One of my favourite Korean food recipes is the 파닭 Padak Fried Chicken loaded with green onions and a zippy garlic dressing. Double fry the chicken strips to make it hands down the best cult favourite Asian Korean fried chicken recipe!
> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Korean Padak Chicken
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- > In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Korean Padak Chicken
- What is Padak Chicken?
- What Is The Secret To A Crispy Coating?
- Ingredients and Substitutes
- Instructions
- How To Double Fry Chicken
- Air Fryer Fried Chicken Method
- How To Make Padak Vinaigrette Sauce
- What To Serve with Korean Fried Chicken?
- > Recipe Card
- PADAK KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN 파닭
What is Padak Chicken?
Padak (파닭) – double fried chicken with very thin, crispy skin topped with a heaping mound of thinly sliced green onions and a zippy garlic soy mustard sauce.
What Cut Of Chicken To Use?
You can use different types of chicken as desired.
Boneless, skinless chicken breast meat is used in fried chicken shops in South Korea.
I prefer using boneless, skinless chicken dark meat instead to make this traditional Korean Padak Chicken. I like the juicy meat of chicken thighs more.
Western grocery stores do not always carry boneless chicken thighs with skin on. You can always ask your local Korean chicken shop owners for a specific cut.
Also, if you don't mind the extra fat in the chicken skin, you can use boneless thighs with chicken skin.
You can always use chicken wings, too, if you desire. Whatever you have handy at home.
What Is The Secret To A Crispy Coating?
The most important ingredient to crispy pieces of chicken is potato starch!
Coating your Asian fried chicken with potato starch makes all the difference in making the crispiest fried pieces of chicken!
It is night and day compared to using plain old all purpose flour for battered chicken!
Potato starch has a bit more grit and, when deep-fried, creates little balls of crunchiness. It is lighter yet crispier and crunchier! Follow this easy tip and I guarantee it is the best recipe for a crunchy crust! Potato starch is an excellent egg substitute for frying chicken too!
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Chicken thighs
- Soju or Shaoxing Wine
- Ground White Pepper
Flour Mixture
- Curry Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika Powder
- Potato Starch or Corn Starch
- Onion Powder (optional)
- Egg
- Vegetable Oil
- Brioche Buns or Sesame Seed Burger Buns
Padak Vinaigrette Sauce
- Garlic
- Light Soy Sauce
- Dijon Mustard
- Mirin
- Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- Sugar
- Sesame Oil
Spicy Gochujang Mayo
- Kewpie Mayo
- Gochujang Korean Chili Paste
- Lemon Juice
- Kosher Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- Cayenne Pepper (optional)
Optional
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Romaine Lettuce
Most dry goods ingredients, tools and supplies can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store or online at my Amazon Store. I have linked the products for your convenience!
Instructions
How To Double Fry Chicken
Cut boneless chicken thighs into bite-size strips.
Marinade Ingredients: Season with salt and ground white pepper and Shaoxing wine or Soju. Let marinate for at least 30 mins.
After the chicken has been marinated. Remove from the marinade.
In a separate bowl, prepare the Korean crispy fried chicken batter. Add the dry batter (potato starch, curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, pepper and salt.) Mix well.
Add in chicken thigh pieces to the seasoned flour mixture and evenly coat the chicken.
Add an egg to the same mixing bowl and mix the chicken pieces with the egg and dry ingredients for a second coating.
Add oil to a deep fryer or frying pot and heat up to 350F. Test the internal temperature with a digital food thermometer. You can also test if the oil is ready by placing the back of a wooden spoon into the pot. If you see bubbles, then your oil is ready.
First Fry:
Fry the chicken in the deep fryer for 5 minutes. Work in small batches and do not overcrowd.
Remove from the KFC deep fryer and rest the crispy chicken on a wire rack or kitchen paper for 5 minutes.
Second Fry:
Double fry for an extra crispy texture. This time raise the temperature to 375F and deep fry until crispy and golden brown. Fry for 3-5 minutes, watching closely.
Remove the perfectly non-greasy fried chicken from deep fryer and place in a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil—Reserve for later.
