Bold, spicy flavors have never been more in demand, especially when they add a global element to a dish. One of my favorite foods these days is Korean fried chicken, which I ate twice on a recent trip to New York City.

Celebrated for its crispy exterior and tender interior, Korean fried chicken has been a staple late-night snack in South Korea since the late 1970s and early ’80s. It’s typically known as “drinking food,” or anju, though Koreans also enjoy the crispy pieces of meat with non-alcoholic drinks.

Sticky, gotta-lick-your-fingers-after-you-eat-it yangnyeom dak is especially popular. It’s glazed in a spicy-sweet sauce made with Korean chili paste, golden (corn) syrup, ketchup and sugar that give Korean fried chicken its fireworks.

It’s one of those dishes you order as an appetizer for the table, and after the first saucy taste, wish you could keep all for yourself.

In Korea, the dish is most often made with bone-in chicken thighs or wings that have been coated in a cornstarch mixture. Traditionally, the chicken is fried twice to take it to the next level of crunchiness.

I’ve adapted this recipe from my son Dan’s favorite cookbook, “The Korean Cookbook” by Junghyun Park and Jungyoon Choi (Phaidon Press, $54.95), to use chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of bone-in, skin-on pieces for easier eating. In a break from tradition, it’s only fried once before being tossed in the sauce.

So how did I achieve the thin, crispy texture that defines the dish? The coating is made with a packaged, cornstarch-based fried chicken mix commonly sold in Korea, which I bought on Amazon (but should also be available in well-stocked Asian markets).

You also can make the batter from scratch by mixing ½ cup cornstarch with ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large bowl and whisking until it’s well-combined. Then, add enough cold water (½ to 1 cup) until it has the consistency of thin paint.

My local grocery doesn’t stock Korean soy sauce, which is a little lighter and saltier than Japanese or Chinese soy sauce. But no worries, my trusty bottle of all-purpose Kikkoman is always at the ready.

The cookbook’s authors suggest eating half the chicken naked and the other half tossed in the sauce to enjoy the dish two different ways. If you like, you can garnish it with toasted sesame seeds and serve it alongside kimchi, pickled radishes or a spicy cucumber salad.

At restaurants, Korean fried chicken is often served as an appetizer; for dinner, it’s great on a bed of steamed white rice.

Your mouth may burn a little after you take that first saucy bite, but it’s so good you’ll forget about it before reaching for another chunk.

Sweet and Spicy Korean Fried Chicken

PG tested

For the sauce

3 tablespoons corn syrup

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons gochujang (red chili paste)

2 tablespoons ganjang (Korean soy sauce)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ tablespoon fine gochugaru (red chili powder)

1 tablespoon sugar

For the chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon MSG

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Neutral cooking oil for deep frying

1½ cups Korean seasoned fried chicken mix

Make sauce: In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup, ketchup, gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru, garlic and sugar.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes before removing from heat.

Prepare chicken: Pat chicken dry with paper towels. In a bowl, sprinkle chicken with MSG, sugar and black pepper and mix well. Let sit 15 minutes.

Pour 3 inches neutral oil into a large deep pot or deep fryer and heat to 355 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together 6½ tablespoons of the fried chicken mix and 4 tablespoons water to make a batter. Mix well until uniform. Add chicken pieces, and stir to combine.

Place the remaining 1 cup fried chicken mix in a large plastic bag.

Place half the chicken in the plastic bag and shake until well coated. Let settle for 30 seconds before removing from the bag, shaking off any excess. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Set a wire rack in a sheet pan. Once oil is up to temperature, reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove and set on the rack to cool for 3 minutes.

Sauce the chicken with the desired amount of sauce and toss well in a bowl.

Plate and serve immediately.

— adapted from “The Korean Cookbook” by Junghyun Park and Jungyoon Choi

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