Korean-style Fried Chicken in Yangnyeom Sauce & Melty Cheese
If you’ve been to a K-Fry outlet across the causeway (specifically at Johor Bahru), you’ll know how the lines and wait times are when you want to get your iconic Korean cheesy fried chicken fix.
To add on to that, the situation at the driver’s and pedestrians’ lanes at the checkpoints into JB is increasingly more and more chaotic - it could take hours to go through customs, especially on the weekends.
However, fulfilling that K-Fry chicken craving doesn’t actually have to mean going through there tiring hassle of the travelling and waiting times! we’ve come out with a recipe dupe which results in dish of ultra-crispy battered chicken bites in a ‘Yangnyeom’ spicy and sweet sauce, topped off K-Fry style with a stretchy and melty cheese aligot.
These bites are addictive and even if it doesn’t taste as good as the real thing, these are fun to make and fun-ner to eat (cue cheese stretch).
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Yangnyeom Cheesy Fried Chicken Bumbuk Dupe
4 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
chicken marinade:
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp gochugaru (korean chilli flakes)
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp rice vinegar
frying mix:
3/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp gochugaru
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup ice cold water
'Yangnyeom’ sauce:
1 tbsp gochujang
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
stretchy cheese garnish:
200g russet potato, cubed
1 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml + 50ml full cream milk
250g grated mozzarella
1 tsp tapioca starch
Salt, to taste
directions:
lay the chicken thighs in between two sheets of cling film. using a saucepan or mallet, pound the chicken evenly until it get twice as thin. this helps tenderise the chicken and allow the marinade to season the chicken quickly. cut the chicken into strips
in a bowl, thoroughly combine the pounded chicken with the marinade ingredients and massage well. cover and let it marinade in fridge for at least 1 hour.
meanwhile, whisk together all the ingredients for the frying (EXCEPT water). separate half of the dry frying mix into another bowl. onto a one of the portions, whisk in the cold water to form a thick batter. set aside.
to make the sauce, all the ingredients except sesame oil and seeds in saucepan on low heat. whisk well with a fork and let it come up to a simmer for 5 minutes. finish off with sesame oil.
after chicken is well marinated, heat a pot of oil on medium heat for deep-frying. coat the chicken lightly with the dry frying mix. dip it into the wet batter and remove excess batter. coat the battered chicken AGAIN with the dry mix until well-covered.
repeat with other pieces of chicken and deep fry them for until very lightly browned and drain on a wire rack. after the first fry, increase the heat of the stove to medium-high and fry the chicken pieces for a second time until they become golden and crisp.
toss the chicken pieces well into the sweet spicy sauce and add sesame seeds. make sure every inch of the crust is coated with sauce.
making stretchy cheese:to make the stretchy cheese, combine water and potatoes in a saucepan and boil until potatoes are tender and cooked through. strain out water and return potatoes to pan.
mash the potatoes with a or or masher. add the butter and 150 ml milk and bring the mixture to a simmer on low heat for 2 minutes. chuck the mixture into a blender and pulse the mixture until it become smooth and gummy, gooey. return to the pan.
dissolve tapioca starch with 50 milk and whisk it into the mixture. add the mozzarella and salt and use a spatula to stir the mixture until all the cheese has fully melted. you will end up with a stretchy cheese garnish.
top/wrap the fried chicken parts with the stretchy cheese and serve warm.