Choong Man Chicken
4900 S. University Drive, Suite 100, Davie; 954-999-0235; CM Chicken FL Website / Instagram
In the middle of the pandemic, Nova Southeastern University graduate Daven Sawh felt so burned out in his pharmacy career that he quit and started making Korean fried chicken. He opened the first South Florida location of this Virginia-based franchise in early 2022, running Choong Man with wife Cuc Le, an optometrist. Sawh first marinates his chicken for 24 hours before the skin is trimmed off, after which the bird is double-battered and double-fried for extra crispiness. “All of our batter mix, our breading mix, our sauces, all come from South Korea,” he explains. “The technique to get it really nice and crispy is to really press the flour into the chicken.” Offered as tenders, drumsticks, wings and half- and whole-chicken styles, the most popular flavors are the savory soy-garlic glaze, spicy gochujang pepper and snow onion chicken (so named because it’s topped with a snowpile of sauce and slivered onions). There is also tikkudak, in which Korean fried chicken is fried then baked in a charcoal-grill tikku oven for extra crunch.
Link: Finger-lickin’ good: Why so many fried-chicken restaurants are flocking to South Florida
Choong Man Chicken
4900 S. University Drive, Suite 100, Davie; 954-999-0235; CM Chicken FL Website / Instagram
In the middle of the pandemic, Nova Southeastern University graduate Daven Sawh felt so burned out in his pharmacy career that he quit and started making Korean fried chicken. He opened the first South Florida location of this Virginia-based franchise in early 2022, running Choong Man with wife Cuc Le, an optometrist. Sawh first marinates his chicken for 24 hours before the skin is trimmed off, after which the bird is double-battered and double-fried for extra crispiness. “All of our batter mix, our breading mix, our sauces, all come from South Korea,” he explains. “The technique to get it really nice and crispy is to really press the flour into the chicken.” Offered as tenders, drumsticks, wings and half- and whole-chicken styles, the most popular flavors are the savory soy-garlic glaze, spicy gochujang pepper and snow onion chicken (so named because it’s topped with a snowpile of sauce and slivered onions). There is also tikkudak, in which Korean fried chicken is fried then baked in a charcoal-grill tikku oven for extra crunch.
Link: Finger-lickin’ good: Why so many fried-chicken restaurants are flocking to South Florida