11 June 2026
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Hot, crunchy fried chicken holds a special place in American dining culture, having graced Southern tables for centuries. The dish developed through a blend of culinary traditions brought by Scottish immigrants and West Africans, and it remains deeply tied to Southern cooking and Black culinary history. There’s even a National Fried Chicken Day in the United States, celebrated annually on July 6.
But fried chicken is beloved far beyond the American South. Versions of the dish can be found around the globe, from South Korea and Japan to China and India.
There are myriad ways to marinate, season, coat and fry the bird. The classic American version is often brined in buttermilk, dredged in seasoned flour and deep-fried until crisp. In Japan, karaage features bite-sized chicken pieces marinated before being coated in potato starch or flour and fried. In South Korea, yangnyeom chicken is fried twice, then tossed in a sauce composed of spices, ketchup and gochujang (fermented red chili paste).
While fried chicken is often associated with fast-food chains, restaurants across the country are reinterpreting the dish in inventive ways. Below, discover seven distinctive takes on the crispy bird from MICHELIN Guide restaurants.
Atoboy
New York City
At Atoboy, sharing Korean culture through a modern, approachable lens has always been central to the restaurant’s identity. The restaurant’s four-course prix-fixe menu changes often, but regulars know not to skip the fried chicken add-on.
For Chef Junghyun Park, the dish is rooted in nostalgia. “Fried chicken is something that is deeply nostalgic and familiar in Korean food culture, but we wanted to elevate it using restaurant techniques and fermentation,” he says.
Unlike many versions of Korean fried chicken that lean heavily battered, Atoboy’s is intentionally light, crisp and layered in flavor. The kitchen uses a multi-step process involving brining, fermentation and double frying to build complexity.
“The fermented jalapeño marinade gives acidity, heat and umami, while ingredients like pineapple help tenderize the meat naturally,” says Park. “I also think the texture is unique because we combine flour, rice flour, tapioca starch and xanthan gum, which creates a crust that is crispy but still delicate and airy rather than greasy.”
The sauces are equally important to the final balance. A fermented peanut butter sauce adds nuttiness, acidity and creaminess, while the gochujang-based “yangyummy” sauce delivers sweet heat.
Copra
San Francisco, California
Chef Srijith Gopinathan’s Copra is a love letter to the cuisine of his home state of Kerala in India, where people set up street carts (thattukada) at sunset and fry chicken late into the night.
“They fill cast-iron woks with coconut oil and fry the chicken in them,” Gopinathan says. “It’s fun to watch, because the street vendors bring in a high-pressure burner that makes a dramatic noise, and they fry and retrieve the chicken with a big metal spider.”
At Copra, the integrity of the original dish is preserved, though Gopinathan uses high-quality halal chicken and local spices. “We use a paste of byadgi chili (a fiery, aromatic chili mainly grown in Karnataka) for the batter because it has lots of flavor and not too much heat, then we top the dish with grilled green chili if people want more spice.”
The chicken is topped with crunchy masala crumbs and fried curry leaves, among other things. It’s flavorful enough to eat on its own, though it also pairs well with flaky parotta or thayir vadai chaat, a lentil fritter soaked in yogurt sauce and topped with tangy tamarind and fresh grapes.
The Jerk Shack
San Antonio, Texas
After serving 10 years in the U.S. Army, Chef Nicola Blaque embarked on a culinary career that eventually led her to open The Jerk Shack, where Caribbean and Jamaican flavors reign supreme. While diners may show up for the fiery jerk chicken, Blaque makes sure the fried chicken is just as memorable.“Growing up, my mom would fry chicken down to this gorgeous honey-brown color — that was her base for brown stew chicken. And I would sneak pieces right before they went into the stew,” says Blaque. “That flavor, that color, I carried it with me everywhere. When I started creating our fried chicken, I just wanted to give it its own plate.”
The legs and thighs sit for 24 hours in a Caribbean spice brine scented with citrus, pimento, bay leaves, thyme, habanero and a few other ingredients before being coated in a dairy-free batter and fried to order. “By the time that chicken hits the oil, the flavor is already living in the meat,” says Blaque.
