Korean fried chicken
Meat dishes
Chicken fried twice for a thin, crackly crust, served plain or brushed with a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce or a garlicky soy sauce glaze.
Why this list cannot be complete
Many Korean restaurants are franchises whose recipes are not published, and shops create their own versions of the same dish. A menu name often does not tell you what is inside. This page covers the traditional recipe and the variations that have spread widely, not every shop.
Fried chicken in particular: batter and sauce differ by brand, and new named menus keep appearing, such as garlic, soy sauce, sweet and spicy or green onion chicken. Ask what goes into the batter and the sauce.
When you are not sure what a shop puts in, show your card to say what you cannot eat, or show the list below and ask the staff to point to what is in theirs.
What usually goes in
이 음식에 아래 재료 중 들어가는 것이 있나요?
For the staff: does this dish contain any of the ingredients below?
Plain, red-sauced or soy-glazed, every version starts from the same fried chicken — the sauce is brushed on after frying, so only the coating changes.
The coating is usually a frying or chicken powder built on wheat flour. You cannot tell from the crust what it was made with.
Some wet batters are mixed with egg before the chicken goes into the fryer, so the egg is inside the crust.
Some kitchens soak the raw chicken in milk to brine it, or use milk in the batter — it is hidden in the meat and crust rather than served as a sauce.
Plain fried chicken may skip it, but both classic sauces carry soy: the red sauce is gochujang-based with soy sauce, and the brown glaze is soy sauce itself.
Chopped peanuts are sometimes scattered over the sauced chicken as a garnish, so they sit right on top of the sticky coating.
Sesame seeds are another common garnish on sauced chicken, sprinkled on after it is brushed with the glaze.
The sweet-spicy red sauce is often made with ketchup mixed into the gochujang, which gives it its tang.
Minced garlic goes into the red sauce, the soy glaze is often garlicky, and some shops add garlic powder to the frying mix.
Onion powder can be mixed into the coating flour and blended onion can be cooked down into the sweet red sauce of yangnyeom chicken.
Green onion chicken is served with a soy sauce that has mustard mixed in.
- Usually in it
- Most kitchens put this in. Assume it is there unless the staff tell you otherwise.
- Sometimes in it
- It depends on the recipe and the brand of sauce, so it is worth asking.
- Rarely in it
- The usual recipe does not call for it, but some kitchens still use it.
Checked 11 of the 33 ingredients this site covers. An ingredient that is not listed here has simply not been checked yet — that is not the same as it not being in the dish.
This page describes how the dish is usually made in Korea. Every kitchen works differently, so always show your card and ask the staff before you order.
Going on your card
- Chicken (닭고기)
- Wheat (밀)
- Eggs (알류)
- Milk (우유)
- Soybean (대두)
- Peanut (땅콩)
- Sesame (참깨)
- Tomato (토마토)
- Garlic (마늘)
- Onion (양파)
- Mustard (겨자)
Common variations
If you see one of these names on a menu, expect the ingredients below on top of the basic dish. Shops differ, so check with the staff.
- 간장 치킨Soy sauce chicken
Adds: Soybean (대두)
Fried chicken is glazed with a sweet sauce made from soy sauce and garlic.
- 치즈 시즈닝 치킨Cheese seasoning chicken
Adds: Milk (우유)
A seasoning powder made with cheese is dusted over the fried chicken.
- 파닭Green onion chicken
Adds: Mustard (겨자)
Shredded green onion is piled on top with a soy sauce that contains mustard.
Diets
- VeganNot suitable
The dish is fried chicken.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianNot suitable
Chicken is the dish itself, not a topping that can be left off.
