Posted on 02/08/2007 9:17:32 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Koreans Share Their Secret for Chicken With a Crunch
By JULIA MOSKIN
WHEN Joe McPherson moved to Seoul in 2002, he thought he was leaving fried chicken behind. “I grew up watching Popeyes training videos,” Mr. McPherson said. His father managed a Popeyes franchise near Atlanta and fried chicken was a constant presence in his life.
“Living in the South, you think you know fried chicken,” he said. But in Seoul, he said, “there is a mom-and-pop chicken place literally on every corner.” Many Asian cooking traditions include deep-fried chicken, but the popular cult of crunchy, spicy, perfectly nongreasy chicken — the apotheosis of the Korean style — is a recent development.
In the New York area, Korean-style fried chicken places have just begun to appear, reproducing the delicate crust, addictive seasoning and moist meat Koreans are devoted to.
“Food in Korea is very trendy,” said Myung J. Chung, an owner of the Manhattan franchise of Bon Chon Chicken, a karaoke-and-chicken lounge that opened in December. “Other trends last two or three years, but fried chicken has lasted for 20 years,” he said.
Platters of fried chicken are a hugely popular bar food in South Korea — like chicken wings in the United States, they are downed with beer or soju, after work or after dinner, rarely eaten as a meal.
“Some places have a very thin, crisp skin; some places have more garlicky, sticky sauces; some advertise that they are healthy because they fry in 100 percent olive oil,” said Mr. McPherson, an English teacher, who writes a food blog called zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal.
“Suddenly there will be a long line outside one chicken place, for no apparent reason, and then the next week, it’s somewhere else.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
North Korea's version is tree bark dipped in urine batter.
Bump
Anyone had Japanese nankotsu? Chicken cartilage, deep fried and eaten whole.
Fried chicken....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Maybe also try crunchy frog? (Lightly killed, dipped in
finest chocolate, garnished with lark's vomit.)
Mark
I prefer "Spring Surprise!"
Mark
I have tried fried chicken feet. Did not like it. Korean-style chicken sounds pretty yummy though.
It wouldn't be crunchy without the bones, now would it?!
Crunchy frog with chocolate covering? I can try crunchy frog without chocolate.
The secret: It's not really chicken.
Korean food is the best!
Ping!
(and got any fried chicken recipes handy? :-) )
Fried chicken is one of those foods that are best left to home cooking. Mass-produced resturant methods are just not conducive to good fried chicken. Preparing it is an art, not a manufacturing process.
The only resturant that fried chicken in a way I would consider to be as good as home-cooked was Earl Abel's in Alamo Heights, Texas — and they tore it down last year. I haven't been to the new location, and I don't know if they still make their fried chicken the same way.
And, what did the lil boy frog say to the lil girl frog?
They're right! We do taste like chicken!
There is a chicken, and there is a chicken.
Koreans really don't like to eat food with their hands though most of the time the chicken legs had the bottom end wrapped in tin foil so your hands wouldn't get dirty. LOL!
I thought Chester Fried was a Korean chain (because I had never heard of it) until I came back to the US and I found out that it was an American franchise.
Most American restaurant chains have done pretty well over there, the only notable exception was Taco Bell. It bombed so bad in Seoul. I guess Koreans couldn't handle the idea of savory, rather than sweet beans. LOL!
I get homesick for Chuncheon ever so often. I actually bought Winter Sonata which was filmed in Chuncheon just so I can make myself even more "homesick."
My Grandfather always said, "Don't forget your lard, boy! Gotta get your lard!" And I've lived by that.
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