Korean Popcorn Chicken

5 from 2 votes

Korean Popcorn Chicken (Dakgangjeong) is the ultimate snack or appetizer for after school, parties, game day, and more! Bite-sized chicken nuggets are tossed with plenty of seasoning and fried until golden and crispy. Choose to coat them in an irresistible sticky, spicy, and sweet red sauce or serve it on the side!

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 10

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 429

Author Jessica Kwon

Ingredients

1½ lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch nuggets
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
½ cup rice flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon gochugaru
2 tablespoon water
Salt and pepper
Frying oil

Spicy Gochujang Sauce

2 tablespoon gochujang
½ tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Sesame seeds and green onion for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together garlic powder, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, mirin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and mix well. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix together rice flour, baking powder, gochugaru, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Drizzle in 2 tablespoon water and use a fork to whisk it in. Press any large pieces up against the sides of the bowl with the fork to break it up. Continue until the mixture consists of several tiny beads and resembles sand.
Set up a large plate or baking sheet for the dredged chicken. One by one, let excess liquid drip off chicken nugget and transfer to flour mixture. Lightly press to coat in flour, then transfer to plate or baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been coated.
Pour 1-2 inches of frying oil into a heavy-bottomed pot and heat oil to 350ºF. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes or until deeply golden brown with an internal temperature of 155ªF. Don't overcrowd the pot and fry in batches. Adjust heat to maintain an oil temperature of 310-350ºF. Transfer fried chicken to a wire rack inside a paper towel lined baking sheet to rest.
To make the sauce, add gochujang, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken broth, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper to a skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until lightly thickened and dark red. Serve sauce on the side or toss Popcorn Chicken in it.

Notes

Servings range from 4-6.
If marinating the chicken for more than 2 hours, store it covered in the fridge, and let it come to room temperature before frying.
Substitute rice flour with an equal amount of all purpose flour, corn starch, or potato starch.
To make it in the air fryer, first preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Generously spray the basket, add the breaded chicken (making sure to not overcrowd), and air fry for 5 minutes. Then lightly shake, spray with oil again, and bake for another 5 minutes or until an internal temperature of 155ºF is reached.
To bake, place a wire rack inside a foil-lined baking sheet. Generously spray the rack with oil and place breaded chicken on it, leaving space between each one. Spray the chicken with oil, then bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes. If you don't have a wire rack, bake it directly on a foil-lined baking sheet but spray the foil with oil and flip halfway.

Nutrition