Korean fried chicken Archives

Chicken Troopers and How Korean Fried Chicken Became Crazy Popular

August 3, 2021 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) What makes Chicken Troopers head and shoulders above the rest: the crispest, most perfectly seasoned (heat not spiky pepper) fried chicken meticulously made by Chef-owner Sean An, executive chef formerly of Slow Fish and other fine dining restaurants in the area. He also happened to cook for officers in the Korean army, the origin of the ingredients for spam dishes and the idea for such American favorites as fried chicken.

**Chicken Troopers** sauces: Traditional Korean Sweet and Spicy; a Special (mouth-watering) Sweet and Spicy with Fresh White Onion & Cilantro and a Spicy BBQ.

Chef Sean An in his **Chicken Trooper**, Norwalk. Chicken pieces are cut small to get more crunch with each piece

The sauces on the chicken include Traditional Korean Sweet and Spicy; a Special (mouth-watering) Sweet and Spicy with Fresh White Onion & Cilantro and a Spicy BBQ. Chicken pieces are cut small to get more crunch with each piece. The coleslaw is the best anywhere. Also a must-try is the Army Base Stew (Budae Jjigae) and the Spicy Korean Chicken Stew.

Jennifer An holds **Chicken Trooper’s** charbroiled sweet honey chicken and spicy “angry chicken”.

**Chicken Troopers** coleslaw is the best anywhere

The infamous Spam (also a favorite in Hawaii since World War II’s American influence), shows up on the Chicken Trooper menu in the Americanized Korean army stew., Budae Jjigae ($11) chicken. The beef based broth stew holds beans, franks, Korean black pig sausage, spam, onion, pork bear, corn, kimchi, ramen noodles. Cheese can be added ($1.50). Sean’s beef broth is sublime, and I remember first having it 15 years ago at e3rd Steakhouse before an event!

There is also a Spicy Korean chicken stew (Dakbokeumtang) ($12) Drumsticks in a spicy red sauce along with potatoes, carrots, onions. Served with rice. The kimchi fried rice, a kimchi chicken sandwich are other popular

**Chicken Troopers** is kid/family friendly and welcomes “kids” of all ages

The soaring, clean space at **Chicken Troopers**

Fried chicken has been huge in South Korea for a decade. There are about 50,000 fried chicken restaurants throughout the country, dozens in one neighborhood that laws had to be written to regulate the number opening on one block. Most are small franchises that deliver to your door on motorbike.

The ingredients and ideas may have started with the Korean war, mid-century, but Jeong Eun-jeong’s book “The Tale of Chicken in the Republic of Korea,” reports these restaurants exploded onto the scene 20 years ago, following the devastating Asian financial crisis. Many Korean men lost their jobs and opened chicken franchises at that time,” she says.

Talented Chef Sean An designed the Chicken Troopers restaurant interior and the logo

She says that has a lot to do with why South Koreans eat so much fried chicken today — suddenly there were just so many of these restaurants. entrepreneurs continue to open chicken franchises because of the low initial investment and overhead costs, even if they have no experience in the food industry or don’t know how to cook.

Chicken Troopers, 13302 Rosecrans Ave., Norwalk, California, 562. 219.0593. Hours: Monday – Saturday. Chickentroopersla.com .

Parking front and back at Chicken Troopers, right off the 5 freeway in Norwalk

How 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken Became Westernized

October 28, 2019 Comments Off

Inspired manager, Tana, ready to help you love Korean fried chicken at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

(Gerry Furth-Sides) The new, Singapore based, 4Fingers Crispy Chicken store on Sawtelle in West LA, serving Korean-style, fried chicken, shows off the best of American entrepreneurship. The colorful, minimalist atmosphere feels organic with wood tables under an airy, two-story ceiling. We know that Asian fried chicken is light, and Korean fried chicken turns out to be the lightest of them. The skin is barely battered and crispier with very moist meat. On the other hand, American-style fried chicken relies on a thick, well-seasoned crust for crunch, often made even thicker by soaking the chicken pieces beforehand in buttermilk.

You can read the several options of the clear, quick-service, illustrated menu above the ordering counter almost as soon as you walk in the door The food is prepared and served as efficiently and almost as quickly as any McDonald’s, and the staff is friendly. They appear from behind the counter to present your food, and to keep the place immaculate.

However, we weren’t prepared to find someone as inspired, welcoming and capable at manager, Tana. She will be the deciding “return customer” factor on the competitive street. And from our experience and the guests we chatted with (each with their own favorite way of cooking fried chicken), she is right on track.

