What could be more delicious than these Korean-style fried chicken wings? Crispy, fried chicken wings coated in a sticky, spicy, and sweet gochujang sauce. For a totally addictive snack, these wings will always be a winner.
What Is Korean Fried Chicken?
Similar to American fried chicken, Korean fried chicken (also called Dakgangjeong) is chicken fried in a crispy coating, then glazed with a sticky, sweet, and spicy sauce.
The spicy sauce is made from a Korean chili paste called gochujang, which is flavorful as well as spicy.
Just like my Japanese karaage chicken, Korean fried chicken wings are fried twice. First to seal and start crisping the exterior, then a second time at a higher temperature to make them ultra-crispy. In the same vein, you can try my Korean chicken tenders recipe
The coating is a simple mixture of cornstarch (also called cornflour), salt, and rice flour or wheat flour. Traditionally, potato starch is used. If you prefer a thicker batter, you can use half all-purpose flour and half cornstarch.
How to Enjoy Korean Chicken Wings?
This dish is typically served with Korean pickled radish as a side and consumed with alcoholic beverages such as beer or soju.
In fact, it’s so common to serve this with beer in Korea that this pairing is called “chimaek” in Korea, which is a combination of the word “chikin” (meaning fried chicken) and “maekju” (meaning beer).
Korean Fried Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 24 chicken wings
Frying batter
- 60 g cornstarch use potato starch if available
- 120 g of rice or wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 180 g cold sparkling water
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
Sauce
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 1.5 tablespoon of gochujang
- 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2.5 tablespoons of honey
- 1.5 tablespoon of butter
Procédé
- In a large bowl, mix the batter60 g cornstarch, 120 g of rice or wheat flour, 2 eggs, 180 g cold sparkling water, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of pepper
- Mix with the chicken (knead with hands) and let rest for 5 minutes.24 chicken wings
- In a pot, add oil for frying. Once the oil reaches 340 degrees fahrenheiht , add the chicken wings and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is lightly golden and crispy.
- Reheat the oil to 375 degrees fahrenheit, fry the chicken wings a second time until” well browned
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sauce ingredients6 cloves minced garlic, 1.5 tablespoon of gochujang, 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2.5 tablespoons of honey, 1.5 tablespoon of butter
- Stir until thickened
- Mix the chicken wings with the sauce in a large bowl
Notes
The first frying is done at a lower temperature and essentially starts to melt the fat from the skin while partially cooking the chicken. The second frying is what fully cooks the chicken and makes the coating ultra-crispy
