One of the wonderful things about the city I live in is the wide range of cultures and food. The fusions that emerge are embraced everywhere from food truck to restaurant, and some of the best meals serve as inspirations at home. This dish is the result of one recent trip with good friends to a local brewery: Karbach.
While visiting and sampling their great array of beer, my friends, trusty test subject and I decided to sit at the restaurant and try various items off the menu. One such dish was their Korean Fried Chicken – described on their menu as “crispy chile glazed chicken + housemade kimchi + togarashi + scallions.” It was probably the most fantastic thing we had, and though the rest of the food was good there, we couldn’t stop talking about the chicken. So it was agreed – I would attempt to recreate it for our friends’ next party.
Many searches across pinterest and google later, and I now know a lot more about kimchi, togarashi and gochujang. I was a little afraid of actually attempting to make my own kimchi but wanted to implement features of it to the flavor of the dish. After figuring out the kimchi from the brewery was made with purple cabbage, I decided to use that as a garnishing layer as well. So while this will not be a true recreation of the dish, the flavors turned out to be quite close and were a hit. I’ve not made this dish 3 more times since, and it’s still well received.
If in a rush or not feeling the desire to chop up and fry chicken, use chicken nuggets and toss them in the sauce.
Once Upon A Brewery Korean Fried Chicken
Sauce
¼ cup gochujang (Korean Chile Paste)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use 2 teaspoons of gourmet garden stir in paste)
2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger (I use 1 tablespoon of gourmet garden stir in paste)
2 ½ tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoon mirin
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2-3 teaspoons fish oil (depending on your preference or you can omit)
Chicken
2.5-3 lbs of chicken each piece cut into equal bite size nuggets
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon orange peel
1 teaspoon shichimi togarashi
1 ¼ cup cold water
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying
Garnish/base
Small red cabbage or radicchio leaves – enough to cover base of serving dish
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1-2 teaspoons shichimi togarashi
Directions:
1. Preheat oil in iron skillet to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix gochujang, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, brown sugar, honey, sesame oil and fish sauce. Set aside for later.
3. In a separate bowl, use a fork to mix rice flour, cornstarch, shichimi togarashi, salt, pepper and orange peel. Add in water and stir until no lumps and texture is thick.
4. Dip nugget pieces into the batter and shake to remove any excess. Going in batches as the oil temp will drop of skillet is overcrowded, drop battered nuggets in oil an fry 7-10 minutes.
5. Set up paper towels on cookie sheets, and drain onto paper towels. Place nuggets back in oil a second time for another 5-7 minutes or until golden. Remove and drain again.
6. Add the nuggets to the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat. In serving dish (or crockpot if transporting*), layer purple cabbage or radicchio leaves on dish. Pour coated nuggets onto leaves. Top with shichimi togarashi and sliced scallion.
*These keep great on warm for several hours so are perfect for a potluck.
Note: to make these a meal instead of an appetizer, serve with cabbage leaves over steamed rice and a side of cold chili seaweed salad.