Hello hi everyone! This is a recipe hack for the Shake Shack Korean Fried Chicken that debuted on their menu a few weeks ago, which features a super tasty gochujang glaze. I stuck pretty close to the original to keep it channel-accurate (as always), but mostly used this one as an excuse to get to a request that a lot of folks have been asking for, which is a Korean Fried Chicken! Hope you try it.
serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS
3-4 chicken thighs
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger
2 green onions
1/2 cup kimchi
sesame seed
potato buns
12 oz vegetable oil
INGREDIENTS (tempura batter)
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
INGREDIENTS (glaze)
2 tbsp gochujang
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp kimchi brine (optional)
PREP
CRUSH AND MINCE the garlic, set aside
FINELY MINCE the ginger, set aside
SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, and slice the greens on a bias
SLICE the kimchi into strips, set aside
COMBINE all glaze ingredients, set aside
COMBINE all tempura batter ingredients, then whisk to a smooth batter and set aside
DIP the chicken into the batter until coated, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT 12 oz vegetable oil to 350F
FRY the chicken for the first fry for 3-5 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and rest for 5 minutes
FRY the chicken for a second fry for an additional 3-5 minutes until deeply golden, and internal temperature reaches 165F
REMOVE the oil from the wok, wipe down, reheat, add 4 tbsp of oil back to the wok, and long yao
ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of the green onions and bloom until fragrant (about 10 seconds)
ADD the glaze mixture and toss to combine
ADD the chicken and coat for 1-2 minutes, then remove immediately
ASSEMBLE on potato buns with kimchi, chicken, greens of the green onions, and sesame seeds
SERVE (optionally) with crinkle cut fries