M&S RECIPE INSPIRATION
Judy Joo's Korean fried chicken
A grand finale calls for fried chicken and fizz! Our Balfour classic cuvée brut, with notes of lemon, apple and thyme, is the perfect match for Judy’s crispy fried chicken with spicy sauce and pickled radishes
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 120ml soy sauce
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1cm piece ginger, grated
- 8, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved if large
- 2-3 tbsp cornflour
For the chicken sauce:
- 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 115ml soy sauce
- 4 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 80g dark brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2cm piece ginger, grated
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp cornflour
For the radish pickle:
- 90g caster sugar
- 150ml rice wine vinegar
- 8 radishes, quartered
For the batter:
- 70g cornflour
- 70g self-raising flour
- 10g garlic granules
- 75ml vodka
To garnish:
- 1 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 red chilli, sliced on an angle
- 1 spring onion, sliced on an angle
Method
- First, make the chicken. In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar with 160ml warm water, stir until dissolved, then mix in the remaining ingredients apart from the chicken and cornflour. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
- To make the pickle, combine the sugar with 1 tsp salt and 50ml hot water in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until dissolved. Add 65ml cold water, the vinegar and the radishes. Stir and place in the fridge to chill.
- To make the chicken sauce, put all the ingredients apart from the cornflour into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Mix the cornflour with 1 tsp water, whisk into the sauce and bring to the boil. Strain the sauce, cover and set aside.
- Preheat a good glug of oil – enough to deep-fry the chicken – in a deep fat fryer or large pan to 175°C. In a large bowl, start preparing the batter – mix together the cornflour, flour and garlic granules and season well. In a separate bowl or jug, mix the vodka with 100ml water.
- To prepare the chicken, place wire racks over two baking trays. Pre-coat the chicken in the cornflour, shaking off any excess, and place it onto the first rack. Just before frying, whisk the vodka mixture into the dry mixture to make the batter – it should be the consistency of paint.
- Using tongs, dip each piece of chicken into the batter, letting any excess drip off. Lower the chicken into the hot oil, holding for a few seconds to seal before releasing. Cook a few chicken pieces at a time until golden brown and crispy, ensuring the thickest part of the chicken is cooked through (it should be 75°C when tested with a meat thermometer). Drain on the clean rack and, if necessary, flash fry to ensure it’s all piping hot and crisp.
- To plate, paint a stripe of gochujang paste onto 4 plates and shake over the sesame seeds. Toss the chicken in the sauce and place two thighs onto each plate, along with some of the pickled radish, a drizzle of the sauce, and a sprinkling of chilli and spring onion.