The result is deeply flavorful fried chicken with a honey-brown crust that’s crisp on the outside and juicy within. Blaque likes it best paired with mac and cheese, collard greens and fried sweet plantains, whose sweetness balances the spice perfectly.
Kindred
Davidson, North Carolina
At Joe and Katy Kindred’s eponymous spot, Kindred, you’ll find a plethora of Southern classics with creative reiterations. “As a chef in the South, I find it my duty to incorporate fun twists on Southern classics,” says Joe. For his fried chicken, that means brining the meat in a pickle solution for 12 hours, which both tenderizes and lightly sweetens it. “Anytime you can incorporate pickles and fried chicken in a dish, it’s fun and takes diners back to their childhood.”
While Joe prefers using chicken thighs, he occasionally swaps in game birds like quail. After the long brine, the chicken is drained, dredged in flour, submerged in whole-fat buttermilk, then coated once more in flour before frying. Once cooked, it rests for at least 10 minutes before being seasoned with salt and served.
Here, the sides are just as important as the bird itself, especially the Alabama White Sauce — the tangy mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce first developed by Big Bob Gibson in Decatur, Alabama, in the 1920s. Kindred’s version starts with Duke’s mayonnaise and cider vinegar before being seasoned with charred green onion powder or ramp powder made from dehydrated ramp tops. A scattering of poppy seeds adds subtle texture and crunch.
Lungi
New York, New York
South India meets Sri Lanka at Lungi, where Chef/co-owner Albin Vincent shares the passion for cooking he learned from his grandmother. On the menu is poricha kozhi (Malayalam for fried chicken), a staple in homes as well as street food stalls.
Dark meat chicken is marinated in a blend that includes ginger, garlic, coriander, curry leaves and Kashmiri chilis, which give the chicken its reddish hue. It’s dredged in rice flour and gram flour (made from chickpeas) — adding nuttiness and a unique texture — along with yogurt. The chicken is then fried in ghee or coconut oil, resulting in a rich flavor and a super-crispy crunch.
“Different regions in India offer unique twists on fried chicken, such as the spicy Andhra-style-fried chicken or tangy Kerala-style, each boasting distinct flavors and ingredients,” says Vincent.
Rasarumah
Los Angeles, California
At Rasarumah, located in historic Filipinotown, Chef Johnny Lee offers an array of Chinese-Malaysian dishes. A standout is his khao man gai — fried Hainan chicken served with garlic rice, ginger scallion sauce and sour sambal (a Southeast Asian condiment).
The chicken is marinated with garlic and onion powder plus a touch of five-spice powder, then battered in a mix of cornstarch, tapioca flour, oat flour and potato starch to keep it gluten-free.
Rather than cooking the chicken all at once, the kitchen fries it in stages. “We do a par-fry on the chicken, then fry it again upon pickup to make it extra crispy,” says Lee. His tip: add the stir-fried sprouted cauliflower to round out the meal.
Soby’s
Greenville, South Carolina
Southern cooking takes center stage at Soby’s and fried chicken is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. The recipe has been on the menu for more than a decade.
It begins with Joyce Farms bone-in chicken breasts, which are brined in a combination of water, salt and Crystal Hot Sauce before being marinated overnight in buttermilk and more hot sauce. “Buttermilk is the only dairy I use for chicken as it’s naturally higher in lactic acid, making it acidic,” says Executive Chef Jon Buck. This tenderizes the meat and helps it stay moist during frying; it also helps the coating adhere.
Buck also relies on a key step before the chicken hits the fryer. Rather than dredging and frying immediately, the chicken is first coated in flour and allowed to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. It’s then dipped into buttermilk, dredged once more in flour and rested again before frying. “This added step helps give the chicken that crackly, crispy crust that adheres well,” says Buck. The deeply golden crust stays attached with every bite.
The kitchen keeps the accompaniments simple — think blanched broccolini and mac and cheese — letting the fried chicken remain the focus. Still, Buck says there’s one finishing touch guests rave about most: the hot honey drizzle spooned over the top.
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Hero image: Caribbean and Jamaican style fried chicken. © The Jerk Shack
