Aunt Georgia’s Soy Sauce Fried Chicken with Jalapeños
Crunchy and coated with a candy-like salty-sweet-spicy glaze, this fried chicken is easy to put together. Things can get a little messy but the flavors and textures more than outweigh the cleanup. This recipe has been slightly adapted from the original version by Eric Kim in his debut cookbook, Korean American (Clarkson Potter, 2022).
Servings: 4
Ingredients
13 to 3 ½ pound chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2cupspotato starch
Vegetable oil,to deep-fry plus ½ cup to glaze
7large garlic cloves,thinly sliced
3large jalapeños,thinly sliced
¼cuppacked dark brown sugar
¼cupsoy sauce
Instructions
In a large bowl or resealable plastic bag, add the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. If possible, make sure to season underneath the skin. Add 1 cup of the potato starch and toss to coat each piece. Remove the chicken pieces and repeat: Replace the pieces in the bowl or bag, sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup potato starch and toss to coat each piece again. Set aside on a plate until the starch on the chicken begins to look wet, about 15 minutes.
Pour 2 inches of oil (enough to cover the chicken pieces while frying) into a wok or large Dutch oven. Clip on a deep-fry thermometer and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F.
Line a plate with paper towels. Working in batches of a few pieces at a time, add the chicken to the hot oil and fry until lightly golden, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the fried chicken to the paper towels, let drain for only a few seconds, then refry the same pieces until golden brown, about 8 minutes per batch. Set the twice-fried, crunchy crispy chicken pieces aside on a wire rack while you repeat the double frying with all the chicken.
In a medium skillet, combine ½ cup vegetable oil, the garlic, 2 of the sliced jalapeños, the brown sugar, and soy sauce. Set over medium-high heat and when bubbles cover most of the pan surface, use tongs to add a few pieces of the fried chicken to the sauce, quickly turning them to coat and glaze. Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining chicken. If there is glaze leftover when you’re done, return all the chicken to recoat.
Garnish the fried chicken with the remaining jalapeño slices and serve immediately or at room temperature, when the soy sauce glaze on the outside will be at its crunchiest.
Notes
If you like, fry chicken legs instead of a cut-up whole bird. See the main blog post for suggestions.