How to Make Jikhoba Korean Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Method

1. Rinse the chicken with salt, drain it and cut it into bite sized pieces. Marinate it with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon white rice wine and half a teaspoon black pepper for at least 30 minutes. If using rice cakes, blanch them for 2 to 3 minutes and lift them out. Chop the spring onion.
2. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch to the bowl of marinated chicken and toss until the pieces carry a thin coating.
3. Cook the chicken one of two ways. To fry: pour in oil to about a third of the way up the pieces, heat it, and fry until crisp and golden on all sides, then drain. To bake: heat an air fryer or oven to 180C, cook for 15 minutes, turn the pieces and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Mix the sauce: 3 tablespoons chili sauce, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon gochujang, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 50ml water.
5. Set a clean pan over the heat with 1 tablespoon cooking oil, fry 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 1 teaspoon minced ginger until fragrant, then pour in the sauce and bring it to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the chicken and rice cakes to the pan, stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens and coats everything, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the last 1 tablespoon minced garlic and turn off the heat. Scatter with toasted sesame and spring onion.

Tips

• Without gochujang, raise the plain chili sauce and add a little Korean chili powder.
• An air fryer keeps the dish lighter on oil than deep frying.
• Coat the chicken in the thinnest layer of cornstarch, since a thick one peels off the pieces during glazing.
• Honey is still sugar, so measure exactly 1 tablespoon and add no more.
• Three to five minutes of glazing is enough, as longer softens the crust.