Tana bringing the order of Korean fried chicken at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

Signature wings are dipped in one of three commonly used flavors for Korean fried chicken: hot or soy garlic or a combination of the two. Want the dip in separate dish? You got it. The hormone-free, free-range chicken has an ultra-crisp skin and and contains no processed ingredients.

Signature wings at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

4 Fingers was founded by four friends who experienced Korean-style fried chicken for the first time while vacationing in New York City. Their goal was to evolve big chain’ formulaic fried chicken into something new, adding the concept of sustainability and health, while keeping the crispiness and flavor of the bird. There are many other chains which use their motto: “To serve the world Great Food. Fast.” But this concept is different. Their sustainable serving dishes say it all.

The absolutely ingenious “plate” at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken. The paper pops out to be discarded. The pan keeps the food hot.

At 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken, “voila!” The disposable paper pops out of the pans to be discarded.

Even the paper cups and straws are sustainable at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken,

4Fingers follows afarm to fork concept, offering fresh chicken, freshly baked burger buns and kimslaw (kimchi coleslaw) that’s fermented onsite. Also on the menu are chicken burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Side items include steamed white rice and french fries with the same coating options.

Crispy fried are cut-thin, par-boiled and then fried to ensure a tender inside and crispy outside at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken.

Kinchi Slaw is very moist and filled with kimchi sauce fermented on site at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

The Asian-inspired menu also offers vegan options plus preservative-free, all natural sauces with no MSG. And very piece of chicken is hand brushed to ensure the highest quality.

The “fried chicken chop” at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken!

The company looks to adapt to local tastes to attract more customers and be competitive. So it is no surprise that a vegan burger option is in the offing on a limited time offer basis . Right now Kyochon and Bonchon are the biggest competitors in the Korean fried chicken market.

The clear, illustrated menu is so easy to read over the counter at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken!

Arun Ratnaa, head of marketing for the chain explains the location choice of Sawtelle as being “home to a vibrant community much akin to the melting pot we call home, a culturally rich enclave that is bustling with charm that makes it uniquely LA.” The truth is that the street, Sawtelle, was once the center of a thriving Japanese demographic, rich with highly respected nurseries and restaurants. Through the years as real estate skyrocketed, the businesses which required land, such as the nurseries, disappeared, along with the small YMCA. During this century, small, fast-service Asian restaurants appeared and thrived and took over.

Still, 4 Fingers does a “Wally Amos” of the Famous Amos Cookie move right on the outside, but not in the thick of the competition on stretch street jammed with traffic. They are located in the shopping center in the SouthEast corner of Olympic and Sawtelle. So there is also free parking! (though when we were there the beginning of lunch hour the parking structure was gridlocked with what felt like a throng of last-minute Christmas holiday shoppers.

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken!

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays. The four-year-old 4 Fingers chain has grown to 35 stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Additional outlets are in the works for Orange County with others soon to come in Texas.

4Fingers Crispy Chicken. 2206 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064.

South City Fried Chicken: the Best of Americana

July 31, 2018 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides, photos courtesy South City Fried Chicken except noted). We love everything about the phenomenally talented and hospitable team at Preux & Proper, so we were eager to try sibling South City Fried Chicken, an easy walk of a block or so apart on Spring Street DTLA.

The FOOD HALL has a daunting name (think the chaotic, gentrified Central Market) but is actually an inviting, just-right size double storefront space with soaring, open ceilings and a variety of ethnic food performance kitchens.

Community-minded, a discount is offered to all first-responders who walk in the big, open wide door.

Fried chicken seems to be the current “darling” of food these days. It is also one of the five most popular foods in the world. So, along with just about everyone else, I love fried chicken. And it is the one thing I really know how to cook, learned from my passionate European cook mom. Legendary dancer Paula Kelly, in fact, claimed it was “the best-fried chicken I ever ate” when I served it in the Beverly Hills Hilton green room one year at the Jimmy Awards.

Chef Sammy Monsour in the kitchen

Fried chicken alone embodies a collection of great American culinary stories as told through regional specialties. It all started in the United States with the Scots, who had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat as far back as the middle ages (The English baked or boiled their chicken.) Later Scottish immigrants who moved to the southern United States made fried chicken a common staple, especially since it traveled so well before refrigeration. African slaves who became cooks in southern households enriched the flavors with their own seasonings and spices.

Fried chicken in all its forms continues to be one of Americans’ top five favorite dishes, and served for summer holidays, Sunday dinner or.. anytime. Coleslaw and potato salad, with biscuits just out of the oven, are classic side dishes.

South City Fried Chicken Sandwich

Asians have their own version, called a Crispy fried chicken, a standard dish in the Cantonese cuisine of southern China and Hong Kong. The white meat of a chicken is fried so that the skin is extremely crunchy, but the white meat is relatively tender. Pepper salt, and prawn crackers, fried separately, are served with it. The dish is eaten at night and served at weddings.

