Korean Fried Chicken Burger

Lunch | Korean

Prep time: 50 min Cook time: 35 min Servings: 4

Korean Fried Chicken has become a viral recipe over the past few years and I'm honestly not surprised. It's an incredible burger. And even though it does take a bit of time (and steps) to make it, it's one of my favourites and is always a big hit with friends.

What is it?

Korean fried chicken burger is made with chicken thighs, double-fried for a great crunch, then tossed in a gochujang sauce with heat, sweetness and fermented depth. Then, we'll layer a soft potato bun with the chicken, a quick-pickled cucumber, a dressed slaw and mayo.

A double-fry

We're going to double-fry the chicken to ensure we get an extra crispy chicken. The first fry at 175°C sets the coating and cooks the chicken through. The second fry at 190°C drives the remaining moisture out of the crust and gives you the crunch that holds up under the sauce. The Korean sauce, pickled cucumber and slaw can all be made while the chicken marinates, so the frying at the end is the only thing that needs your attention.

The sauce

It's the best part of the burger, it's add so much flavour to the chicken. It's sweet, sour and has a little bit of heat but not much. The recipe makes a little more than you need because you want to cover the chicken in it, and I always like some extra in the fridge to put on the grilled chicken and rice I'm cooking tomorrow.

Ingredient Notes

Gochujang: A fermented Korean chilli paste made from red chillies, glutinous rice and soybeans. It has heat, sweetness, depth and a slight tang from the fermentation. You can find it at Asian grocery stores or Korean supermarkets.

Garlic chives: Garlic chives have a flat, grass-like leaf with a mild garlic flavour distinct from regular chives. Available at Asian supermarkets and grocers. To prepare: finely slice the firm stalk ends, then chop the leafy upper part into roughly 1cm lengths. If you can’t find them, ordinary chives work as a substitute, or leave them out entirely.

Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless thighs are better for this than breast: the higher fat content keeps them juicy through two rounds of frying. Breast dries out faster and has less margin for error. Buy the largest thighs you can find and trim any excess sinew or fat before marinating. If they’re uneven in thickness, pound them briefly so they cook evenly.

Potato starch: Used alongside plain flour in the dredge. Potato starch produces a lighter, crisper coating than flour alone and gives the double-fried crust the structural quality that holds up under the sauce. Find it at Asian grocery stores. Cornflour (cornstarch) is a good substitute if you can’t find potato starch, though the coating will be very slightly less delicate.

Hot honey: Honey infused with chilli, used in both the Korean sauce and the slaw dressing. It adds sweetness and a clean, even heat that balances the gochujang. If unavailable, substitute with regular honey and add a pinch of dried chilli flakes or a few drops of hot sauce to each use.

Equipment

Large bowl (for marinating chicken)
Microplane or fine grater (for ginger and garlic)
Small saucepan (for Korean sauce)
Silicone spatula/maryse (for scraping sauce)
Heatproof bowl (for pickling cucumbers)
Large bowl (for salad)
Screw-top jar (for dressing)
Deep fryer or large heavy saucepan (for frying)
Wire rack or paper-towel-lined tray (for draining)
Large frying pan (for toasting buns)
Thermometer (for oil and internal chicken temperature)

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, (skinless and boneless) trimmed
thumbsize piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
4 potato buns, (see separate recipe for homemade)
softened butter, for toasting
mayonnaise, for serving
Korean Sauce
1 tbsp neutral flavoured oil
8 cloves garlic
½ cup Gochujang
½ cup tomato ketchup
2½ tbsp hot honey
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or apple cider)
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
⅓ cup (80ml) water
Salad
2 Lebanese cucumbers
⅓ cup rice vinegar
⅓ cup water
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp caster sugar
1 baby wombok cabbage (napa cabbage), shredded
4 spring onions, sliced
¼ cup chopped garlic chives
Dressing
1 tbsp korean soy sauce
½ tsp gochugaru
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp hot honey
Dredge and frying
neutral flavoured oil (eg peanut oil), for deep frying
2 eggs, beaten
110g (¾ cup) potato starch
110g (¾ cup) plain flour

