Korean Fried Chicken -Restaurant Style (VIDEO)
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Korean Fried Chicken are double-fried to juicy, crispy perfection, and coated in a sweet and spicy gochujang sauce that is just as good as any Korean restaurant!
Watch the Korean Fried Chicken Tenders Recipe Video!
A Note from CJ
KFC is for Korean Fried Chicken!
In my house, KFC means Korean Fried Chicken! It was one of my first recipes and still a favorite – I use chicken tenders, which I think is the perfect ratio of meat to breading to sauce! The gochujang sauce is out-of-this-world good – but if spicy isn’t your thing, I also have a Korean Honey Butter Fried Chicken or Korean Soy Garlic Wings! If you love chicken tenders, don’t miss out on my Fried Chicken Tenders or Air Fryer Chicken Tenders.
It’s used in recipes like Spicy Pork Bulgogi, Kimchi Fried Rice, Spicy Honey Garlic Tofu, Gochujang Honey Wings, Spicy Gochujang Noodles, and Korean Fried Cauliflower.
The best fried chicken recipe! I’ve tried tons and nothing compared to this. The crispiness of the chicken was amazing along with the spices and it wasn’t greasy at all. The sauce was delicious sweet and spicy!
Ingredient Tips
- chicken tenders: I like the ratio of breading and sauce to chicken tender but you can use any boneless, skinless part of the chicken.
- soda water: use unflavored, unsweetened soda water – the carbonation expands in the batter when fried, which creates a lighter, crispier texture.
- gochujang: This is a spicy and sweet Korean red pepper paste that is the base of the sauce. has a strong flavor profile, with a hint of umami. You only need a little to go a long way. If you are sensitive to spice, halve this amount.
- gochugaru: gochugaru is Korean red chili pepper flakes/powder that is vibrant in color and smoky in flavor, and adds a kick of heat. If you are sensitive to spice, I would consider using 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.
- rice vinegar: in a pinch you can also use apple cider vinegar.
How to Make Korean Fried Chicken
Season Chicken and Mix Dredges – In a bowl, mix together kosher salt, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, ginger powder, and cayenne pepper. Season the chicken tenders for at least 20 minutes to allow the salt to absorb into the chicken. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix well. Add additional sparkling water to the seasoning flour 1-2 tbsp at a time and rub the flour with your hands to create additional craggily bits. In a separate bowl, mix together a 1/2 cup of the seasoning flour, egg and soda water and whisk to combine until smooth. In a third bowl, add 1 cup of plain flour.
Dredge Chicken in Wet Batter and Seasoning Flour – Dust the chicken in the plain flour, then dip your chicken in the Wet Batter and let any excess batter drip off. Next, coat the chicken in the Seasoning Flour and use your hands to pack the coating into the chicken. Place on a tray and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes while you heat up the oil.
Fry Chicken (Twice) – Fry the chicken in batches at 350F for 4-5 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove the chicken, and let the oil come back up to 350F, then fry a 2nd time for 1-2 minutes until a deep golden brown. Remove to a tray and let rest.
Cook Sauce and Coat Chicken – In a medium saucepan, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, honey, gochujang, gochugaru, rice viengar and water. Simmer over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Coat the chicken in the sauce and enjoy!
PRO TIPS
CJ’s Storage & Reheating Tips
Store any leftover Korean Fried Chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that they will not stay crispy once refrigerated.
You can reheat Korean Fried Chicken in the air fryer at 350F for 6-8 minutes until crispy, or on a wire rack in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes until crispy and warmed through. If you don’t care about restoring any crispy texture, you can also reheat until warmed through in the microwave.
If you tried this Korean Fried Chicken or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Korean Fried Chicken (VIDEO)
Video
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Seasoning Flour
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Wet Batter
- 1/2 cup seasoning flour
- 1 egg
- 1 cup cold soda water
Plain Flour
- 1 cup flour, all-purpose
Oil
- 2 quart neutral oil, for frying
Sauce
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together kosher salt, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, ginger powder, and cayenne pepper. Season the chicken tenders for at least 20 minutes to allow the salt to absorb into the chicken.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix well. Add additional sparkling water to the seasoning flour 1-2 tbsp at a time and rub the flour with your hands to create additional craggily bits.
- In a separate bowl, mix together a 1/2 cup of the seasoning flour, egg and soda water and whisk to combine until smooth. In a third bowl, add 1 cup of plain flour.
- Dust the chicken in the plain flour, then dip your chicken in the Wet Batter and let any excess batter drip off. Next, coat the chicken in the Seasoning Flour and use your hands to pack the coating into the chicken. Place on a tray and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes while you heat up the oil.
- Fry the chicken in batches at 350F for 4-5 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove the chicken, and let the oil come back up to 350F, then fry a 2nd time for 1-2 minutes until a deep golden brown. Remove to a tray and let rest.
- In a medium saucepan, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, honey, gochujang, gochugaru, rice viengar and water. Simmer over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Coat the chicken in the sauce and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Korean Fried Chicken recipe was originally published in February 2023, and updated in May 2026.
This recipe is dynamite! Chefs kiss!
Thank you Becca!
Made this chicken yesterday to put in my bao buns and woooow what an amazing chicken recipe. My boyfriend really enjoyed it too.
The sauce had a perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
Will make this recipe again whenever I want to impress someone 🙂
Thank you so much Eva!
Easy KFC!
FINALLY found an amazing recipe that doesn’t use ketchup!
@beancounterconfections
Absolutely fire crispy Korean style chicken recipe. 10 out of 5. Get yourself some bock bock and make this now!
So good! We don’t have a good Korean fried chicken place close to us so this is our go to option every time
– zt_schweitzer
Was always intimidated to try frying chicken/saucing chicken but this recipe made it super approachable. Turned out awesome!