Sokcho Dakgangjeong (속초닭강정, Sokcho Market Glazed Chicken)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy Dutch oven, wok, or deep pot with high sides
• •Deep-fry thermometer or instant-read thermometer that can read oil temperature
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Spider strainer or long-handled tongs
• •Large metal mixing bowl for glazing

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the chicken

   Pat the chicken very dry, especially around the bones and joints. Toss it with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cheongju, grated ginger, and grated garlic. Let it stand 30 minutes in the refrigerator. The rice wine and ginger clean up any heavy chicken smell, but the real point is seasoning the meat before the crust hides it.

2. 2

   Mix coating and sauce

   In a wide bowl, stir together 1 cup potato starch, the rice flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Keep the remaining 1/2 cup potato starch aside. In a small pan, combine the gochujang, ketchup, soy sauce, mulyeot, sugar, vinegar, water, gochugaru, minced garlic, grated ginger, and pepper. Do not add the sesame oil yet. It goes in at the end so it stays clean and nutty.

3. 3

   Coat the chicken

   Drain off any liquid collected under the chicken, then toss the pieces with the reserved 1/2 cup potato starch until the surface turns pasty in spots. Rest 10 minutes. Press each piece into the starch and rice flour mixture, getting into the folds near the bone. This first damp layer is the glue; the dry layer is what fries crisp and stays crisp after glazing.

   Do not rinse the seasoned chicken. If the pieces look wet, pat them again. A wet crust slides off in the oil, and then no sauce can save it.
4. 4

   First fry

   Heat 7 to 8cm of oil in a heavy pot to 160°C or 325°F. Fry the chicken in batches, without crowding, for 8 to 10 minutes for wings and 10 to 12 minutes for small thigh pieces. The chicken should be pale gold and cooked through, at least 74°C or 165°F at the thickest part without touching bone. Move it to a rack, not paper towels, and rest 10 minutes. The first fry cooks the meat and sets the crust; it is not meant to look finished yet.

5. 5

   Reduce the glaze

   While the chicken rests, bring the sauce to a lively simmer over medium heat. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until the bubbles look thick and the sauce falls from the spoon in wide ribbons, about 105°C or 221°F if you use a thermometer. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Reduce it enough to cling, but do not cook it into candy. Sokcho dakgangjeong should have a firm glossy coat, not a hard shell.

6. 6

   Second fry

   Raise the oil to 180°C or 355°F. Fry the chicken again in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and crisp at the edges. Drain on the rack for 2 minutes. This second fry is the step people want to skip, and it is exactly why the chicken can ride home in a box and still have bite.

7. 7

   Glaze lightly

   Put the hot fried chicken in a large metal bowl. Rewarm the sauce just until loose, then pour over about three quarters of it and toss 8 to 10 turns with a spatula. Add more sauce only where the crust still looks bare. The measure matters: too little and it eats like plain fried chicken, too much and you have sweet paste hiding good work.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Scatter with peanuts or almonds, if using, and toasted sesame seeds. Let the chicken rest at least 10 minutes before eating, or cool it to room temperature for the Sokcho market way. Do not seal it while it is warm, or trapped condensation softens the crust. For a picnic, cool it fully, cover loosely, and keep it at room temperature no longer than 2 hours before refrigerating.

Chef Tips

• •Use smaller bone-in pieces. A whole chicken hacked into small market pieces is traditional, but at home wingettes and drumettes give you better control and fewer half-cooked pieces near the bone.
• •The oil thermometer is not fussiness. If the first fry is too hot, the crust browns before the bone-side meat cooks. If the second fry is too cool, the crust drinks oil instead of crisping.
• •Taste the glaze before it touches the chicken. It should be a little sharper and less sweet than you expect, because the fried crust will soften the vinegar and salt. Let it taste like itself, not like sugar wearing red pepper.
• •Safe shortcut: make the sauce up to 5 days ahead and use pre-cut wings. Unsafe shortcut for this dish: one fry only. That gives you fried chicken with sauce, not Sokcho dakgangjeong.
• •For children or a mild table, reduce the gochugaru to 1 teaspoon but keep the gochujang. The sauce needs fermented depth, not just red color.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be cooked up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently with 1 tablespoon water before glazing so it coats without clumping.
• •The chicken can be seasoned up to 8 hours ahead. Keep it refrigerated, then pat it dry again before coating because surface moisture is the enemy of the crust.
• •Glazed dakgangjeong keeps its character best the day it is made, at room temperature for serving or chilled for the next day. Do not seal it while warm, and do not reheat it unless you accept a softer glaze; this dish was meant to be eaten cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)