Directions

Marinate the Chicken
Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl, then finely grate the ginger and garlic and mix through with the salt and cracked black pepper.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
Make the sauce
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Finely grate the garlic and add to the pan. Stir through the salt and sauté for 2–3 minutes, taking care to not allow it to colour.
Add the rice wine vinegar and stir. Then, add the gochujang. Cook for 1 minute, then add the ketchup, hot honey, soy sauce and water.
Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Set aside.
Prep the salad
In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve everything.
While the liquid is simmering, peel the cucumbers into long ribbons into a medium heatproof bowl, discarding the core of the cucumbers as they hold too much moisture.
Pour the liquid over the sliced cucumbers, ensuring they are fully submerged and set aside to cool.
To make the slaw dressing, combine the soy sauce, gochugaru, vinegar, sesame oil and honey in a screw-top jar. Shake well until combined. Set aside until ready to serve.
Then, shred the cabbage and finely slice the spring onions. Place in a large bowl with the chopped garlic chives. Set aside until ready to serve (we’ll dress the salad after we fry the chicken).
Fry the chicken
Heat enough oil in a deep fryer or heavy saucepan to 160°C (320°F).
In a large bowl, whisk the flour and potato starch. Crack the eggs into the marinated chicken and mix until well combined.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture one at a time and make sure they’re all coated. Then, add them back in the remaining egg mixture and cover. Dredge the chicken again in the flour.
Fry the chicken in batches, for 5-6 minutes until light golden. Drain on a wire rack or paper towel lined tray.
Increase the oil temp to 190°C (375°F). Fry the chicken again for 3-4 minutes until golden and cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 62°C (143°F). Drain again.
Sauce and assemble
While the chicken is frying, heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spread the insides of each bun with some butter and toast until lightly golden.
Toss the salad with the dressing, until well combined. Drain the cucumbers from their pickling liquid.
Get your sauce ready, you may need to heat it up slightly so it’s not stiff (but you don’t want it too hot). Brush the hot chicken liberally all over with the sauce. You want the chicken to still be hot when you brush on the sauce.
Layer some of the salad on the bases of the toasted buns. Top with a few cucumber ribbons, then the chicken. Spread a little mayonnaise on the inside of the bun top and place on top. Serve immediately.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Marinate overnight if you can

I specified in the recipe to marinate for at least 1 hour, but leaving the chicken in the fridge overnight gives a noticeably better result. The ginger and garlic penetrate further into the flesh and the salt seasons through rather than just sitting on the surface. If you’re planning ahead, put the chicken in to marinate the evening before. The sauce, pickle and slaw can all be made in the time it takes to bring the chicken back to temperature and heat the oil.

Scrape the sides of the pan when making the sauce

Use a silicone spatula (maryse) to scrape down the sides of the saucepan as the sauce cooks. The bits that caramelise on the sides of the pan have the most concentrated flavour; scraping them back into the sauce adds depth. Don’t let them burn, but don’t leave them stuck to the sides either.

Use a thermometer for the oil

Oil temperature is the most important variable when deep frying. Too hot and the coating burns before the chicken is cooked through. Too cold and the coating absorbs oil and goes greasy rather than crisping. A digital kitchen thermometer or probe thermometer is the most reliable way to hit and hold those temperatures.

Storage

The components store best separately. Sauced chicken keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 180°C (355°F) for 8 to 10 minutes to restore some crunch. Avoid microwaving as it softens the coating. The pickled cucumber keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days. The slaw is best dressed and eaten straight away. The Korean sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

FAQs

Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs? You can, but thighs give a better result. Thigh meat is fattier and stays juicy through the double fry and after being sauced. Breast is leaner and dries out faster under sustained heat. If you’re using breast, pound the fillets to an even thickness of about 1.5cm so they cook evenly through both fries, and reduce the second fry to 3 minutes. The result is still good but thighs give you more margin for error.

Do I really need to double fry the chicken? Yes. The first fry at 175°C cooks the chicken through and sets the coating. The second fry at 190°C drives out the remaining moisture from the crust and creates the sustained crunch that holds up under the sauce. A single fry gives a softer coating that goes soggy quickly once sauced. The double fry takes an extra 4 minutes per batch but the texture difference is significant. It’s the whole point of the technique.

Can I use regular honey instead of hot honey? Yes. Hot honey adds a mild background heat to the sauce but regular honey works fine as a substitute. If you want to keep the heat, add an extra teaspoon of gochujang or a pinch of gochugaru to the sauce to compensate.

Can I substitute tomato sauce for ketchup? You can, but the result will be slightly different. Ketchup is thicker and sweeter than regular tomato sauce, and both qualities contribute to the finished sauce. If using tomato sauce, add a teaspoon of extra sugar and cook the sauce for a few extra minutes to compensate for the thinner consistency.

Is there a gluten-free option for the chicken coating? Yes. Replace the plain flour entirely with either potato starch or rice flour. Potato starch gives a very similar result to the original coating. Rice flour produces a slightly lighter, crispier crust with a different texture. Make sure your soy sauce is also gluten-free if needed.