Korean Fried Chicken Tacos

READY IN 60 mins

This is not only my favourite chicken recipe, but it is my favourite way to enjoy tacos! The chicken marinade has been one of my staple recipes over the years and is great for fried chicken or BBQ chicken as well.

Ingredients

6 boneless chicken thighs or 2 breasts, or a mix
1 cup rice flour
Tacos from scratch
Marinade:
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bunch cilantro roots and stems, cleaned and dried
½ cup soy sauce
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
Kimchi aioli:
2 tablespoons kimchi
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup grape seed oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. You can make a double batch and keep it in the fridge so this delicious marinade is easily on hand for next time.
Toss your chicken in just enough marinade to cover for at least 4 hours and up to 8. Keep in the fridge.
For the aioli, combine kimchi, egg yolks, rice wine vinegar and salt in a vessel to be pureed. A stick blender is best for this. Alternatively, you can use a small countertop blender.
Puree until the kimchi is totally incorporated and then slowly drizzle the grape seed oil while running the blender. Once it thickens up a little you have your aioli! Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Time for tacos. I like Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina. Just follow the instructions on the package and keep in a single stack wrapped in a clean tea towel to keep warm.
Let’s fry some chicken. Fill a medium sized pot half full with oil on medium-high heat. Place a candy/deep fry thermometer on the edge of the pot and heat the oil to about 360º F (a touch hotter than the target temp of 350ºF).
Shake any excess marinade off of the chicken and toss in a medium mixing bowl with the rice flour. Make sure the chicken is coated well, but shake off any excess flour.
You can now place chicken into the pot being careful not to splash the hot oil! You also want to give the chicken some space to swim in the oil, so only a single layer of chicken. Cook in batches if necessary. Try to keep the oil temperature at around 350º F and cook the chicken for about 10 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through. Keep warm in a 180º F oven and repeat until all of your chicken is cooked.
Time to build the tacos. Taco shell, warm fried chicken sliced up, sprinkle of kimchi and a drizzle of kimchi aioli. A couple of sprigs of cilantro make for a great garnish.

PREP 45 mins
COOK 20 mins
READY IN 60 mins