Quick & Easy Sweet & Spicy Korean Fried Chicken~ Yangnyeom Chicken 양념치킨

Back then in year 2010 - 2011 when we were living in Kota Kemuning, there were no Korean restaurants nearby~ So some of the weekends we would drive 30 to 40 minutes to Desa Sri Hartamas or Ampang for Korean fried chicken. That's when I started to learn how to make Yangnyeom chicken at home. Making your own chimek at home is not difficult, in fact it is cost saving. I only spend RM20 - RM30 on this Yangnyeon chicken for 2 adults. What I am going to share here is a less than 30 mins quick and easy Yangnyeom chicken recipe - by using frozen breaded chicken drummets or wings.

Frozen type is ideal for last minute cooking or in a hurry to get it ready. I will keep 1 pack of this frozen breaded drummets & wings by Ayamas at home just in case we crave for chimek for late night supper, or he invite his colleague home last minute for meal, etc. If you are not in hurry, you may use fresh chicken parts too. Cost more or less similar, except you need extra time for marinated and battered it. The key of success in this dish is - use only drummets and wings, double frying and the sweet spicy sticky sauce!

Ingredients : 

1 pack of frozen breaded drummets & wings (850gm)

To make sauce :

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar 

2 Tbsp minced garlic (or more)

2 Tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste) 

2 Tbsp honey (or corn syrup)

3 Tbsp chili sauce or ketchup

3 Tbsp mirin (rice wine)

1 Tbsp sesame oil

How to cook:

Step 1.

One pack of frozen breaded chicken - the Ayamas brand I use here weighted 850 gram - contain 16 pieces of breaded drummets & mid-wings. No thawing required, I split them into 2 two batches for deep frying since my pan is medium size pan. 

Step 2. 

1st round of frying - add in cooking oil enough to cover the drummets & wings, heat up the oil to 180 Celsius, deep fry around 8 mins (or according to the instruction on the packaging).

Step 3.
After 8 mins, remove the cooked drummets & wings and place them on a drainer to drain out excess oil. Continue to deep frying the second batch. You can see that drummets & wings will looks light golden color after first round of frying.

Step 4.
After all the drummet & wings done frying for the 1st round, heat up the oil again to 180 Celsius. This time, place all 16 pieces of them together back to the wok for second round frying. Fried for about 3 minutes then it is done.

Step 5.

Remove and place them back on a drainer to drain out excess oil. This time the drummets and wings outer layer colour turn darker than before. Double-frying is necessary as it will make the chicken parts more crispy and crunchy.

Step 6. 

Make the sweet & spicy sauce for coating. Normally I will prepare the sauce when the chicken meat is deep-frying.

Step 7.
On another pan, pour in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, pour in the sauce and sautee a little over low heat until it is bubbling.

Step 8. 

When the sauce start bubbling, add in the cooked drummets and wings, stir well until all evenly coated then it is done cooking! The whole process takes about 2-3 minutes.

Step 9.

Garnish it with some crushed peanuts, or sesame seed, or nothing. This sweet and spicy chicken is actually not spicy (to me). You may add 1 tablespoon of Korean chilli powder (gochugaru) or chilli oil into the sauce to level up the spiciness according to your liking. 

All ready in less than 30 minutes! Hope you like this recipe and enjoy Chimek at home!