Twigim is one of my favorite Korean street foods! This is actually something I grew up eating at home a lot too- it’s easy to make and so tasty.

Twigim is the Korean version of the more well known Japanese tempura. Like tempura, twigim is any vegetable or meat that is deep fried in a light, crispy batter. This is one of the most common street foods you will see in Korea, and it is often paired with tteokbokki or served with a dipping sauce.

I usually just use twigim garu, which is a pre packaged powder for making the batter. All you need to add to it is cold water or club soda. In my opinion this is the best way to go, but since it may not be available to everyone, I came up with a batter using ingredients everyone should have access to.

Batter

• Cake flour- you can use all purpose flour, but cake flour has less gluten and is more ideal for a light & crispy batter.
• Corn starch- you need a starch for added crunch
• Baking powder- super important for creating a craggy coating. It also helps draw water to the surface so that it can evaporate while frying. The removal of moisture is key to getting it crispy.
• Seasoning- sea salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. You can use black pepper if you don’t have white- it will just have tiny black specks in it.
• Egg- beat the egg before adding to the batter.
• Cold club soda-you can also just use water, but I found that club soda really helps with making the better light and airy. Just make sure it is ice cold!

The batter should be thin & runny. A thicker batter won’t be as light and crispy- more like thick and crunchy. 

Tips for frying

Temperature & Time:

For me, 350ºF works well for any piece of vegetable/seafood I’m using. This is generally a safe bet for anything that doesn’t take that long to cook.

If you’re using anything that takes a long time to cook, it would be better to use lower heat (around 320ºF) for a longer period of time. This would apply to meats like beef & pork, and maybe potatoes if you’re cutting them thicker than 1 cm.  

Use a thermometer!

I used to think I was skilled enough as a cook to work without a thermometer. You can get good results without one for sure but once I started using a thermometer, I never went back. Keeping the oil at a steady, consistent temperature is extremely important and the best way to do that is to monitor with a thermometer. I use the Taylor Precision Candy Thermometer for all of my frying needs!

Drizzle some batter over the pieces when frying:

You don’t have to do this, but it will help to add more craggy pieces of batter around the edges so it’s crispier when you bite into it. It’s great for added texture and looks better too. 

Do not overcrowd the pan:

Only fry a few pieces at a time to avoid overcrowding. When you overcrowd a hot pan of oil, the temperature will drop too low and you’ll end up with soggy twigim. No one wants that!

Keep your oil clean by picking up the twigim crumbs:

The batter will inevitably scatter when it touches the oil, and you don’t want those pieces to burn and ruin the oil. Make sure you are cleaning the oil as you go, discarding the crumbs. You can keep the crumbs if you want to use as a crunchy garnish for something else. I use a skimming tool specifically designed for this, you can buy a similar one from Amazon here.

Double fry:

This is totally optional, but I recommend it for the squid. You don’t really need to double fry the other pieces, but since the squid has so much moisture, I found it super helpful to double fry it.

My favorite veggies/meat for twigim

You can use this batter to make any kind of twigim you want! My favorite pieces are Korean pepper, sweet potato, perilla leaf, and squid.

When I’m in Korea, I usually order these pieces of twigim and pair it with some tteokbokki. Gochu twigim (Korean pepper) is my absolute FAVORITE piece and it is SOOOOO GOOD dipped into tteokbokki sauce! This combo is my #1 favorite for Korean street foods.

Here are some other common pieces:

• Shrimp
• Carrot
• Onion
• Green onion
• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Dumplings
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Lotus root

Instruction for reheating:

This batter will stay crispy for a long time. Even after a day left on the counter it was still crispy!

You can store these in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I think the best way to reheat them is to air fry at 375ºF for 3-4 minutes. You can also reheat in the oven.