Dakgangjeong

The Colonel can keep his 11 secret herbs and spices – Korean fried chicken (dakgangjeong) has taken the world by storm. These marinated wings are coated in cornflour, twice-fried until crisp and golden, and then coated in a sticky, sweet, spicy, tangy and completely addictive sauce that will have you licking the plate, not just your fingers. Did we mention these delicious glazed morsels are also topped with chopped peanuts? Step aside, Colonel.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken wings, tips removed, cut through the joint
• 2 cm piece ginger, peeled, finely grated 
• 75 g (½ cup) cornflour
• peanut oil, to deep-fry, plus extra 2 tbsp
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 dried long red chillies, roughly chopped
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) soy sauce
• 100 ml corn syrup
• 2 tbs mirin
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 50 g (⅓ cup) salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Marinating time 30 minutes

Instructions

Place chicken, ½ tsp pepper and ginger in a bowl, season with salt and mix to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate. Place cornflour in a separate shallow bowl. Dust chicken in cornflour to coat and set aside.

Fill a large saucepan or deep-fryer one-third full with oil and heat over medium heat until it reaches 180°C (or a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Working in batches, place chicken in oil and cook, turning halfway, for 6 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Working in batches, cook chicken for a further 4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Set aside.

Heat the extra 2 tbsp peanut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add garlic and chillies and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until lightly coloured. Stir in soy sauce, corn syrup and mirin and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in sugar, then add chicken. Cook, stirring gently to coat chicken, for 2 minutes or until glossy and chicken is cooked through. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped peanuts.

Photography Brett Stevens

As seen in Feast magazine, June 2014, Issue 32.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.