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Korean barbecue popcorn chicken
Serves 4 Starters and mains
For the barbecue sauce
- 40g unsalted butter
- 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2tbsp cider vinegar
- 3tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
- 100g tomato ketchup
- 50ml apple juice
- 1tbsp light soy sauce
- 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
For the batter
- 80g cornflour
- 40g self-raising flour
- 40g cream crackers, bashed to fine crumbs
- 11⁄2tsp garlic salt
- 50ml vodka
- 220ml sparkling water
For the chicken
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- 75g cornflour
- 1⁄2tsp garlic salt
- 1kg chicken breasts, cut into 2cm cubes
To serve
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2tbsp white sesame seeds (optional)
Method
To make the barbecue sauce, heat a saucepan over a medium- high heat and add the butter. As soon as it melts, add the shallots and fry, stirring occasionally, until softened but uncoloured. Add the garlic, sugar and vinegar, and stir until well mixed, then add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and set aside until needed.
To make the batter, put the cornflour, flour and cracker crumbs into a mixing bowl along with the garlic salt and toss to combine well. Mix the water and vodka in a jug, then slowly pour the liquid into the dry ingredients while whisking constantly – it’s easier to get any lumps out while the batter is still a thick paste. Don’t add all of the liquid in one go – you want this to be a fairly loose batter, but not extremely watery.
Heat oil in a deep-fat fryer or large saucepan to 180C. For the chicken, put the cornflour and garlic salt onto a large plate or shallow dish and toss together. Toss the cubed chicken in the cornflour, then dip some of the pieces in batter. Fry for a few minutes until golden brown and very crispy – work in batches to avoid overcrowding the fryer. Transfer the fried chicken to a plate lined with kitchen paper to blot off the excess oil and keep warm while you cook the rest. If the barbecue sauce has gone cold, quickly reheat it, and serve in a bowl with the fried chicken pieces piled around it. Finish by scattering over the spring onion slices and sesame seeds, if using.
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