Tongdak

{{Short description|Korean term for fried whole chicken}}

{{Italic title}}{{Infobox food

| name = Tongdak

| image = Tongdak.jpg

| caption =

| alternate_name = Whole chicken

| country = South Korea

| region =

| national_cuisine = South Korean cuisine

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| type = Fried chicken

| course =

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| main_ingredient = Chicken, cooking oil

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{{Infobox Korean name

| title = Korean name

| hangul = 통닭

| rr = tongdak

| mr = t'ongdak

| koreanipa = {{IPA|ko|tʰoŋ.dak̚|}}

}}

Tongdak ({{Korean|hangul=통닭|lit=whole chicken}}) is a chicken in South Korean cuisine, prepared by deep-frying a whole chicken.{{Cite web|url=https://krdict.korean.go.kr/eng/dicSearch/SearchView?nation=eng&ParaWordNo=85969|title=tongdak|website=Korean–English Learners' Dictionary|publisher=National Institute of Korean Language|script-title=ko:통닭|trans-title=whole chicken|access-date=10 February 2017}} It was a popular food in the 1970s, being the only kind of fried chicken sold in Korea at that time.{{Cite news|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160527000496|title=Fried chicken market anything but small in Korea|last=Won|first=Ho-jung|date=27 May 2016|newspaper=The Korea Herald|access-date=10 February 2017}} It is considered as the proto-Korean fried chicken.{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/south-korea-beer-chicken/index.html|title=Watch your wing, KFC! Korean fried chicken (and beer) is here|last=Kim|first=Violet|date=22 June 2015|work=CNN|access-date=10 February 2017}}

As more varieties of "whole chicken" dishes are also enjoyed in Korea nowadays and the generic term tongdak can refer to any "whole chicken" (e.g. rotisserie chicken is called jeongi-gui-tongdak ({{lang|ko|전기구이 통닭}}, "electric-grilled whole chicken") in Korea), the 70s-style whole chicken is now called yennal-tongdak ({{lang|ko|옛날통닭}}, "old-time whole chicken").{{Cite news|url=http://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2016/nwtoday/article/4099129_19847.html|title=[스마트 리빙] 추억의 그 맛, '옛날 통닭' 外|last=김|first=오희|date=25 August 2015|work=MBC News Today|access-date=10 February 2017|language=ko}} It is now sold as retro food in many traditional markets as well as streets in provincial cities. Suwon in Gyeonggi Province is famous for its tongdak golmok ({{lang|ko|통닭골목}}, "tongdak alley") with dozens of tongdak restaurants that are over 40 years old.{{Cite news|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2016/01/26/0701000000AEN20160126004900315.html|title=Suwon welcomes visitors with traditional events, food|date=26 January 2016|work=Yonhap|access-date=10 February 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsis.com/ar_detail/view.html/?ar_id=NISX20150416_0013604970&cID=10809&pID=10800|title='수원통닭골목, 음식테마거리 선정되나' 관심 집중|last=김|first=경호|date=14 April 2015|work=Newsis|access-date=11 February 2017|language=ko}}