Hyodo Chicken (효도치킨): Respectfully Brined, Battered, and Fried
South Korea’s market for fried chicken is incredibly competitive with so many different styles and varying levels of quality. From the premium Puradak (푸라닭) that echoes themes from the luxury brand Prada to the “healthy” oven-roasted style at Goobne Chicken (굽네치킨), there is no room for sub-par chicken.
South Korea even created a culture for enjoying fried chicken and beer together. This comes in the form of Chimaek (치맥), which is a portmanteau for “chicken” and maekju (beer). This duo is a popular late-night anju, or food consumed with alcohol.
Before my trip to South Korea, I watched a video on Eater about this fried chicken restaurant called Hyodo Chicken. It’s the brainchild of two Korean chefs, Min Goo Kang and Chang Ho Shin, that lead world-class Michelin-starred restaurants. Their focus is simple: use high quality ingredients and take the care to prepare it.
Their signature soy sauce-based chicken has this incredible salty, sweet, umami, and gooey sauce that is generously glazed all over the ultra-crisp crust of the chicken. But, it’s not easy to get to this point. It takes over a day to prepare the sauce, which is made with dried red peppers, shishito peppers, cheongyang peppers, green onions, garlic, ginger, grain syrup, and other Korean spices.
Hyodo Chicken is even more diligent in the way it prepares the chicken. After a day-long brine, the chicken is fried twice (4 minute fry, 4 minute rest, 4 minute fry) to let moisture gather inside the crust then remain inside after the second dip in the oil. During the rest period, Hyodo Chicken also pokes the joints where blood clots may be found to release any blood that might cause unpleasant flavors.
Through this laborious process, Hyodo Chicken built a formidable fried chicken recipe. It pairs the crispy texture of the crust and the complexity of the sauce all while maintaining the moisture of the meat. Not only that but the brine, the batter, and the sauce all showcase familiar flavors found in a typical Korean household.
I can’t get enough of this Korean fried chicken.
The dining area is very casual with an old-school design. It was designed to be like a neighborhood pub but it’s too bright. 10/10 would still enjoy having some freshly fried chicken and some ice cold beer.
We took a cab directly from Hyodo Chicken to the park along the Han River. Before eating, we stopped by a convenience store where we picked up a few cold beers, soju, and some ice.
Annie and I found a spot, laid down our picnic blanket, and enjoyed our fried chicken while appreciating the night view of the Han River.
Hyodo Chicken’s Korean Fried Chicken came with Shishito Peppers and Anchovies. The chicken itself was impressive. I appreciated how the chicken wasn’t dry and the sauce was so rich, sticky, and dense with salty, sweet, and spicy flavor. The extra crunch and umami flavor from the anchovies was lit. Lastly, the shishito peppers were the ideal sidekick to cut out some of the greasiness of the chicken.
Annie and Korean Fried Chicken… she really knows how to get my attention.
On the menu, in the chicken (치킨) category, we ordered the first item (효도 꽈리멸 치킨)