Air Fryer Fried Chicken Method
If you prefer air fryer Korean chicken instead of double frying, air fry the chicken the first time at 375F for 10 minutes.
Flip the air fryer Korean fried chicken dish at 400F the second time for 410 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165F.
How To Prepare Thinly Sliced Green Onions
Thinly slice your green onions. I use this special tool. A green onion slice cutter makes the task of shredding a lot of green onions much easier and faster than by hand! Hand cutting scallions with a kitchen knife is not very rewarding. It takes much longer time. Sliced green onions have a slimy surface. It is labour intensive!
Typically we only want the green parts of the green onions.
Place the thinly sliced green onions in a medium bowl of cold water. This ensures the green onions stay crispy and will help remove the sharpness! After soaking in the cold water bath, remove excess water with a salad spinner.
More conveniently, julienned scallions are sold at Korean grocery store. If you are looking for where to buy pa muchim, most Korean supermarkets will also sell this along with other side dishes. But because how easy and cheap it is to make, I prefer to make this myself in the blessed 5 minutes!
How To Make Padak Vinaigrette Sauce
Mix all the fried chicken sauce ingredients (light soy sauce, dijon mustard, mirin, water, sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar and minced garlic) in a small mixing bowl.
Taste and adjust to desired.
What To Serve with Korean Fried Chicken?
This crunchy double fried chicken is the easiest way to indulge in a healthy snack action packed with a spicy and savoury flavor profile.
After eating lots of spicy and deep fried foods, a great way to reduce heat is with a bowl of this liver-detoxing Chinese Sweet Mung Bean Soup 綠豆沙!
- Korean Green Onion Salad 파절이 파무침
- Padak Korean Fried Chicken Burger 파닭
- Jolly Pong Crush 퐁크러쉬
- Squid Game Honeycomb Candy Dalgona Recipe 달고나
I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.
> Recipe Card
PrintPADAK KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN 파닭
One of my favourite Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) recipes is the 파닭 Padak Fried Chicken loaded with green onions and a zippy garlic dressing. Double fry the chicken strips to make it hands down the best cult favourite Asian fried chicken recipe!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 persons 1x
- Category: Appetizers, Snacks
- Method: Deep Fry
- Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients
DOUBLE FRY KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
- 4 chicken thighs, thinly sliced strips
- ¼ cup soju or Shaoxing wine
- ½ tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp teaspoon garlic
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp paprika powder
- 2 cup potato starch or corn starch
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- dash of salt and black pepper
- 1 egg
- oil, to fry (depends on the size of your deep fryer or frying pot)
THINLY SLICED GREEN ONIONS
- 5 springs green onions, thinly sliced
PADAK VINAIGRETTE SAUCE
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
DOUBLE FRY KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
- Wash and cut boneless chicken thighs into bite-size strips.
- Season with salt and ground white pepper and Shaoxing wine or Soju. Let marinate for at least 30 mins.
- After the chicken has been marinated. Remove from the marinade.
- In a separate bowl, add potato starch, curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, pepper and salt. Mix well.
- Add in chicken thigh pieces and ensure the chicken pieces are evenly coated.
- Add an egg to the same mixing bowl and mix the chicken pieces with the egg and dry ingredients for a second coating.
- Add oil to a deep fryer or frying pot and heat up to 350F. Test the internal temperature with a digital food thermometer. You can also test if the oil is ready by placing the back of a wooden spoon into the pot. If you see bubbles, then your oil is ready.
- Fry the chicken in the deep fryer for 5 minutes. Work in small batches and do not overcrowd.
- Remove from the deep fryer and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Double fry for an extra crispy texture. This time raise the temperature to 375F and deep fry until crispy and golden brown. Fry for 3-5 minutes, watching closely.
- Remove fried chicken from deep fryer and place in a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil—Reserve for later.
THINLY SLICED GREEN ONIONS
- Thinly slice your green onions with a green onion slicer.
- Place the thinly sliced green onions in a bowl of cold water for 10 mins.
- Remove and pat dry. Reserve for later.
