Korean Fried Chicken

Uh oh, another not-so-healthy choice for lunch. My parents went out shopping for groceries today and they’re picking up Korean fried chicken from Furai Chicken for lunch. They’re going to the one inside Zion Market in Irvine. There is no website for that location but here is one from the same chain in La Cresenta. I’ve had their chicken several times and it’s pretty good and not too greasy, though it’s still probably not good for you.

For half a fried chicken, Furai charges $13; a whole chicken is $23. Compared to KFC, an 8-piece bucket goes for $17. I don’t know how the two compare but I feel the 8-piece is probably an entire chicken. It does look like Furai is quite a bit more expensive than KFC but it is better tasting than KFC.

There’s no nutritional information for Furai on the web but since KFC is a national chain, I think they are required to provide it. For four pieces of original recipe KFC fried chicken, here is the nutritional information:

Nutritional Information	KFC Original Recipe	%DV	KFC Grilled
Calories	930		510
Total Fat	56 g	86%	23 g
Saturated Fat	12 g	60%	7 g
Trans Fat	0 g		0 g
Cholesterol	330 mg	110%	320 mg
Sodium	2,910 mg	121%	1,530 mg
Total Carbohydrates	26 g	9%	0 g
Dietary Fiber	4 g	16%	0 g
Sugares	0 g		0 g
Protein	80 g		75 g

Whoa! I guess one of the colonel’s secret recipe ingredients is salt. There’s almost 3 grams of salt in the breading on just four pieces of fried chicken. What if you don’t eat the chicken skin? I wonder if that cuts down on the fat and the salt? I went back and looked up the nutritional information for KFC’s grilled chicken and it does appear slightly healthier than the fried chicken.

I think my parents are buying an entire fried chicken from Furai. I’ll try to keep lunch to two pieces.