Most culinary historians agree that black American soldiers stationed in Korea during the Korean War (June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953) taught the Korean soldiers with whom they fought side-by-side how to make fried chicken. Popular theory holds that black American soldiers wanting to celebrate American Thanksgiving feasted with fried chicken. (Apparently not even scrounge-master Radar O’Reilly could find a turkey in the entire Korean peninsula). The fried chicken was shared with their Korean compatriots.
Before that memorable Thanksgiving celebration, chicken in Korea was commonly served boiled in stews. Eating it fried was an entirely new experience for the Korean soldiers. Though fried chicken was an instant hit, the war thoroughly devastated the Korean economy. Essential ingredients for fried chicken – such as chicken and cooking oil – were extraordinarily scarce and beyond most people’s financial reach. In fact, cooking oil was not even commercially available until the 1970s. During the 1960s, whole rotisserie chicken became a coveted luxury dish served on special occasions in Korea.
The commercialization of inexpensive cooking oil in 1971 coupled with a period of economic boom and incredibly rapid industrialization which gave Korean people more disposable income, and made chicken far more affordable for far more people. Soon fried chicken restaurants–including Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in 1984–began to supplant rotisserie chicken restaurants. Before long fried chicken experienced a boom in growth and popularity. Eventually, restaurants began developing new flavors and techniques in order to compete and sell their chicken.
By 2016, one out of every four restaurant franchises in South Korea were fried chicken restaurants. Today, there are more fried chicken restaurants in South Korea than there are McDonald’s locations across the globe! It became inevitable that some of the more successful South Korean franchises would establish a presence across the fruited plain. Among those was Kokio which opened its doors in 2013 in Los Angeles and Orange County neighborhoods. Today, Kokio can be found in Texas, Washington, Maryland, Virginia and (as of February, 2024) in Albuquerque. Kokio can also be found in Cairo, Egypt and Berlin, Germany among other cities. (Thank you to Cranky Crow for apprising me of the Duke City instantiation of Kokio).
“What’s so special about Korean fried chicken,” you ask. For one thing, it’s generally fried twice, rendering the crust crispier than American fried chicken and virtually grease-free (though it’s still just as calorically endowed as any Southern fried chicken). It’s often coated with a sticky, sweet, spicy sauce. Kokio’s chicken is marinated and seasoned with a “secret blend of herbs and spices” (take that, Colonel Sanders) and double-fried to achieve its signature flavor and crunch. Kokio’s housemade batter and sauces are applied to wings, drumsticks, whole chicken (including boneless), chicken tenders, grilled chicken bowls and much more. Signature sauces range from extra spicy to an original sauce that doesn’t have much bite.
If you’re wondering what “Kokio” means in English, it’s an onomatopoeia (the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it) similar to swoosh, bang, pow and oink. While Western ears may be awakened by a rooster’s “cock-a-doodle” greeting, in Korea roosters crow “kokio.” Yeah, I don’t hear it either. Albuquerque’s Kokio is located on Menaul just west of Wyoming. You’ll b greeted by a perpetually smiling Korean woman who will take your order and deliver your food to your table. Like Korean roosters she’s got a bit of an accent, but she’s easy to understand.
For my friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver and I, deciding what to order tends to be a challenge. We normally want to try everything. Ultimately, we decided to try a “half-chicken” with bone in and a half-chicken sans bone. The bone-in chicken would be extra spicy and the boneless chicken would be bathed in a gochujang-sweet chile-based sauce. We also figured pickled radishes would be a great palate cleanser in between bites. As modeled above Vanna White-style by Sr. Plata, a half-order is pretty sizable. Fortunately so are we.
We were unanimous in preferring the extra spicy, bone-in chicken which included six pieces of thickly-battered, super crispy and delicious chicken. Unlike Nashville hot chicken, there was no sauce to stain our hands and shirts. And unlike Kentucky Fried Chicken, this chicken wasn’t as oily and messy as a 1950s “Greaser” hairstyle. Kokio’s chicken has a delightful crunch which doesn’t crumble and land all over your clothing. The chicken is moist and delicious. It’s no wonder, aficionados consider Kukio “the real KFC.”
Our second half-chicken order was boneless and battered in a gochujang-sweet chili sauce. Because not all diners would enjoy a gochujang-based sauce (a sweet, savory, fermented and spicy red chili paste popular in Korean cooking), adding sweet chili tempers gochujang’s pungency and heat. Even heavily sauced, it’s not as messy as most chicken. The sauce isn’t particularly spicy (for New Mexicans), but has a pleasant heat.
If you haven’t experienced Korean fried chicken at Kokio or Albuquerque’s K-Style Kitchen, you’re overdue for enjoying some of the best fried chicken you’ve ever had. South Korea may have been late in adapting this American favorite, but it’s got the fruited chain’s chicken franchises beaten.
Kokio Korean Fried Chicken
8019 Menaul Blvd., N.E. Suite A
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 308-3179
Website |
LATEST VISIT: 14 August 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET:
REVIEW #1415
Joined my good Friend and Culinary Sensei on a KFC journey. That’s Korean fried chicken , not Kentucky. It was funny, I looked at the name of the restaurant when we sat down and that name brought me some Deja Vu then I remembered there was a Kokio Chicken near where my Father’s Office was in West Los Angeles. A Google search confirmed that it was the same restaurant franchise and thankfully these nice people who opened one in Albuquerque!
All what Gil said was true for what we ordered. I found the sauce on the boneless a bit too sweet, maybe adding more NM chile would have balanced the flavor for me. Then again the boned chicken with dry spiciness in the batter was very good and I had wished I had more of it. We had vegetable dumplings that were good (tho there was a herb I I didn’t prefer) but was good when dunked into the sauce. And Sensei was right, the radish was really good and indeed cleans the palate.
The owners seemed like good people and were very kind to us.