How Fried Chicken Is Enjoyed In Countries Around The World

When many Americans think of "fried chicken," they also think of the South. Most of the fried chicken fast-food brands — KFC, Popeyes, and the like — boast their southern roots. However, fried chicken isn't entirely a southern invention. Its origins are a little more complex than that.

According to the BBC, it's suspected that the Scottish brought a harbinger of fried chicken to the American South when settling there centuries ago. Cookbooks and historical documents from 18th-century Scotland and Britain show frying methods for chicken and recount fried chicken dinners, and those methods made their way to the American South with Scottish immigrants. Once in the American South, though, the cooking method was adopted by enslaved African Americans, who both cooked the dish in the kitchens of white enslavers and adapted the most common fried chicken recipes to their own tastes (via The Ark Republic). 

However, it's worth noting that enslaved African Americans didn't just take the Scottish recipes as they were; instead, they applied West African frying and braising techniques, which resulted in a new, perfected version of the dish that's more akin to the traditional southern fried chicken that you see today (via The Economist). Now, the South's take on fried chicken is, for many, considered the classic variant of the dish that takes on many different flavors around the world.

South Korean fried chicken may be a little more familiar to American palates. South Korean fried chicken eateries are becoming more common stateside, especially in larger cities. Often, South Korean fried chicken is paired with beer (and what a spectacular pairing it is). The combination, as CNN Travel notes, even has its own name: chimaek. However, while this combination always includes beer and chicken, the form the fried chicken takes can differ as it can be boneless, covered in cooked leeks, or even topped with a sweet and spicy sauce.

South Korean fried chicken became popular in the 1970s when vegetable oil was cheap and readily available and the cost of chicken was cheaper. As a result of the economic crisis in the late 1990s, a wave of new fried chicken restaurants was opened in the country. Now, you can find some of these same South Korean fried chicken chains all over the world, including in the United States, such as KyoChon, which boasts a location in Los Angeles.

According to MasterClass, Japanese fried chicken, or karaage, is a popular appetizer throughout the country. Similar to tempura, but not quite the same, chicken pieces are marinated in soy sauce and cut into small portions that are dredged in flour or potato starch before frying.

As The Washington Post reports, the dish can also include other proteins or veggies fried in a similar way, but chicken is the most popular option. Historically, the dish could be traced to China, but now the word karaage is inseparable from Japanese culture. After frying, the bite-size chicken nuggets are served with dips like mayonnaise or lemon juice, along with garlic and ginger, as Chef Katsuya Fukushima, who spoke with The Washington Post, does at his restaurant. The dish is noted for its accessibility to foreigners, as well as its suitability for a range of situations, such as quick meals for kids or late-night bites at the bar.

While it's not surprising to think of fried chicken as a part of American and Asian cultures, it's probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Austrian cuisine. Austria brings to mind hearty comfort foods like schnitzel and strudels rather than fried chicken. However, the country does have its own take on the beloved dish. And, while you could argue that schnitzel could be in the fried chicken family, as it is a piece of flattened meat that's been breaded and fried, you're far more likely to find schnitzel made from veal or pork in Austria than anything else (via BBC).

Austria's backhendl, which originated in Vienna in the 1700s, is a much more apt comparison to fried chicken (via Taste Atlas). This fried chicken dish is made by rubbing a whole, small chicken with various spices and lemon juice, then cutting the chicken into its various parts before dipping it all in eggs, flour, and breadcrumbs. The chicken and offal are then fried and served alongside each other. Today, you'll see backhendl most commonly served with a squeeze of lemon, lettuce, fried parsley, and/or potato salad.

In The Dominican Republic, chicharrón de pollo is the name of the fried chicken game. These crispy, crunchy little nuggets are a staple at local restaurants and beach stands, according to the food blog Dominican Cooking. Historically, the dish could have been made in a variety of ways — with salt, soy sauce, paprika, or rum for flavor and a coating of cracker crumbs rather than flour. However, as Dominican Cooking points out, every family has its own way of cooking this dish, but there are two key things that are always the same: The chicken must be cut into small pieces, and it should always be fried, skin-on, until very crispy. Dominican Cooking's recipe for chicharrón de pollo incorporates oregano and garlic powder, along with flour, salt, and pepper like in the traditional American dredge for fried chicken. The end result is served with lime wedges.

Nearby, in Puerto Rico, chicharrón de pollo is also popular, though, in this case, as food blog Salima's Kitchen explains, there are a few key differences. The chicken (still portioned into small pieces) is marinated in lime juice, adobo, and other spices before being fried and garnished with lime.

Mexico, as Vice says, has a "love affair with chicken wings." The publication credits the similarities between traditional Mexican food and chicken wings — both have their fried and spicy elements. However, the article is quick to note that the chicken wings you'll find in Mexico are basically the same thing you'll find in the United States, and for a reason. American-themed restaurants have become successful in Mexico, with the restaurant chain Wings Army and Buffalo Wild Wings staking claims in the country. As the article says, "The cosmopolitan wave of wing bars in Mexico symbolize a long-running fascination with American wealth."

However, while Mexico City may love American fried chicken wings currently, fried chicken is nothing new in the country. Historically, Mexican chefs and home cooks have borrowed the dish from the north of the border (as well as other countries) and subsequently put their own spins on it. For example, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was known to cook up some fried chicken with peanut sauce on occasion, according to the 1994 cookbook "Frida's Fiestas," written by Kahlo's stepdaughter (via Yahoo Food). Kahlo's take on fried chicken was a mix of German and Mexican ingredients that resulted in what food historian Jeffery Pilcher described to Yahoo Food as a little like "reverse chicken schnitzel."

If we're considering Ukraine chicken dishes, chances are good you're going to think of chicken Kyiv (commonly known as chicken Kiev). The name of one of Ukraine's biggest, most well-known cities is right in the title, after all. However, while the country definitely embraces this fried chicken comfort food dish, according to NPR, it can't claim that it created it. Instead, that honor goes to the French. The story goes that, in the 1800s, Russian chefs went to Paris to learn how to cook some of the best cuisines in the world. They came back with a recipe for deep-fried veal, but they switched out the veal for chicken.

The dish quickly gained popularity, and it was dubbed chicken Kyiv when it made its way to Russian restaurants in the United States. When Americans traveled to Kyiv and began requesting the dish there, Ukrainian chefs acquiesced, fine-tuning the dish, with its buttery center, fried exterior, and small intact bone. Today, you'll find chicken Kyiv not only in Ukrainian restaurants but also served in fast-food outlets and grocery stores.

Nigerian fried chicken sets itself apart in several key ways. As Simply Recipes describes, the chicken is firstly slow-cooked in spices and then fried in oil for a crispy finish. Nigerian chickens are also typically tougher than your average American chickens. The article goes on to describe how Nigerian chicken is usually chewier, drier, and less plump than their U.S. counterparts due to the way these chickens are raised. However, this added toughness makes it possible for Nigerians to slowly cook the chicken for hours while slowly finessing its textural profile. Slow cooking also creates deeper flavors and a rich stock that can be used in other items on the menu or down the line.

A traditional Nigerian fried chicken must be boiled with curry, onions, thyme, garlic, ginger, and peppers for up to an hour to make the meat more tender. It is then fried and may be covered in a peppery sauce.