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Mediterranean diet recipes

Korean Crispy Fried Chicken Breasts

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This is absolutely one of my most favorite recipes to make when I am craving a sweet and spicy dinner. This recipe coaxes the most complex savory and spicy flavors out of the Korean sauce. The sauce is absorbed into the crispy shell of the chicken for a multi dimensional, yet unexpectedly comforting Korean crispy fried chicken breasts dinner!

Korean crispy fried chicken breasts stacked on top of white rice on a black plate

This ‘Dune’ colored Le Creuset Dutch oven is to die for! It is similar to the one I used to make this recipe, but WAY cuter!

How to make Korean Fried Chicken:

In my opinion, this is the best Korean fried chicken recipe out there because it is SO easy, and you likely have all of the ingredients already!

  • Dredge thin cut chicken breasts in egg and flour, then place them in oil to fry. In this recipe, we skip out on seasoning the flour. Why season it when the chicken is going to be dowsed in SUPER flavorful sauce?

  • To make the condensed Korean chicken sauce, we simply add all of the ingredients to a small sauce pan and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it is reduced and syrupy. Pour it over the fried chicken breasts and you’re done!

Dipping raw chicken in egg with a plate full of flour next to it
dredging boneless chicken breast in flour after dipping in egg
frying fried korean chicken in a blue dutch oven on the stove

Recipe Variations:

There are a lot of different directions that you can go with this recipe.

For one, you can fry chicken wings instead of chicken breasts, and pour the sauce over the wings!

You can also cut the chicken into small pieces before dredging them in egg and flour and frying them. This gives each piece of chicken more fried surface area, making crispy Korean chicken bites!

You can also skip the chicken and use this sauce as a stir fry sauce, or a sauce for salmon!

crispy chicken breasts topped with korean sauce

Foolproof Korean Chicken Sauce:

I have made this sauce hundreds of times, and it is seriously fool proof you guys. What is easier than tossing all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and whisking it every now and again?

Just let the stove top alchemy do its job! When the sugar crystals in the honey and brown sugar heat up, their molecules begin to move faster and turn solid crystals into liquid. When heated, this liquid/syrup begins to change in flavor, adding complex elements of tart, savory and bitter flavors to the sugar.

Combine this with the salty umami flavor of soy sauce and the spicy bites from the chili paste, and you get an absolutely addictive sweet and spicy sauce for chicken!

The ingredients to make sweet and spicy asian sauce for korean fried chicken breasts
making korean sauce for chicken with a whisk
pouring korean chicken sauce over fried chicken breasts

What To Serve Korean Crispy Fried Chicken Breasts With:

This fried chicken breast recipe is the best easy chicken dinner idea because it is SO simple and SO tasty! Try serving it with these sides!

  • Rice – White rice, brown rice, wild rice all work great!

  • Noodles – Ramen, Cellophane, soba, udon or shirataki all work wonderfully

  • Vegetables – Stir fried broccoli, snow peas, carrots, baby corn and onion go great together

fried chicken breasts cut in half and stacked on top of white rice on a black plate.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How many chicken breasts should I use?Believe it or not, I actually made this recipe with only ONE large chicken breast. You know those chicken breasts you find at Walmart and target that are un-naturally large and look like they can feed a family of four?…that’s what I used. To cut it into 3 separate ‘breasts’, I held it on its side and sliced three 1/3 of an inch breasts out of one giant breast. If you have medium sized chicken breasts, I would use 2 and slice each in half lengthwise.
How long can I store leftover Asian sauces in the fridge?Hopefully you will have some leftover sauce that you will want to save for a future recipe! If you want to store the sauce for later, place it in a small Tupperware container with an air tight lid, and store it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to 3 months in the fridge. I recommend doubling the sauce recipe so you have extra!
Do I HAVE to fry the chicken?Absolutely not! I know there are a lot of you out there that try to avoid fried food. If you want to, you can bake the chicken instead of frying it in oil. Just know that it won’t be crispy. You can also sub the chicken out for salmon!
Why isn’t my sauce syrupy? If your sauce doesn’t look as syrupy as mine while you are cooking it, do not fret! While it is on the heat, it will look much more liquidy. It will become more viscous once you remove it from the heat.
crispy fried chicken recipe

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A stack of three sliced fried chicken breasts on white rice with parsley sprinkled over the top

Korean Crispy Fried Chicken Breasts

This chicken breast recipe is is an absolutely delicious way to transform regular chicken breasts into crispy, sweet and spicy korean chicken!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Course chicken dinner, Dinner
Cuisine asian, korean
Servings 4
Calories 310 kcal

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 2 medium chicken breasts, cut in half length wise
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp squeeze bottle ginger (or 2 tsp fresh minced ginger)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1-2 tbsp garlic chili paste (I use the green cap bottle from Huy Fong Foods, can also use red pepper flakes)
  • 2 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • enough canola or vegetable oil to fill 1/4 inch of bottom of frying pot
  • garnish with sesame seeds and chives, serve with rice or noodles

Instructions
 

  • Start by making the sauce: In a small sauce pan, add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, honey, garlic chili paste and lemon juice. Whisk until the honey and sugar are melted. Bring to a boil, whisk, then turn the heat to a simmer.
  • Simmer the sauce on low for about 30 minutes until reduced by half. Make sure to whisk occasionally to prevent burning.
  • While the sauce is simmering, fry the chicken. If using medium sized chicken breasts, slice in half length wise so you have 4 thin sliced chicken breasts. If you need to, pound them to make them equal in thickness.
  • In a bowl, crack an egg and whisk. On a separate plate, pour the flour. Taking one chicken breast at a time, dip it in the egg mixture, then dredge it in the flour until fully coated. Place on a separate plate, and repeat for all chicken breasts.
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large dutch oven until hot, but not smoking (about 350 degrees F). Using tongs, place the chicken in the oil and fry on one side until golden, about 6 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side until golden. Once done, remove and check the internal temperature to make sure the chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees F.
  • When the sauce is done, if you minced the ginger, you may want to run the sauce through a sieve to separate the solids. Once the chicken and sauce are done, place chicken in a bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Toss to coat.
  • Serve Korean fried chicken over rice or noodles and garnish with sesame seeds and chives!

Notes

TIPS:
  • To save the extra sauce, place it in a small air tight tupperware container and place in the fridge.  It should be good for up to 3 months! 

Nutrition

Calories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 31gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 2583mgPotassium: 596mgFiber: 1gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 102IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 2mg
Keyword easy, korean, spicy, sweet
Interested in the Mediterranean diet? Check out my 21-Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan! Take the stress out of meal planning and let me do the hard work for you!Learn More
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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)