Are you salivating at restaurants re-opening on the July 19 and getting your order ready for your favourite fast-food craving? Well, for the last year and a half, we’ve had to endure two KFC droughts, with several attempts being made at home to replicate the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices. Some were spectacular, and some, well—we reserve comment.

But KFC is so much more than original or spicy, if you take KFC to mean Korean Fried Chicken. If crunchy, sticky, sweet and spicy are some of the elements that you look for in a dish, we promise this is going to be one of your absolute favourites.

Ingredients can be found at Sincere’s Chinese Grocery and/or the Asian section of any well -stocked grocery.

One bit of advice: Do all your prep work in advance and ensure you have enough space to work in the kitchen.

Korean Fried Chicken: Preferred pieces to use: wings, boneless thighs, boneless breast.

Preparing Chicken:

1. Cut wings into drums and flats.
2. Cut thighs and breast into 3-inch nuggets. ·
3. Season chicken and allow to marinate for a minimum of one hour. ·
4. Discard liquid and rub chicken with grated ginger (you can sub ginger powder).
5. Scramble 2 eggs in a separate dish.
6. In separate bowl combine All-Purpose flour, salt, black pepper, paprika, baking powder, 1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder, and 1 tsp MSG. ·
7. Coat chicken generously with Corn Starch and shake off excess. ·
8. Dip chicken in egg bath, then dip in the bowl with dry ingredients, ensuring it’s entirely coated. ·
9. Shake off excess flour mixture and place chicken on a rack or spaced out on a dry plate. ·
10. Heat Canola oil in deep frying pot to 350 degrees.
11. Add 1 tsp of Sesame oil.
12. Place chicken in the oil ensuring the pieces are spaced and pot is not crowded. ·
13. Fry for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown and remove to rack or bowl/plate with paper towel to drain excess oil. ·
14. Once all the pieces are fried, turn heat up to 400 degrees and return pieces to frying for a second time for an additional 5-7 minutes until the colour goes to light brown.
15. This step is necessary to ensuring your chicken gets that extra crunch. ·
16. Return to rack to drain.

SAUCE:

1. In a saucepan, melt 3 tbsp of butter and throw in 4 cloves of minced/finely chopped garlic.
2. As garlic begins to change colour, add 1 cup of ketchup and stir. ·
3. Add 2 tbsp of Gochujang and stir. ·
4. Once mixture is uniform, add 1 tbsp of Soy Sauce, 2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar and 2 tbsp of Mirin. · Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, and stir mixture until dissolved.
5. Take a quick taste and you can decide if you prefer to incrementally add more Gochujang or sugar for a spicier or sweeter taste respectively.

Combining: You can either choose to dip the chicken in the sauce—coating it entirely, or place the pieces in a large enough bowl, drizzle the sauce over it and toss it like a pro until it’s entirely covered. Voila, that’s it!

Eat it with something tasty like waffles!

You’ve made KFC. Stay tuned because in our next feature, we’ll share with you how to make the ultimate vehicle for your boneless KFC. It’s intimidating, but relatively easy to make Bao Buns.

Bon Appetit, and remember: Happy Food = Happy People

“A Catholic Foodie” is brought to you by Joanne Campbell, HR Manager by day, entrepreneur, and amazing cook by night! A past pupil of Holy Faith Convent, Couva, and a devout parishioner of Our Lady of Mt Carmel RC Church in Carapichaima. She is also part owner of The Country Kitchen a home-based catering company in Chaguanas that was born in the pandemic 2020. Joanne says their motto is “made with love and tradition” and she believes that they capture the essence of West Indian cuisine.