2 tbsp Korean chilli paste (gochujang if you can get it)
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
few drops of sesame oil
Directions
Start by brining the chicken. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the hot water
then mix1 litre/1¾ pint cold water into the brine solution. Submerge the chicken and leave to stand
covered
for 2 hours. Meanwhile
make the sauces.
For the sweet soy sauce
put the soy
mirin
rice wine vinegar
ginger
garlic and sugar into a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved and simmer for 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add a little salt if necessary. Add sesame oil to taste. Whisk the cornflour with a little cold water until you have a smooth but very runny paste
then whisk this into the sauce over a low heat
until the sauce thickens very slightly. Set aside.
For the chilli sauce
whisk all the ingredients together
thinning with a little water if too thick. Taste and add salt if necessary.
To cook the chicken
drain and rinse the brined chicken thoroughly
then pat dry. Make the first coating (this is the coating the batter will stick to
otherwise it tends to fall off) by whisking the flour
cornflour
baking powder and salt together. Dust the chicken in this mixture
patting off any excess
and leave to stand while you make the batter.
For the batter
whisk together the dry ingredients
then whisk in 100ml/3½ cold water and the vodka – the texture should be quite thin
like double cream.
Add oil to your fryer
large saucepan or wok
making sure you don’t fill it beyond half way. Heat the oil to 160C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Dip the chicken pieces in the batter one at a time. Allow any excess to drip off over the bowl
then slowly lower into the hot oil
letting go when the chicken piece is almost submerged. Fry for 8–10 minutes
then drain and put on kitchen paper – the chicken should be cooked through but have barely taken on any colour. Turn the heat up to 190C
or if using a saucepan
turn the heat up and leave for around 5 minutes to reach the right temperature. Fry the chicken for another 2 minutes
or until it has darkened. Remove and drain thoroughly on kitchen paper. It should be beautifully crisp. You can serve it with the sauces
or you can brush some of the soy-based sauce over it and serve with the chilli sauce.
