Korean-Chinese Spicy ChickenKkanpunggi

Kkanpunggi belongs to a category of Korean food called hansik-jungshik — dishes that arrived from China through Korean-Chinese restaurants and evolved into something distinctly Korean. The Chinese restaurant tradition in Korea goes back to the early twentieth century, and dishes like jajangmyeon, jjamppong, and kkanpunggi are considered Korean classics even though their origins are Chinese.

Kkanpunggi is essentially a Korean take on General Tso's chicken: fried chicken coated in a spicy-sweet-sour sauce. The Korean version is drier and crispier than most American versions of the dish. The sauce coats the chicken rather than pooling around it, and the heat comes from dried whole chili peppers flash-fried in oil rather than chili paste.

I first made this for a friend named Ólafur from Iceland who had been eating through Korean-Chinese food for several days and wanted to try making kkanpunggi at home. He had some experience with deep frying and understood the main challenge: getting the oil temperature right. Too cool and the chicken absorbs oil and turns greasy; too hot and the outside browns before the inside cooks.

The recipe tip matters here: the finished dish should be dry and crispy, not saucy. After the fried chicken goes into the wok with the sauce, the toss is brief — one to two minutes over high heat — and the sauce should just barely coat each piece before you plate it. Letting it sit longer makes the coating soggy. Serve immediately after plating.

Cornstarch coating rather than flour is essential for the thin, very crispy crust that kkanpunggi requires.