Other dishes with the same ingredients
- Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken)Chicken · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Wheat · Milk · Eggs (poultry) — Sometimes in it
- TteokbokkiWheat · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Eggs (poultry) · Milk · Peanut — Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Wheat · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Milk · Tomato — Sometimes in it
Read more
- Peanut allergy in KoreaWhat to watch for and how to ask
- Gluten-free travel in KoreaWhere wheat hides in sauces and broths
- Vegan dining in KoreaWhere meat and seafood hide in Korean cooking
- Emergency allergy help in KoreaWhat to do and say if a reaction starts
- Halal food in KoreaWhere pork, alcohol, and non-halal meat hide in Korean cooking
- Temple food and Buddhist vegetarian dining in KoreaWhere garlic, green onion, and other pungent vegetables hide
Sources we checked
Each finding on this page lists the recipes and references it is based on. Source titles appear in their original language and are not translated, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
Show the 16 sources behind each finding
What usually goes in
Chicken · Usually in it
- Wikipedia, "Korean fried chicken" — thin, crackly crust; seasoned with spices, sugar and salt; yangnyeom (gochujang-based) and ganjang (soy sauce, often garlicky) sauces brushed on after frying (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Yangnyeom chicken" — batter of eggs and starch powder, fried twice; sauce of starch syrup, ketchup, gochujang, dark soy sauce, garlic; sometimes sprinkled with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds (opens in a new tab)
Wheat · Usually in it
- 위키백과, "프라이드 치킨" — 밀가루에 향신료를 섞은 가루나 밀가루에 물 · 우유 · 계란을 섞은 반죽을 입혀 튀김 (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Yangnyeom chicken" — batter of eggs and starch powder, fried twice; sauce of starch syrup, ketchup, gochujang, dark soy sauce, garlic; sometimes sprinkled with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 후라이드치킨 · 황금올리브치킨 레시피(치킨 튀김가루 직접 만드는 법) — 우유 염지, 밀가루 · 옥수수전분 · 마늘 가루 튀김가루 (opens in a new tab)
- Home Cuisine, 후라이드치킨 · 치킨 튀김옷 — 밀가루 · 감자전분 · 타피오카전분에 물과 우유를 섞은 반죽 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「집에서 후라이드치킨 만드는 법」 — 튀김가루를 입혀 튀김 (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 「집에서 후라이드 치킨만들기」 — 치킨가루 반죽 (opens in a new tab)
- 푸딩팩토리, 「치킨 프리믹스 파우더」 — 첫 원재료 소맥분, 밀 함유 (opens in a new tab)
Eggs · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Yangnyeom chicken" — batter of eggs and starch powder, fried twice; sauce of starch syrup, ketchup, gochujang, dark soy sauce, garlic; sometimes sprinkled with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "프라이드 치킨" — 밀가루에 향신료를 섞은 가루나 밀가루에 물 · 우유 · 계란을 섞은 반죽을 입혀 튀김 (opens in a new tab)
Milk · Sometimes in it
Soybean · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Korean fried chicken" — thin, crackly crust; seasoned with spices, sugar and salt; yangnyeom (gochujang-based) and ganjang (soy sauce, often garlicky) sauces brushed on after frying (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Yangnyeom chicken" — batter of eggs and starch powder, fried twice; sauce of starch syrup, ketchup, gochujang, dark soy sauce, garlic; sometimes sprinkled with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds (opens in a new tab)
Peanut · Sometimes in it
Sesame · Sometimes in it
Tomato · Sometimes in it
Garlic · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Yangnyeom chicken" — batter of eggs and starch powder, fried twice; sauce of starch syrup, ketchup, gochujang, dark soy sauce, garlic; sometimes sprinkled with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia, "Korean fried chicken" — thin, crackly crust; seasoned with spices, sugar and salt; yangnyeom (gochujang-based) and ganjang (soy sauce, often garlicky) sauces brushed on after frying (opens in a new tab)
- 만개의레시피, 후라이드치킨 · 황금올리브치킨 레시피(치킨 튀김가루 직접 만드는 법) — 우유 염지, 밀가루 · 옥수수전분 · 마늘 가루 튀김가루 (opens in a new tab)
Onion · Sometimes in it
Mustard · Sometimes in it
Common variations
간장 치킨 · Soy sauce chicken
치즈 시즈닝 치킨 · Cheese seasoning chicken
파닭 · Green onion chicken
Diets
Vegan · Not suitable
Lacto-ovo vegetarian · Not suitable
Each dish is researched by hand from the sources we checked, and nothing here is generated automatically. Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so always confirm with the staff before you order.