Korean fried chicken or seasoned chicken is eaten as fast food, snack food or bar food served with pickled radishes, beer, and soju. Small chickens are fried whole then cut up. With larger American chickens, only wings and drumsticks are used. Fat is removed from the skin so that the coating fries up as crackly-thin and then seasoned. For details, please see Duff Goldman’s website, which also shares his way to fry chicken perfectly: //www.ergochef.com/blog/history-of-fried-chicken-spotlight-on-chef-duff-goldman/

Daisy – Cheery and ready to answer all questions about South City Fried chicken sandwiches

The Austro-Hungarian version my mom taught me starts by removing the skin, then replacing it with a flour, seasoned breadcrumb and egg wash coating before frying. Using Asian panko made of rice flour adds a new crunchy twist. We loved it at home, served with homemade French Fries and coleslaw. That is until my mom read an article listing the demerits of fried food. I must say that her seasoned, baked chicken and (horizontally), potatoes were a surprisingly fantastic substitute.

Here, the short but sweet South City Fried Chicken menu was created after owner/operator Joshua Kopel and Executive Chef-partner, Sammy spent a year on the road “getting in touch with their roots and cultivating the essence of Southern cuisine.”

Charismatic Chef Sammy, a third-generation chef who grew up in his father’s kitchen in Chapel Hill, NC. Monsour’s food reflects his classical training at the CIA, his Lebanese ancestry, and his Southern roots. The sandwiches reflect this goal.

Chef-partner, Sammy Monsour. (Gerry Furth-Sides photo)

“Southern Scratch Cooking” defines the South City Fried Chicken kitchen, and the Fried Chicken sandwiches, “from dill pickles to the collard green kimchi,” explains Chef-partner, Sammy Monsour. //www.southcityfriedchicken.com

The first part of the menu is made up of Chapel Hill; Greenville; Birmingham and New Orleans. The second half entitled, “Let’s Spice Things Up” is thoughtfully listed from “hot” to “hottest”! The Miami features jerk spice, the Austin layers Javi’s tia’s hot sauce into the chicken

The CHAPEL HILL, NC: pop’s slaw, house pickles, jenny’s pimento cheese, crispy tar heel country ham ($13.99)

The South City Fried Chicken CHAPEL HILL, NC Sandwich

The Greenville, SC: duke’s mayonnaise, house smoked chicken bacon, gruyere, shaved baby iceberg, heirloom tomato, bo-spice ($13.99) Bo is shown below and served us our sandwich. The special spice in his namesake sauce? Paprika.

The South City Fried Chicken GREENVILLE, SC:

Bo serves up the “Greenville” of house-smoked chicken bacon,

South City Fried Chicken sandwiches combine just about every side dish, seasoning, and spice known to this dish. Each one honors the tradition and ingredients representative of specific “city in the south”.

BIRMINGHAM, AL: Alabama white, hickory smoked onions, horseradish chimichurri, Tillamook cheddar ($12.99)

The Birmingham, AL sandwich

LOUISVILLE, KY: pepper jelly, bourbon barrel aged green hot, poblano butter ($11.99)

City Fried Chicken The Louisville

The NEW ORLEANS, LA creole remoulade, cajun spice, Thai basil, fried egg, collard green kimchi, Comprised of Cajun spice straight from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe book, so revered by Chef Sammy that at age 13 he spent hours standing in line to have his book signed and shake the iconic Chef’s hand.

The New Orleans Sandwich

The Miami, FL: jerk spice, lemongrass remoulade, mint, jalapeno, lime, shaved baby iceberg, heirloom tomato ($12.99)

The Austin, TX: Rojo bean hummus, burrata, Javi’s tia’s hot sauce, pickled radish, cilantro, blue corn tortilla crumble, heirloom tomato ($13.99)

The South City Fried Chicken AUSTIN, TX sandwich

The Nashville, TN: Nashville hothouse pickles, cookout slaw choose I hot/xxx / reaper ($11.99)

The Nashville, TN at South City Fried Chicken

And for dessert, a “DoleWhip soft serve — it looks small but it is just the right fish!

South City Fried Chicken, DTLA, 724 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90014, 213-278-0008. Hours: 12-9 daily.

For a description of other fried chicken types that mostly leave out the solid crunch appeal of the classic, please see: //www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/all-the-different-styles-of-fried-chicken-thrillist-nation

Korean fried chicken

Chicken Troopers and How Korean Fried Chicken Became Crazy Popular

How 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken Became Westernized

South City Fried Chicken: the Best of Americana

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