This gluten free Korean fried chicken is my absolutely favorite recipe that I’ve developed in the past few months. Although it took around 3 rounds of recipe testing and tweaking the flour ratios to make sure the coating is super crispy, I’m SO happy to be publishing the results and sharing it with all of you! The gluten free Korean fried chicken is perfectly crispy, and the sauce is a great combination of sweet, spicy, and is thick so it clings to each piece of chicken!

I have a few rounds of notes on this Korean fried chicken recipe because it is pretty specific when it comes to frying temperature, amount of coating, and more. I promise, however, that the end result is worth the wait and the effort!

the finished plate of gluten free korean fried chicken with scallions

My tips for the recipe-

1- No deep fryer? No problem! I don’t have a deep fryer, and to make this recipe, I just heated a few cups of canola oil in a wide pot with a candy thermometer to measure the temperature.

2- Choosing the chicken: While trying this recipe, I used both dark and light meat in different rounds of recipe testing. While the chicken breasts did cook more quickly and were easier to cut into bite sized pieces and trim of fat, the dark meat boneless and skinless chicken thighs are the way to go. They have a higher fat content, so of course they take longer to cook, but they come out of the fryer more tender, moist, and flavorful.

3- Not a fan of spicy foods? While normally I would say no issue and give a way to adapt the recipe to fit your preferences, I’m just not sure if that’s possible for this sauce. The chicken could stand on its own with some barbeque sauce, I’m sure, but I haven’t ever tried it. Gochujang is a main ingredient that gives the sauce it’s thick viscosity and without it, the sambal, sriracha, and sweet chili sauce, there just wouldn’t be a lot of flavor.

4- The gluten free flours: Using 1/2 cup of superfine sweet white rice flour with 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1/4 cup potato starch, and 2 tbsp cornstarch will ensure you get the crispiest chicken possible. If you need to find any of these ingredients, look here!

The Directions-

Start by heating up your oil, then move on to making the flour and spices mix:

mixing the gluten free flours and starches together

mixing the gluten free flours with the spices to make the coating

To trim the chicken thighs, remove all of the fat you can with a paring or filet knife. Then, slice them into evenly sized bite-sized chunks. The pieces have to approximately the same size so they cook in around the same amount of time. Unevenly cubed chicken will unfortunately result in overcooked smaller pieces.

Be careful when adding the chicken to the flour mixture, as the flour often goes everywhere in the air. This creates SUCH an inconvenient mess, and I get around it by adding my chicken to the flour and stirring one spoonful at a time! Do your best to make sure all of the pieces are evenly coated in flour; they should look like this:

the raw chicken mixed with the gluten free coating

The next step is to fry your chicken, which is daunting! During the first round of recipe development for this chicken, I was SUPER afraid of the fryer! I don’t use a deep fryer very often because I’m such a huge fan of my air fryer, but deep frying chicken bites isn’t bad at all!

Once your oil is heated, drop a spoonful of chicken into 350 to 375 degree oil. It’s okay if the oil is a tad bit hotter or cooler, but this is the optimal range for crispiness. Don’t add too much chicken, this can overcrowd the pot and prevent the outside from crisping up.

frying the pieces of chicken for the first time

This chicken is fried twice. I fry all of the chicken once, and make sure it’s fully cooked after the first round (around 165 for internal temperature, slightly golden on the outside). It should look like this:

the fried chicken after the first round of deep frying

After the second fry, they are crispier and more golden brown. Your chicken should end up looking like this:

The Sauce-

Then, mix together the sauce in a large bowl.

the ingredients to make the sweet and spicy sauce

Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix with a spatula until evenly coated.

adding the sauce onto the gluten free fried chicken

tossing the chicken in the spicy korean chili sauce

I then like to add the chicken into a more aesthetically pleasing bowl for serving, and top the chicken with scallions.

This chicken can also be served over rice, the way it is served at my favorite restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island.

I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do! It’s delicious, not that difficult to make, and the crispiest gluten free fried chicken you will ever find!

Here’s the recipe card if you want to print this gluten free Korean fried chicken recipe to make at home! 🙂

Gluten Free Korean Fried Chicken

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thighs
Oil (for frying)
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp gochujang (korean chili paste)
1 tbsp sambal
2 tsp honey
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
2 scallions (chopped, for a garnish)

Instructions

First, trim most of the fat off the chicken and cut the thighs into small, bite sized pieces. For my chicken thighs, they ended up being about 1/4 to 1/6th of a thigh per piece
In a large bowl, mix together the gluten free flours (rice, potato, corn starch, and tapioca.) Whisk to combine well, then add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk again until fully combined.
Add enough oil into your pot so that it reaches around 4 inches high in your pot. If you use a smaller pot, you will need less oil but the recipe will take more time, as you won't be able to fry the chicken in big batches. Add a candy thermometer into your oil so you can read the temperature.
While your oil is heating to about 350 degrees fahrenheit, toss the cubed chicken into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until every piece of chicken is coated in flour.
Add the chicken to the oil and cook for a few minutes until lightly golden brown on the outside. The oil should not be overcrowded with pieces of chicken, because that will prevent it from becoming crispy. I added about 5-7 pieces each bath for the first round of frying. After about 5 minutes of cooking, check the internal temperature of the biggest piece in the batch, it should be around 165 degrees.
Remove the chicken when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (it should be around 7 minutes) and place on a large plate lined with a few layers of paper towel, which will absorb all of the extra oil.
Repeat this process with the rest of the chicken. If it's looking pale, that's ok! This chicken recipe is twice fried, so it will get golden brown the second time.
While you are batch frying the chicken, move on to making the spicy sauce.
Combine the sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, sambal, sriracha, gochujang, apple cider vinegar, honey, and sesame seeds in a large bowl and mix to combine. The sauce will be dark and sticky.
To fry the chicken a second time, add bigger batches. With the oil still at 350, fry for about 3 minutes until perfectly golden brown.
Once again, place the twice fried chicken on a large plate lined with a few layers of paper towel to absorb oil and let cool for a few minutes.
Add the chicken into a large mixing bowl, and pour the sauce over it. Mix until every piece of chicken in coated in sauce and then transfer the chicken into a serving bowl. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!