Korean Chicken with Galbi Sauce – from Korean Movie, Extreme Job

Crispy Korean chicken tossed in a sweet and salty soy sauce based galbi sauce. It’s the delicious star of the Korean movie, Extreme Job! Learn how to make the famous chicken – fried or crispy baked! 

At some point, Korean Fried Chicken became its own “it” thing. I’m not sure when it happened. When I first went to Korea in the summer of 2007, I don’t remember Korean chicken being everywhere but by the time DrJuh and I went back in 2017, it was on every corner in Korea but also very popular here in the US! Before in the US, when a foreigner thought about Korean food it may have been beef bulgogi but now I think it may be chicken. A handful of big chains have become popular here and there are also so many different types and recipes online!

The standard spicy fried chicken is probably the most popular, followed by a soy garlic sauce and just plain old regular fried chicken! In the movie Extreme Job, the main cast makes a more unique variation and goes about using Korean marinated short rib sauce (galbi) to slather on to chicken. And of course it’s delicious! If it works on ribs, why not on chicken? Fried chicken is pretty versatile. 

It’s summer time now though and frying food is not as appealing. It’s also a bit more work to clean up and I’ve noticed the oil smell can linger through our house for days. Our kitchen fan is not very strong and I would dare say – barely useful. Though! Some people also hate turning on the oven. I’ve laid out both ways to make the chicken

1. crispy fried chicken – deliciously fried and crunchy chicken skin, just like the original in the movie
2. crispy baked chicken – surprisingly very crispy, with a easier clean up and equally delicious

I’ve listed the fried version here and the crispy baked version in the recipe card more below! Take your pick!

Korean Fried Chicken with Galbi Sauce

Ingredients

Chicken: 

• 2 lb (900 g) chicken (whole chicken pieces, or just wings)

Sauce: Same sauce as crispy baked!

Frying Batter: 

• 1 cup milk 
• 1 cup Korean Frying Powder
• 1 ¼ cup Korean Frying Powder (for batter)
• 1 ¼ cup water (for batter)
• Vegetable oil for frying 

Instructions

Sauce:

1. Add all the sauce ingredients into a medium sized pot.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes or until the sugar melts. Turn off the heat.
   *If the sauce reduces too much, add in about 1 Tbsp of water and lightly simmer.

Chicken:

1. Place the chicken in a large boil. Add in the milk and set aside for about 30 minutes in the fridge. The milk helps to soften the chicken and also get rid of any chicken odors.
   *This step is skipped in baking since parboiling helps to get rid of chicken odor. 
2. Using a colander or sieve, drain the milk. (Do not need to wash the chicken).
3. In a separate medium sized bowl, place in the 1 cup of Korean Frying Powder. 
4. Batter. In a medium sized bowl, mix the 1 ¼ cup frying powder and water. Do not over mix. Keep the batter cold until ready to use.
5. (1)Toss the chicken in the Korean Frying Powder. (2.) Dip the chicken into the batter. (3.) Toss the chicken again in the Korean Frying Powder. 
6. Heat a deep pot of oil to 350 degrees F (175 C). Fry the chicken for about 12 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown. Don’t crowd the pot, or the temperature will drop too much. Set the chicken on a wire rack.
   Once all the chicken has been fried, fry for a second time. For the 2nd fry, fry for just about 2 minutes. This will make the chicken extra crispy. Toss in the sauce. 
7. Enjoy hot! 

Assemble:

1. Place the fried chicken into a large bowl. Toss in the sauce when the chicken is still warm. Serve! Enjoy with some pickled radish (chopped into cubes).

For the Crispy Baked Version, see the recipe box below! 

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Korean Chicken with Galbi Sauce - from Korean Movie, Extreme Job

Crispy Korean chicken tossed in a sweet and salty soy sauce based galbi sauce. It’s the delicious star of the Korean movie, Extreme Job! Learn how to make the famous chicken! 

Servings: 2 people

Jennifer | Chopsticks and Flour

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) chicken a whole chicken, just wings or drumsticks

Sauce

• 5 Tbsp soy sauce
• 5 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp mulyeot 엿 sweetener - honey, rice syrup, corn syrup*
• 1 ½ tsp oil olive oil, or any oil on hand
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp gochugaru 고추가 red pepper flakes*
• 6 Tbsp finely diced onion
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic 5-6 cloves
• 2 Tbsp coke
• ¼ tsp chicken stock optional- the original recipe uses MSG

Instructions

Crispy Baked Chicken

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 C).
• Parboil. Bring a pot of water with a sprinkle of salt to a boil. Once boiling, place in the chicken wings and continue to simmer for 7 minutes. Drain the water.
  
• Dry the chicken. Place the chicken wings on to a wire rack to continue to drain the water off the chicken. After a few minutes, dry the chicken on a paper towel. Make sure the wings are dry to ensure the skin crisps.
• Cover a large metal pan with aluminum foil and oil generously. This will make sure the wings do not stick. Place the chicken wings on the oiled foil with the fattier side down.

  *(The first side down will crisp up more).
• Bake the chicken for 25 minutes. Flip the chicken and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until the skin is golden and crisp on both sides.

Sauce

• Add all the sauce ingredients into a medium sized pot.
  
• Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes or until the sugar melts. Turn off the heat.

  *If the sauce reduces too much, add in about 1 Tbsp of water and lightly simmer.
  

Assemble

• Once the chicken is golden and crispy, take out of the oven. Toss in the sauce when the chicken is still warm. Serve! Enjoy with some pickled radish (chopped into cubes).
  

Notes

*original recipe uses one whole chicken which is about 1kg (2.2 lbs) and the sauce is for about 4-5 servings to make the proportions even and easier to follow. I’ve adjusted the sauce amount for 2 lbs chicken.
*original recipe is for ½ tsp but I slightly increased it for the sticky sweet flavor
*original recipe uses chili seasoning powder but it wasn’t missed using gochugaru