Air fryer Korean crispy chicken with honey and chilli glaze

Korean crispy chicken in the style of Korean fried chicken, made in the air fryer: chicken thighs coated in potato starch and glazed with honey, soy sauce and gochugaru. A dairy-free dinner with rice.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 20 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 45 min
• Calories: 509 kcal per serving
• Protein: 35 g
• Fat: 12 g
• Carbs: 65 g

Ingredients

• 600g boneless chicken thigh fillets
• 10g fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 40g potato starch
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 10g fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 200g short-grain rice
• 300g cucumber
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 spring onions

Method

You’ll need: air fryer · frying pan · saucepan · chopping board · knife · grater · spatula

1. Cut the chicken thighs into 4 cm pieces. Grate the ginger and garlic for the chicken over them, season with salt and pepper and leave to marinate for 10 min.
2. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Toss the chicken pieces in the potato starch and shake off any excess.
3. Lay the pieces side by side in the air fryer basket, brush them with olive oil and cook at 200 °C for 18 min. Turn them halfway through.
4. In a large frying pan, simmer the honey, soy sauce, gochugaru, rice vinegar, sesame oil and the grated ginger and garlic for the glaze for 2 min, until it thickens.
5. Toss the chicken in the glaze until every piece is coated. Slice the cucumber and cut the spring onions into rings.
6. Serve the chicken on the rice, scatter over the sesame seeds and spring onions and add the cucumber on the side.

Good to know

In 2026, Korean fried chicken is on almost every list of viral TikTok recipes – the original is deep-fried twice in lots of oil. In the air fryer, one tablespoon of olive oil is enough, and the potato starch still makes the crust crisp. The glaze only goes on just before serving.

Swaps

Chicken thighs → cauliflower florets (vegetarian, cook for 15 min). Soy sauce → tamari (gluten-free). Honey → maple syrup. Gochugaru → sweet paprika with a pinch of cayenne pepper (milder).

Cooking tips

Leave space between the pieces in the basket, or they'll steam instead of browning. Only glaze just before serving so the crust stays crisp.

Storage

Unglazed chicken keeps for 2 days in the fridge and crisps up again in the air fryer at 200 °C in 5 min.

Allergens

Contains soya, sesame and gluten (soy sauce); no milk, egg or nuts. Gluten-free with tamari; for children, use less gochugaru – and no honey for babies under one year old.

Dairy-free recipes