Crisp fried chicken and vegetables in a silky sweet and tangy sauce.

Yangnyeom Stir Fry

Serves 4

Yangnyeom is a Korean word meaning seasoned. A yangnyeom sauce can take on two variations that I have seen. The base is typically either soy sauce or gochujang. The gochujang-based version is sweet and spicy and used to coat one of Korea’s top take-out favorites, Yangnyeom Chicken or, fried chicken tossed in yangnyeom sauce. For this recipe, I made a modified yangnyeom as the base of the sauce.

Is cold fried chicken is a guilty pleasure of yours? It is definitely one of mine! Unfortunately, cold fried chicken isn’t exactly a full meal. This leftover fried chicken stir fry is a completely new way to enjoy your leftover chicken. Inspired by Korean Tangsuyuk or Sweet and Sour Pork, this dish uses leftovers to make a quick dinner. Here in Korea, before closing, premade food is usually deeply discounted. I’ve been known to buy a bucket of chicken late at night and put it in the fridge just to make this the next day. This dish is particularly tasty because the fried chicken is coated in sauce but it does not get soggy because of the thickness of the sauce. I use about 50% chicken and 50% vegetables because I find this to be the ratio that works best. I usually serve it with some sort of fresh vegetable salad on the side as well.

Ingredients

8 – 10 pieces of leftover fried chicken pieces or 12 – 16 leftover chicken tenders

Yangnyeom Sauce

2 T ketchup

1.5 T gochugang

1 T soy sauce

1 T sugar or honey

1 T rice vinegar

1.5 t sesame oil

0.75 t Worcestershire

0.25 t onion powder

0.25 t garlic powder

0.25 t ground black pepper

1/8 t ground ginger

1/8 t five spice powder

1/8 t MSG

Pinch of nutmeg

Slurry

4 t cornstarch

4 t water

Stir Fry

2 T vegetable oil

15g (1 T) ginger, minced

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 cheongyang or serrano chilis, sliced

1 non spicy red chili, sliced

200g (1 medium) carrot, sliced into 0.25 in slices

100g (4 medium) shiitake mushrooms, sliced

0.50 t kosher salt

0.50 t ground black pepper

1/8 t ground cinnamon

3 T oyster sauce

1 T soy sauce

250ml (1.25 c) water

1 T maesil or honey

1 T rice vinegar

320g (about 0.75 lb) zucchini or korean squash, cut into 1 in chunks

300g (1 large) onion, cut into 1/8’s

150g (1 small) green pepper, cut into 1 in chunks

100g (1/2 medium) yellow pepper, cut into 1 in chunks

Recipe Know-how

1.      Preheat oven or air fryer to 200 C / 400 F.

• Line a baking sheet or air fryer basket with parchment. Set aside.

2.      In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, mixing well. Set aside.

3.      In a small mixing bowl, combine the slurry ingredients, mixing well. Set aside.

4.      In a large saute pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium high.

• Add ginger, garlic and chilis. Saute for 30 seconds.

• Add carrots, mushrooms, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Saute for 2 minutes.

• Add the oyster sauce and cook for 45 seconds.

• Add the soy sauce and cook for 45 seconds longer.

• Add water, maesil and vinegar and bring to a boil uncovered.

Continue with Step 5.

5.      Place chicken in the oven or air fryer.

• Flip every 5 – 6 minutes for 10 – 15 minutes or until heated through and crisp.

Continue with Step 6 while chicken cooks, remembering to flip at least halfway through.

6.      Once boiling, cook sauce for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.

• Add the squash and onions to the sauce. Cook for 6 minutes.

• Add the peppers and cook for 3 – 4 minutes longer.

I like the vegetables to retain some crisp. 10 minutes of cooking does this well for me. For softer vegetables, cook for 3 – 5 minutes longer.

• Bring sauce to a full boil.

• Give the slurry a good stir and pour into the sauce.

• Stirring constantly, cook the sauce for 1 – 2 minutes or until thickened and glossy.

7.      Place hot chicken on a serving dish and pour the sauce on top.

Optionally, the chicken can be tossed through the sauce prior to being placed on the serving dish.

8.      Serve immediately with rice and cucumber salad.