flavourful and juicier. Furthermore, I find the skin to meat ratio in chicken thighs is better than in chicken breast. Sure, you could pound the chicken breast to make it thinner to make the cooking more even, but in my opinion you’re guaranteed the most amount of flavour with dark meat!
Technically you can use wings or legs too if you want, as the process for frying would be the same. However, they won’t be boneless bites anymore! Furthermore, keep in mind that the cook time for different cuts of chicken will be different, so pay attention to that!
What Oil Should I Use to Fry Korean Popcorn Chicken?▼
I used peanut oil to fry the chicken. If you don’t have that, my other recommendations are canola oil, grape-seed oil or vegetable oil.
How do I know the Chicken is Cooked?▼
The chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Celsius. To tell if the chicken is cooked without a meat thermometer, the chicken will be crispy on the outside and juices coming from the chicken will run clear. There should be no visible pink inside.
Can I bake or air fry this Korean Fried Chicken?▼
Yes you can. However, keep in mind that the chicken won’t be as crispy as frying. As good as the air fryer is and as much as I love to use it, I’m always honest on the blog and I’m going to tell you that you’ll just never achieve the same taste and crispiness in the air fryer as by actually frying. Air frying is good, but not the best, you know :)
Can I Reuse the Frying Oil?▼
If your oil isn’t too dark and this is your first fry, you can certainly reuse the oil. In my experience, oil lasts 2-3 fries, depending on how hardcore you’re gonna go. You can use it to deep fry more foods. If you plan on frying soon, you can just leave the oil in your wok or pan and you’ll save a step for your next frying session!
Furthermore, you could use any leftover oil for baking a sweet recipe that calls for a neutral oil! For example, when I made my Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes, I used whatever oil was left from frying my North Indian Potato Samosas! I wanted vegetable oil but didn’t have any and quite frankly didn’t feel like going to the store to buy some, but my oil was still in perfect condition, so I used that, and you would have never known in the video when I made my cupcakes!
All you need to do is strain out any excess crumbs from the batter! To filter out the crumbs, first transfer the oil from the wok or pan into a large bowl, with a sieve on top to remove the excess. Then, you can add the oil back directly into your wok or pan or you could even transfer it into squeeze bottle if you’re going to use the oil at a later date!
Tips & Tricks for Delicious Crispy Korean Fried Chicken
- Make sure the oil is not too hot (375F and up). This will cause the crust to develop too quickly and not give the chicken skin the time it needs to render out and become crispy.
- Once the chicken has been added, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a temperature of 300F for the first fry and ~325 F for the final fry.
- Keep the sauce warm to ensure the sauce coats the warm chicken well and keeps it warm.
- Do a test piece of chicken to make sure your oil is hot and to allow you to get the hang of the frying!
Ingredients for Korean Boneless Bites
We’ll review the ingredients we need for the chicken and for the spicy glaze in this popcorn chicken Korean-style recipe. Remember, the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all ingredient quantities and step by step instructions. You can save the recipe for later, and it’s so easy to scale the ingredient quantities based on how much popcorn chicken you want to make!
For the Chicken
- Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Ginger powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Water
- Rice vinegar
- All purpose flour
- Corn starch or potato starch
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Peanut oil, for frying
For the Sauce
How to Make Korean-Style Popcorn Chicken
To Prepare the Chicken
- If the chicken is bone-in, go ahead and debone the chicken with the help of a paring knife.
- While keeping the skin intact, cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces.
Season the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, salt and pepper. Carefully, toss the chicken to mix in the spices.
Add in the rice vinegar and water and mix well. Cover and marinate for at least 1-2 hours.
30 minutes before you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge.
Prepare the breading mix by combining flour, corn/potato starch and salt in a large bowl or baking sheet. Mix well to combine.
Add the chicken pieces to the breading mix and coat well.
To Make the Sauce
In a pan, combine all of the ingredients for the glaze. Mix well and bring the sauce up to a simmer. Set it aside until later.
To Make the Korean Fried Chicken
Heat peanut oil in a large pot or cast iron pan and bring it up to around 300F.
Add the breaded chicken one by one carefully to the oil and fry until light golden brown. Once the exterior looks crispy and the chicken is cooked inside, drain and set it aside on a baking sheet/plate.
Turn the heat up to hover around 320F - 350F, add the fried pieces back to the oil and fry until the chicken becomes rich golden brown and even crispier.
In the meanwhile, warm the glaze back up if cold. Drain and transfer the fried chicken pieces to a bowl. Pour the glaze over the chicken and toss to coat.
Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, serve hot with fries.
Serving Suggestions
I would recommend serving this popcorn chicken with some nice pickled veggies, such as radishes or cucumbers in a spicy salad! However, I was being fusion-y here and I served mine with some Restaurant-Style French Fries! I was already frying this popcorn chicken, and I wasn’t planning on having an entire meal, so why not! Fries are true love!
If you’re serving this at a Super Bowl party, then you’re probably going to have a spread of snacks. You could serve with other munchies such as Mozzarella Sticks. If you want to make this an exciting cultural experience, then Crispy Chicken Pakoras or even North Indian Potato Samosas would be awesome! You’ve already got the oil, so go for it! You’ll save lots of time and you can easily time everything to come together for a unique and delicious spread!
If you do want to serve this as part of a meal, then you could certainly serve with Korean fried rice, a noodle stir fry, such as Cambodian Lort Cha or my Tofu Noodles Stir Fry; crispy seaweed kale, kimchi pancakes, stir fried squid or tofu, or even in bao buns! While I enjoyed munching on these with my French fries, if I were to make these again, I’d love to have put these in some bao buns, yum!
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