Hot Honey Fried Chicken (Korean-Style Crunch)

Everyone has had the sad version of this. Chicken that looked incredible in the pan, went into a sticky sauce, and was soggy by the time it reached the table. That is not a sauce problem, it is a technique problem, and it is fixable.

Why Korean-style double frying works

Korean fried chicken is famous for a crust that stays crunchy under sauce, and that comes down to two decisions.

Potato starch instead of flour. Flour coatings absorb moisture and go soft quickly. Potato starch fries into a thinner, glassier, more brittle shell that holds up far better once something wet touches it. Cornflour works too and is easier to find, though it browns a little faster.

Two fries at two temperatures. The first fry, around 160°C, cooks the chicken through gently. Then you rest it, which lets steam escape from inside the crust instead of getting trapped and softening it. The second fry at around 190°C is short and violent, driving off surface moisture and setting the crust hard. That second fry is what separates this from ordinary fried chicken.

Then the honey goes on last, off the heat, in a bowl. Ten seconds of tossing, straight onto the plate. Every extra minute in the glaze costs you crunch.

What you need

Serves 4 as a main, or 6 as a snack with beer.

For the chicken

• 800 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into large bite-sized pieces. Thighs, not breast. They stay juicy through two fries.
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 egg white (optional, helps the coating grip)

For the coating

• 150 g potato starch, or cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cold water, for the shaggy-crust trick below

For the hot honey glaze

• 4 tbsp Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Optional: 1 tsp crispy chilli oil if you want to push past a 2 out of 5

To finish

• Toasted sesame seeds, sliced spring onion, flaky salt
• Neutral oil for frying: sunflower, rapeseed or groundnut

The method

1. Marinate for 30 minutes. Toss the chicken with soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, ginger and the egg white if using. Thirty minutes in the fridge is enough. Overnight is fine but not necessary.
2. Make the coating shaggy. Mix the potato starch, baking powder and salt, then rub in 3 tablespoons of cold water with your fingertips until you have a lumpy, pebbly mixture. Those lumps become the craggy bits that hold glaze. A smooth coating gives you a smooth, boring crust.
3. Coat properly. Press each piece into the starch, really pushing it in, then shake off the excess. Lay the pieces on a rack, not touching, and leave them for five minutes so the coating hydrates and sticks.
4. First fry at 160°C, 6 to 7 minutes. Work in batches of no more than a handful. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and gives you greasy, pale chicken. The pieces should come out cooked through but still blonde.
5. Rest for 5 minutes on a rack. Not on kitchen paper, which traps steam underneath. This rest is doing real work: it lets the inside stop steaming so the second fry can crisp the outside properly.
6. Second fry at 190°C, 2 minutes. Short and hot. The chicken turns deep golden and the crust goes audibly hard. Back onto the rack.
7. Warm the glaze gently. In a small pan on low, combine hot honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil just until loosened. Do not simmer it and do not let it bubble. You are thinning it, not cooking it.
8. Toss for ten seconds and serve. Chicken into a big bowl, glaze poured over, toss fast, plate immediately. Sesame seeds, spring onion, flaky salt. Eat while it is loud.

Air fryer and oven versions

Neither will match deep frying, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling an air fryer. But both are genuinely good, and the honey rule stays exactly the same.

Air fryer

Coat as above, then spray the pieces generously with oil, properly, until the starch looks damp rather than dusty. Dry patches of starch stay chalky and white. Cook at 190°C for 12 to 14 minutes, shaking halfway. Then toss in the glaze off the heat. For extra crunch, give it two minutes at 200°C at the end, which mimics the second fry.

Oven

220°C on a wire rack over a baking tray so air circulates underneath. Oil-spray the coated pieces and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once. Glaze after. Less crunch, far less washing up.

Wings instead of thighs

Same method, same glaze. First fry 8 minutes, rest, second fry 3 minutes. Wings have more surface area per bite, so they take the glaze better than almost anything.

Five things that go wrong

• Glazing before frying. The number one error. Honey scorches long before chicken is cooked, and burnt honey is bitter with no way back.
• Skipping the second fry. You will get decent chicken that goes soft under the sauce in about four minutes. The second fry is the entire reason this recipe exists.
• Crowding the pan. Too much cold chicken drops the oil temperature and the coating soaks up oil instead of crisping. Small batches, always.
• Letting it sit in the glaze. Toss and plate. Chicken parked in a bowl of honey for two minutes is chicken you have undone.
• Using breast meat. It dries out across two fries. If breast is all you have, cut it larger and take a minute off the first fry.

What to serve with it

Leftovers, if there are any, reheat surprisingly well at 200°C in an air fryer for four minutes. Then re-glaze with a fresh spoonful, because the original coating will have soaked in.

FAQs

Do you put hot honey on chicken before or after frying?

After, always. Honey's sugars burn well below frying temperature, so glazing before cooking gives you a dark, bitter crust and undercooked chicken. Fry first, then toss in the glaze off the heat for about ten seconds.

Why is my hot honey chicken soggy?

Usually one of three things: no second fry, an overcrowded pan that dropped the oil temperature, or the chicken sitting in the glaze too long before serving. Fry twice, in small batches, and plate immediately after tossing.

Can you make hot honey chicken in an air fryer?

Yes. Coat, spray generously with oil until the starch looks damp, then cook at 190°C for 12 to 14 minutes, shaking halfway. Toss in the glaze afterwards. It will not be quite as crisp as deep-fried, but it is very good.

What is the best cut of chicken for hot honey chicken?

Boneless skinless thighs. They stay juicy through two fries where breast dries out. Wings are the other excellent option, with more crust per bite.

Can I use cornflour instead of potato starch?

Yes. Cornflour gives a very similar glassy crust and is easier to find in most supermarkets. It browns slightly faster, so keep an eye on the second fry.

How spicy is this?

About a 2 out of 5, since Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey is gently spicy rather than fierce. Sweetness lands first and the warmth follows. Add a teaspoon of crispy chilli oil to the glaze if you want to push it towards a 3 or 4.

Can I make it ahead for a party?

Do the first fry up to two hours ahead and leave the chicken on a rack at room temperature. When guests arrive, do the second fry and glaze. That is exactly how restaurants handle service, and it makes this very manageable for a crowd.

Keep reading

• What is hot honey? The full guide, plus 15 other ways to use it.
• Hot honey pizza: the right way to do it
• Hot honey cheesy eggs on toast
• Crispy chilli oil: the complete guide

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