Best Protein Cuts and Ingredients for Deep Frying (튀김)

You can deep fry a variety of ingredients, from proteins to vegetables.

Chicken cuts for deep frying:

Numerous chicken cuts can be used. The best ones are the thighs and the legs of the chicken.

Keep in mind that light meat cooks faster than dark meat.

• Neck (목심): This cut is soft and chewy.
• Breast (가슴살): This cut is tough, is low in fat, and has a clean flavor.
• Tenderloin (안심): This cut has no fat and is very soft and tender.
• Breast quarter (어깨살): This cut is soft and contains no fat. It has a clean taste.
• Wing (날개): This cut contains collagen and is high in protein. Chicken wings are popular to fry because they have enough bone and fat to stay moist when deep fried.
• Thigh (넓적다리): This cut has little fat and a nice umami flavor.

Pork cuts for deep frying:

• Loin (등심) This cut is low in fat and has a light, clean flavor. Its texture is very soft.
• Tenderloin (안심) This cut has little fat and a soft texture.

Popular seafood for deep frying:

You can deep fry seafood such as squid, octopus, shrimp, oysters, or clams. Seafood cooks quickly in the deep fryer, so only fry for a short time. Fry squid and octopus for an even shorter time to avoid a chewy, rubbery texture. The best kind of fish to fry is lean fish. Lean fish have a low-fat content, so they can develop a dry texture if overcooked. Some examples of lean fish that are popular to fry are Flounder, Sole, Cod, Red Snapper, Bass, Perch, Halibut, and Pike.

• Squid (오징어)
• Octopus (문어)
• Shrimp (새우)
• Oyster (굴)
• Clams (꼬막)
• Hypomesus nipponensis (빙어) (can be fried and eaten whole)

Tofu for deep frying:

Based on the type of tofu (water content of the tofu), you will be able to achieve different textures when it is deep fried. Soft/silken, medium firm, and firm/extra firm are all types of tofu that work well when deep fried. I personally love deep frying soft/silken tofu. It is basically creamy in texture on the inside and crisp on the outside when deep-fried.

Do not deep fry the tofu used for soft tofu soup (순두부) because it is too tender. When I say silken, I mean “American silken or soft”.

If you want to give a meaty texture to your tofu, then you can freeze medium firm or firm/extra firm tofu overnight and then defrost it in the fridge. It will naturally turn yellow when frozen but once defrosted, you can squeeze and remove all liquid, marinade, and deep fry.

Deep frying rice cakes:

You need to be very careful when deep frying rice cakes. If there is any water on the rice cake then it will explode in the oil. I would recommend you use fresh never frozen rice cakes for deep frying since there is no liquid or water on them. Just be careful when deep frying rice cakes and only fry a small amount at a time.