Korean Fried Chicken

Method

1. Make the brine. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. There is no need to peel the ginger, just roughly chop it and toss it into a large bowl along with the garlic and the rest of the ingredients for the brine. Stir, then add the chicken thighs, pressing them down into the brine so they are covered with the liquid.

2. Cover the bowl with cling film and pop it into the fridge for at least eight hours, or preferably overnight.

3. The next day, remove the chicken from the brine and let it come to room temperature while you prepare the batter mix.

4. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Measure out 150g of the batter mix into another bowl and whisk in 250ml of very cold sparkling water to make a smooth batter.

5. Cut the chicken thighs into quarters and add them to the batter, stirring well to coat all the meat.

6. Make the sauce. Combine the ketchup, gochujang, grated garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey and sesame oil in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about five minutes until all the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has the same consistency as running honey.

7. Heat one litre of sunflower oil to 180c. While the oil is heating, dredge the chicken pieces in the remaining dry batter mix. Do this one or two at a time, gently shaking off any excess flour and placing the coated chicken in a single layer on a platter. When they are all coated, you can begin to fry. Check your oil to make sure it is hot enough before adding the chicken. If it is too cool, the batter will fall away, and your oil will become a sludgy mess.

8. If you have one, use a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. It needs to hit 180C before you start to fry the chicken. If you do not have a thermometer, you can use a piece of bread to check the temperature. Drop a 2.5cm square piece of white bread into the oil. If it takes sixty seconds to brown, then your oil is hot enough.

9. When the oil hits temperature, carefully lower the battered pieces of chicken one-by-one into the pan. Do not crowd the pan, you will fry in batches of five to six pieces at a time to avoid the chicken pieces sticking together. Fry for two and a half minutes, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper or a wire rack over a tray. Make sure to bring the oil back up to temperature between batches.

10. Once all the chicken has had its first fry, fry it a second time for two minutes to get the pieces golden and crispy, and drain it on some fresh kitchen towel. You can do this in larger batches this time. After the second fry the chicken coating will be golden and super crispy, and the meat will be moist and perfectly cooked inside.

11. Arrange the fried chicken on a large platter, drizzle it with lots of the sauce and garnish with chopped spring onion and some toasted sesame seeds. Serve with the rest of the sauce on the side, along with some pickled cucumber or daikon, boiled rice if you fancy it, or chips. A few cold beers are the perfect drink accompaniment.