Strawberry Gochujang Fried Chicken

What happens when you mix sweet strawberries with spicy gochujang? Pure fried chicken magic. Ever since I made these flower pickled onions, I knew they’d taste amazing with Korean Fried Chicken aka the better KFC. There are several things that I did to get the chicken wings super crispy (in addition, of course, to the double fry) but this strawberry gochujang yangnyeom sauce is the star here. It would go great with chicken (or even tofu!) in any form…fried, grilled, poached — you name it, it works.

I’ll include all of my tips and tricks in the recipe below, but the one recommendation I can’t stress enough: chimek aka chicken and beer (”mekju”) is a combination that is not to be missed. Spicy sweet wings and a refreshing brew — I can’t think of a better pair.

Strawberry Gochujang Fried Chicken (2-3 servings):

Ingredients

For the brine:

• 2-3 lbs of wings
• 2 cups water
• 4 TBSP sugar
• 4 TBSP salt
• 2 TBSP gochugaru
• 2 TBSP soy sauce

For the dry batter:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 cup potato starch (or cornstarch)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• Pinch of salt

For the wet batter:

• 1/2 cup club soda (or ice water), chilled
• 1/2 cup vodka (or light beer like Stella Artois or Blue Moon), chilled

For the strawberry gochujang sauce:

• 3-4 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 4 TBSP sugar or honey
• 3 TBSP gochujang
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP rice vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced

Brine the chicken. Combine brine ingredients in a large tupperware or bowl and mix until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add chicken wings and submerge (I placed a small plate on top of the wings to ensure full liquid coverage). Brine for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Dry the chicken and prep. Remove chicken from brine and lay on a paper towel-lined tray to dry and come down to room temperature. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium pot to about 275 to 300°F.

Do the first fry. Prepare a sheet pan lined with paper towels and a wire rack next to your stove. Combine dry batter ingredients in a large bowl. Dredge each wing, shake off excess flour, and fry for 5 minutes in batches or until light golden and crispy. Don’t overcrowd the pot. Rest on wire rack for 10 minutes. Let the oil heat back up again as you prepare the

Do the second fry. Add vodka (or beer) and club soda (or cold water) to dry mixture from the first fry. Whisk until smooth, adding a little more of each liquid (as necessary) until the batter is thick but still runny and kind of looks like icing. Dredge the fried wings in the wet batter and fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Working in batches, let the double fried wings rest for 10 minutes to crisp up. In the meantime, make the sauce.

Make sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, lower the heat to medium low. Stir constantly with a spatula until the strawberries have disintegrated. Remove from heat and add garlic and jalapeño.

Dress the chicken. Right before serving, toss or brush the chicken with the sauce. Serve with something pickled and a cold glass of beer. Enjoy!