PADAK VINAIGRETTE SAUCE
- In a small mixing bowl, add all the Padak Vinaigrette Sauce ingredients together. Mix Well.
- Taste and adjust to desired preference.
ASSEMBLY
Add your double-fry chicken pieces to a plate.
Pile on a heaping mound of thinly sliced green onion.
Drizzle with Padak Vinaigrette Sauce.
Serve and Enjoy!
Equipment
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Buy Now → Notes
- If you enjoy this recipe, try making a Padak KFC Burger with these ingredients! Trust me it is drool worthy!
- Highly recommend the investment of a digital food thermometer. It is inexpensive and leaves the guessing game out.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 large bowl
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 812.9 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 60.6 g
- Protein: 21.5 g
- Cholesterol: 124.4 mg
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Chef Mireille says
I love Korean fried chicken and the spices in this version made is rock! So good!
Emily Woodward says
My mom is obsessed with watching Korean dramas and it seems like they are always talking about KFC in them. She loved that i made her this recipe. It was so delicious.
Cindy says
I had no idea onion slicers existed Subbed! Subbed soy surls for an amazing meal. Delish!
Megan says
This looks delicious
Bianca says
OMG I am obsessed! This was so good it might be my new favorite dish!
Kyleigh says
super crispy and delicious!
Emily Flint says
MY guy keeps asking for fried chicken so I tried your recipe and it was a hit! Loved all of the freshness with the fried chicken, so good!
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
This chicken was so deliciously crispy and tender! And that sauce? To die for!!!
Jamie says
I love the flavors of this fried chicken!
Oscar says
Oh I love korean fried chicken. Can't wait to try this recipe. Thank you.
Keri says
This was so crispy and delicious. The sauce put it over the top. Yummy!
Jessica says
This fried chicken is perfectly crispy and so darn delicious! I especially loved the vinaigrette - the flavors were perfectly balanced.
Melinda says
The garlicky sauce looks delicious! I’m eager to try this and thrilled to have a new “KFC” recipe.
Matej says
I love Korean food, thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Nancy says
Awesome! What's your favourite Korean dish?
Sam says
This is so delicious!! Such a great lunch and dinner recipe.
Nancy says
It's a crowd pleaser!
Dawn says
This is the first time I have ever double fried chicken and it is so amazing! The Padak vinaigrette sauce is delicious, everybody here loved it. We will definitely be making this again.
Nancy says
double fry makes all the difference!
Elizabeth Swoish says
This was super delicious! I substituted the soju for a dry cooking sherry. It turned out so good! Thank you!
Nancy says
Glad you found a good substitute!
Emily Flint says
Perfection from start to finish! Thanks for all of the helpful tips along the way. I will definitely be making this again for game day!
Nancy says
I bet you will be the most loved hostess!
Brianna says
The crispiest fried chicken ever! So good.
Nancy says
Double fry makes all the difference!
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
This looks absolutely delicious. I bet that double fry on the chicken is so crunchy good!
Nancy says
SUPER!
Jeannie says
the sauce you made in this korean chicken is amazing, its so good
Vijitha says
This is so yummy and flavorful - love it! That green onion slicer looks so useful! I'm gonna buy one of those soon! Thanks for the link 🙂
Nancy says
isn't it a wonderful invention? I can't imagine slicing anything by hand anymore!!
Julia says
This looks and sounds so good. I've pinned for later. I know my teens will love this dish.
Nancy says
AWESOME!! this is such a family favourite! even my 3 year old loves it... we just split off a batch without sauce for her
AmyG says
There is nothing like crispy chicken to sooth a bad day. This dish looks amazing and easy to make. I can't wait to try this.
Nancy says
crispy chicken is good on a bad day and even better on a good day! Hope you a GREAT WEEKEND!!
Bernice Hill says
I love KFC and you had me drooling as I read this whole post. Thanks for all the great chicken frying tips and tricks...I think I might need to pick up that scallion slicer too!
Nancy says
AWww i'm so happy to hear that you love KFC! It is the best thing ever!
Vanessa says
Wow - so much flavour and incredibly addictive!
Nancy says
Hope you enjoy these poppable chicken bites this weekend!