Tongdak facts for kids
 |
|
| Alternative names | Whole chicken |
|---|---|
| Type | Fried chicken |
| Place of origin | Korea |
| Associated national cuisine | Korean cuisine |
| Main ingredients | Chicken, cooking oil |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul |
통닭
|
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | tongdak |
| McCune–Reischauer | t'ongdak |
| IPA | [tʰoŋ.dak̚] |
Tongdak (통닭) means "whole chicken" in Korean. It's a super tasty dish made by deep-frying an entire chicken! Imagine a crispy, golden-brown chicken that's cooked all at once.
This dish was really popular in the 1970s. Back then, it was pretty much the only type of fried chicken you could find in Korea. People often think of it as the original Korean fried chicken.
Today, there are many kinds of "whole chicken" dishes in Korea. So, to talk about the old-school 1970s style, people now call it yennal-tongdak (옛날통닭), which means "old-time whole chicken." You can still find this classic dish in many traditional markets and on streets in cities outside the capital. For example, Suwon in Gyeonggi Province is famous for its tongdak golmok (통닭골목), or "tongdak alley." This alley has lots of tongdak restaurants that have been around for over 40 years!
How Tongdak is Made
Making Tongdak involves a few simple steps to get that perfect crispy outside and juicy inside.
- First, a whole chicken is seasoned with salt and black pepper. This gives it a delicious flavor.
- Next, the chicken gets a very thin coating of a special kind of wheat flour. This flour helps make the skin extra crispy when it fries.
- Before frying, small cuts are made in the thicker parts of the chicken, like the breast and thighs. This helps the chicken cook evenly all the way through.
- Finally, the chicken is deep-fried slowly over low heat for a long time. This slow cooking makes sure the chicken is cooked perfectly and becomes wonderfully crispy.
