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Korean fried chicken is almost as revered for its complex sauces as its bold, crunchy exterior. But you don't always need a pantry full of ingredients to whip up a dipping sauce worthy of such a beautiful crust. Daily Meal spoke with Ji Hye Kim, the owner and chef of Korean restaurant Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to get her ideas for using store-bought sauces and minimal ingredients to jazz up your home-cooked Korean fried chicken .

And there's one option you can make with ingredients you already have in your pantry — or should have if you don't. Kim recommends mixing barbecue sauce and ketchup with a little (or a lot of) gochujang paste for a dipping sauce that she describes as, "a balance of sweet, savory, a little spice, and a hint of acidity." If you don't have it, there are plenty of substitutes for gochujang paste .



You could probably use Tabasco, sriracha, or even harissa, but it cannot be stressed enough how much you need gochujang in your life (especially if you make Korean food a lot or you're a ketchup-on-eggs person). More easy homemade sauce ideas If you've got a few more ingredients at your disposal, Ji Hye Kim recommends trying a couple of other sauces you might like even better than the first. For example, mix mayonnaise, soy sauce, and as much grated garlic as you can handle.

"​​It is like an amped-up Korean aioli, except you don't have to make it entirely from scratch," she notes, suggesting, "If you want a bit of a kick, stir in a dollop of srirac.

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