Dakgangjeong (Korean Chicken Nuggets)
Dakgangjeong is a crispy Korean chicken snack with bite-sized chicken thigh pieces in a sweet, slightly spicy glaze. It's quick to cook, great for snacks or parties.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs diced into bite size pieces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped peanut optional
- oil for deep-frying
For chicken coating
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For chicken seasoning
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
- 1 egg white beaten
- 1 tbsp oil
For dakgangjeong sauce
- 6 tbsp chili sauce
- 2 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 6 tbsp Korean rice syrup (jocheong) or dark corn syrup
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp chili oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
Instructions
To make the chicken coating
- Mix all the ingredients well. Reserve 2 tablespoon of the mixture on the side. Put the rest of coating mixture in a zip bag and set aside.
To season the chicken
- Put chicken in a large mixing bowl, add reserved 2 tablespoon of chicken coating, ginger, salt, pepper, rice wine, egg white, and oil. Mix with your hand to coat evenly.
To deep-fry
- Heat oil to 340˚F. Add chicken into the coating mixture in a zip bag; shake well to coat evenly. Shake off the excess coating from chicken pieces.
- Deep-fry chicken in small batches, about 2-3 minutes, until they are lightly golden. As you deep-fry, stir them with metal tongs or a wire skimmer to keep them from sticking to each other. Shake off excess oil as you take the chicken pieces out of the oil.
- After the first frying is over, do the second frying until they get deep golden brown; about 2 minutes. Keep them on a wired rack to prevent them from getting soggy.
To make dakgangjeong sauce
- Combine chili sauce, Korean chili paste, ketchup, Korean rice syrup, sugar, garlic, chili oil, rice vinegar, and rice wine in a skillet.
- Bring the sauce to boil over medium high heat until it thickens to a glaze consistency, stirring constantly.
- Add chicken and toss well to coat with the glaze. To garnish, sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 576mg | Potassium: 359mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg