Eat Like A K-Pop Star: Tips On Finding The Best Korean Fried Chicken, An EXO Favorite

Welcome to this week's 'Eat Like a K-pop Star.' It's the weekly series where we showcase a delicious Korean specialty or something we've seen a K-pop star chowing down on lately and show you how to get or create some food of your own.

This week, we're exploring the new meaning of KFC - Korean fried chicken. Colonel Sanders reigns no more. There's nothing inherently Korean about a drumstick or a wingette lathered in sauce and dumped in a vat of boiling grease. Chicken isn't found in most of the nation's staple cuisines, and frying in that style isn't too popular, either.

And yet, for some reason  -- maybe the growth of one of the most world's most electric nightlife scenes (and hence, the need for a greasy late night snack) or maybe because Korean cuisine is nothing if not packing loads of flavor and texture into one bite - Korea has created a whole new set of standards for the simple fried chicken. In true Korean fashion, the country's food geniuses have taken an idea, ran with it, and tweaked it to perfection.

Like many sensations in Korea, it's also getting a boost from Hallyu. Scenes of characters devouring fried chicken in beer in dramas like 'My Love From The Star' have helped the Korean fried chicken craze spread to China and other parts of Asia.

So what's this craze all about? Korean fried chicken enthusiasts argue that the startingly thin, super crispy crust is the first key to its success. It separates it from the heavier coating of batter that you can sometimes peel off other fried chicken in one piece. Most Koreans also use a smaller type of chicken, giving the pieces like the wings a better skin-to-meat ratio. Even the smallest difference can help each piece of Korean fried chicken be a little juicier, crisper, and more tender than their Western counterparts. In addition, the process of double or even triple frying the chicken makes a Korean fried chicken rival anything that comes out of a fryer in the American South.

Then there's the sauce. Whether it's a simple ginger soy glaze or a sweet and spicy combo, Koreans have always known how to pack serious punch into a sauce.

Plus, there's no one way to prepare the bird. It's always evolving; you could taste a new type of equally delicious fried chicken each night of the week in Korea. You might opt for an entire fried chicken, a tongdak, to show up at your table. Or, you could much on boneless wings, sunsal, that come sticky, spicy, and sweet with some scallions on top. You can go for more traditional wings in a garlicy, or maneul sauce, or start sweating thanks to a super spicy variety, buldal.

It's about time to go get some yourself. Here are some pro tips for when you venture out for a plate of the fried good stuff:

Head to a restaurant where fried chicken is the only thing on the menu. (Or, it's accompanied by a few tasty sides.) If chefs are worried about grilling up some bulgogi or crafting a beautiful bibimbap, chances are they haven't perfected their chicken, or don't have time to make sure it's spectacular.

Don't be afraid of big chains, but look elsewhere, too. Popular chicken-only spots include KyoChon, which has more than one thousand locations worldwide, mainly in South Korea but also scattered in places like Los Angeles, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Manila, Bangkok, and Jakarta. For a chain restaurant, this place has maintained a remarkably great reputation even among the biggest KFC connoisseurs, but it is a chain, and it's tough to keep standards high in thousands of locations. If you're bopping around a K-town worldwide, KyoChon should be more of a solid option than a primary destination. That chicken-only hole in the wall might serve up a fresher, tastier plate of wings.

Don't stress if you don't speak Korean. Sometimes, even outside of Korea, restaurants operate exclusively in Korean. That's okay! Koreans want nothing more than for foreigners to enjoy their food and hospitality. Smile and point to something that looks good, or just throw some money down and trust the servers to bring you the house specialty. You're not going to be disappointed.

Order it with a beer. It's called chimaek - chi for chicken and maek for maekju, or beer, and it's only the most delicious pairing since salt and pepper.

Tags
Eat Like A K-Pop Star
Chicken
KFC
Girls Generation
EXO
My Love from the Star
hallyu
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics