Flavors of Family: My Mother’s Twist on Soy Sauce Korean Fried Chicken

As a Korean-American, I grew up surrounded by the fragrances and tastes of a distant home. Since they first moved to America, my parents had kept the part of Korean culture they took with them overseas in their spice cabinet, tucked snugly between the traditional sauces and unique ingredients that their culinary creations helped me love. Out of all the traditional dishes that our family feasted on, one of my all-time favorites was and still is soy sauce Korean fried chicken. Even though my parents have roots in very different regions of Korea, they both share the national love for fried chicken. With an addictive crunch and a variety of flavors layered in each bite, no one can resist enjoying this quick, filling meal. However, after noticing the obvious lack of Korean fried chicken restaurants in America (KFC and Chick-Fil-A simply could not evoke the same quality of taste), my family decided to take matters into their own hands—they set out to create and perfect a recipe for authentic Korean soy sauce fried chicken.

What makes Korean soy sauce fried chicken unique is not just its cultural significance, but also the depth of its flavor; unlike Western-style fried chicken, it has a crispy yet thin layer of skin that makes its texture a perfect mixture of delicate and satisfying crunchiness that leads straight into the moist, tender chicken inside. The recipe also incorporates fruits in its sauce, whose sweetness combined with the tangy, salty soy sauce create a combination of contrasting yet complementing flavors. Further imbuing its taste with a refreshing touch, we include a side of chilled pickled radish to top off the perfect fried chicken. Our recipe is unique in its dimensionality—it explores and experiments with a complex array of flavors to create an unforgettable experience that I hold dear to my heart. For the fond feelings that this dish evokes, my go-to meal at home will always be my mother’s soy sauce fried chicken.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of soy sauce
• 2 ½ cups of sugar
• 1 cup of cooking wine
• ½ cup of water
• ½ of an apple
• ½ of a lemon
• ½ handful sliced garlic
• 1 large spring onion
• 1 piece of kombu
• 2 fried spicy peppers
• Starch powder
• Bread crumbs
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Ginger powder
• Vinegar
  

Sauce

1. Add the soy sauce, sugar, and water and wait till it boils.
2. Slice the fruit .
3. Mix in the cooking wine when the mixture comes to a boil.
4. Turn off the heat once it comes to a boil again.
5. Add the fruit slices and vegetables, close the lid and wait around a day to cool.
6. After the soy sauce is done cooling, use a strainer to strain the sauce into a container.

Chicken

1. Season the chicken wings with pepper, onion powder, ginger powder, and garlic powder and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Add starch powder and bread crumbs and fry for 6 minutes.
3. Put oil into a pan and saute the sliced garlic and dried pepper until it creates a pleasant aroma.
4. Add the sauce (1 ½ cup for 10 pounds of chicken).
5. When the sauce begins to boil, add 2 spoonfuls of vinegar (Tip: boil the sauce at first, then lower the heat and simply maintain a warm temperature).
6. Fry the wings a second time for 2 minutes.
7. Move the fried chicken into the saucepan and leave for 1-2 minutes until the sauce completely covers all of the chicken and enjoy!