Kimchi Chicken Burger Recipe Double-Fried for a Crust That Survives the Kimchi Mayo

Whisk the buttermilk and gochujang together in a bowl or resealable bag until the gochujang is fully dissolved and the mixture is a uniform pale orange. Submerge the chicken thighs completely, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours — the point our brine-time test found gave the best balance of tenderness and convenience, though overnight brining pushes the texture slightly further if you have the time.

Buttermilk’s mild lactic acidity works on the chicken’s proteins gently over time, tenderizing the meat without the mushiness a stronger acid marinade can cause. The gochujang folded into the brine does double duty here — a small amount of Korean chili paste flavour penetrates the meat itself, not just the surface, so the burger tastes seasoned in the middle, not only under the sauce. If you’d prefer the sharper, more savoury profile some recipes get from a soy-ginger marinade, whisk 1 tsp grated ginger into this brine — it layers on top rather than replacing the buttermilk’s tenderizing effect.

In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder and salt until evenly combined — this is the dredge blend that won our head-to-head test against rice flour alone and plain flour alone. Lift each chicken thigh out of the buttermilk brine, letting the excess drip off for a few seconds rather than shaking it dry, then press it firmly into the dredge on both sides, packing the coating on rather than just dusting it.

The cornstarch in this blend is doing specific work: it fries up lighter and crisper than flour alone, and the baking powder creates tiny air pockets in the coating as it fries, which is part of what gives Korean-style fried chicken its characteristically shatter-crisp, almost brittle texture rather than a heavier Southern-style crust.

While the oil heats, whisk Kewpie mayo, finely chopped kimchi, gochujang and rice vinegar in a small bowl until combined — this is a distinct sauce from the smoother gochujang mayo used on the classic beef build, with visible flecks of kimchi folded directly through it rather than blended smooth. Refrigerate until assembly.

This kimchi mayo is the primary source of heat and tang in the finished burger if you’re serving the chicken dry, which our testing still recommends by default. Taste and adjust the gochujang up or down here based on how spicy you want the final burger to be.

Squeeze the chopped, ripe Stage 3 kimchi firmly to remove excess brine, then toss with shredded napa cabbage, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sesame seeds. This step matters more here than it might seem — any liquid you don’t squeeze out now ends up softening the fried crust the moment the burger is assembled, undoing the work of the double-fry.

Optional kimchi bacon jam swap: if you want the sweeter, richer topping some kimchi chicken burger recipes use instead of a slaw, fry 3 slices of chopped bacon until crisp, then add the chopped kimchi and 1 tbsp brown sugar to the rendered fat and cook down for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sticky and jammy. It’s a genuinely different sandwich — several testers preferred it — but you lose the slaw’s clean, fresh crunch and add meaningful extra calories.

Heat neutral oil to 160°C (320°F) in a deep pot or Dutch oven — a thermometer removes almost all the guesswork here. Fry the dredged chicken for about 5 minutes until pale golden and cooked through, then lift out onto a wire rack (not paper towels, which trap steam against the crust) and rest for 3 minutes while the oil comes up to 190°C (375°F).

Fry a second time at the higher temperature for 2–3 minutes, until deep golden and audibly crackling when tapped with tongs — this second, hotter, shorter fry is what separates a genuinely shatter-crisp Korean-style crust from an ordinary fried chicken sandwich. It also purges some of the oil the first fry left in the coating, which is part of why double-fried chicken often tastes less greasy than single-fried, not more, despite touching hot oil twice.

Optional sticky glaze: if you want the glazed style popular UK recipes like School of Wok use, simmer 2 tbsp of the mayo’s gochujang mixed with 1 tbsp honey and 1 tsp soy sauce in a small pan until it coats the back of a spoon rather than pooling, then brush a thin layer over the just-fried chicken immediately before assembling. Tested against a wet sauce bath, this thin reduced glaze held up meaningfully better — though the plain dry crust with mayo only still stayed crisp the longest of all three.

While the chicken rests after its second fry, melt the butter in a clean pan over medium heat and toast the brioche buns cut-side down for 60–75 seconds until deep golden. Brioche’s structure and slight sweetness do the same job here they do on the classic beef build — resisting the wet toppings and balancing the gochujang’s heat.

Spread kimchi mayo generously on both toasted bun halves. Place the double-fried chicken (glazed or dry) on the bottom bun, pile the kimchi slaw or kimchi bacon jam on top, and scatter sliced spring onion. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately.

Of every build in this kimchi burger family, this one loses quality the fastest if it sits — the whole point of the double-fry is a crust that’s crisp right now, and every minute of standing time under the mayo works against that. If you’re serving a crowd, keep the fried chicken, mayo, and slaw separate until each plate is built.