Something to crow about: Kokio a solid showcase for Korean fried chicken

The phenomenon of Korean fried chicken, aka, the other KFC, traces its roots to the Korean War of the 1950s. Koreans adapted the fried chicken of the American soldiers based there by using a thinner batter and double frying for extra crispiness. It became a worldwide phenomenon and today is the most popular Korean dish outside of Korea.

The craze touched down in Albuquerque in 2019 when the Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon opened on the West Side. Bonchon’s arrival caused me to briefly set aside my policy of not reviewing local outposts of national/international chains. Unfortunately, it was gone in about a year.

Something to crow about: Kokio a solid showcase for Korean fried chicken

Today, almost five years later, Korean fried chicken is back in Albuquerque at a Northeast Heights hole-in-the-wall called Kokio Korean Fried Chicken.

Kokio — the name is Korean for the sound a rooster makes — opened late last year. With Relish, the popular gourmet sandwich shop, it forms the bookends of a small strip mall on the north side of Menaul Boulevard, west of Wyoming Boulevard. The narrow parking lot in front is often full, but there is plenty of free parking on the side streets that bracket the strip mall.

The small, bright dining room holds a handful of tables and a few high tops along one wall. The space doesn’t encourage lingering. The chairs are hard, and during a recent weekday lunch hour, the room temperature alternated between blistering and chilly depending on the activity of the heater.

None of that seemed to deter the patrons who crowded the place. My friend got there just in time to snag the last available table. Next to us, a large party of engineers from Intel conversed in Korean over a spread of chicken wings and legs.

Kokio is a no-frills operation. You pick up your order at the counter when your number is called, and get condiments and water at a self-service station nearby. The short line at the counter gave us a chance to consider the menu displayed on a large electronic board above. Forget about bulgogi, bibimbap and kimchi: Kokio’s menu is laser-focused on chicken. There are whole and half birds, bone-in or boneless, along with wings, tenders and drumsticks. Prices range from $14 to $16 for bowls, combo plates and sandwiches, to $30.99 for a whole chicken.

Most of the dozen side dishes cost under $10. A highlight among them was the Fried Dumplings ($8.99) served in a plastic basket. Called mandu in Korea, these dumplings can be served boiled, steamed, pan-fried or deep-fried. Kokio does the latter version. The eight purse-shaped dumplings wore crisp, bubbled skin fried to a light brown. The savory chicken mix inside was tasty, the portion size enough for a few people to share.

Honey Rice Cake Chicken ($11.99), the most expensive item on the sides menu, is a hefty enough portion for an entree. Nuggets of white-meat chicken are battered, fried and tossed in a sweet, buttery sauce with cylindrical rice cakes that are dense and chewy. A terrific dish that I highly recommend for people who don’t like spicy food. This dish and others that followed displayed the kitchen’s frying skills, as the coating adhered to the chicken and was crisp without being greasy.

Chicken Strips are available in Original Crispy or Hot Crispy. The Original Crispy Chicken Strips Plate ($13.99) was comprised of three hefty strips. Underneath the craggy, deep brown coating, the chicken was very tender and juicy — a clear benefit of using fresh chicken rather than frozen. Along with the strips comes a choice of rice or fries and a cup of coleslaw. The crisp, battered fries were excellent, while the coleslaw was crunchy but flavorless. It needed more dressing.

The three chicken bowls on the menu, Teriyaki, Spicy and Cajun, cost $13.99 each. We tried the Teriyaki Bowl. It was served in a black plastic takeout container with chopped pieces of mostly dark meat chicken on one side, a vegetable medley on the other. A slather of thick, sweet and salty teriyaki sauce topped it off. The richer, more flavorful dark meat chicken offered a welcome contrast to the white meat of the other dishes. The broccoli still had some crunch and the rice was well-cooked, not mushy, with each grain discernible to the tooth. Ultimately, though, I thought that the sauce overwhelmed the dish.

An extra $1.50 gets you a couple of cups of sauce from a selection of 10 that are listed by heat level on a chart next to the menu. The Korean Special Sauce called Dak Kang Jung is a good choice on the spicier end of the spectrum. The thick brown sauce was sweet, tangy and delivered enough electricity to liven up the chicken dishes.

Drinks offered in a cooler next to the counter include several flavors of Ramune, the Japanese soda that’s served in clear glass bottles. I chose the lychee flavor. The bottle has a glass bead at the top that you punch out with the plastic cap. I had to watch a YouTube video on my phone to figure out how to do it. Despite the challenges, I enjoyed the minimally sweet and carbonated drink.

Kokio is a two-person operation, or at least it was while we were there. One person took both the phone and walk up orders, while a man in the kitchen behind the counter prepared the food. Perhaps that’s why some online reviews mention long waits when it is busy. We didn’t have this problem, though, as our food was ready in about 15 minutes.

There are no designated gluten-free or gluten-friendly options on the menu. The server told us she could make a gluten-free chicken bowl.

Kokio is a solid showcase for Korean fried chicken. Here’s hoping it hangs around longer than Bonchon did.