To make the Korean Sticky sauce, saute garlic and ginger in a saute pan for few minutes.
Add mirin, soy sauce, orange zest, brown sugar ( or honey) rice vinegar,
sesame oil and gochujang ( a fermented korean chili paste).
I also added sriracha for extra heat, because we like it HOT!!!
The gochujang is really not a spicy as it looks,
but it does add an interesting flavor and depth.
Let this come to a simmer for 1-2 minutes and then turn off heat.
This will thicken and become nice and sticky. Set aside.
Season the wings with salt and set aside. I like to cut them into two pieces so they set more flat in the pan.
Make the Batter.
Whip up the easy batter in a medium sized bowl with cornstarch, flour and water.
FYI- I also experimented with using dry coating, but the batter was 100 times better!!!
Set up a frying station on your stove, with a deep saute pan or wide pot filled with 1 inch of canola oil.
Next to this, place a wire rack over a sheet pan.
Turn heat to med high and heat oil to 375F.
you may be able to do more or less. Don’t crowd! They should sizzle.
It’s a beautiful sound.
Working in batches, cook the chicken wings until golden before turning them over about 8-9 minutes….and then cook for a few more. A total of 10-12 minutes. Be patient, you want them golden!
Place on the rack then into the oven to finish cooking through.
Heat up your thickened delicious Korean Gochujang Sauce and using tongs, toss the chicken wings
coating all sides.
Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Korean Chicken Wings with Spicy Gochujang Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Korean
Description
Flavorful Korean chicken wings with a flavorful Gochujang Sauce. Crispy and Spicy and full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 2 teaspoons salt
Korean Gochujang Sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon oil (like peanut)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped ginger
- 3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup mirin, or rice wine or Chinese wine ( not vinegar)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice ( juice from half an orange-make sure to zest it first!)
- 3 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean red chile paste)
- 1–2 tablespoons red chili paste (like Sambal Oelek or sriracha), more to taste.
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- zest of one orange
Batter:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil for frying
- Add 1 inch of peanut or canola oil to a large, tall sided skillet or dutch oven.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F
Toss chicken wings with salt in a medium bowl, coating all sides well and set aside.
Make the batter, whisking all ingredients together until smooth in a medium bowl.
Set a wire rack over a foil-lined sheet pan near the stove.
Make the sauce ( to save time, you can do this at the same time as frying the wings). Sauté the garlic and ginger in the oil over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Add the mirin, simmer for 2 minutes, stir in the remaining ingredients- soy sauce, orange juice, Gochujang, red chili paste brown sugar, vinegar, sesame oil and orange zest – and bring to a simmer again. Taste for heat, adding more if you like. Turn heat off.
Heat one inch of oil, in an extra-large skillet or dutch oven, over medium-high heat until oil is hot, 350F – or until heat sizzles loudly when you test it by dropping a drop of batter in.
Working in batches, coat the chicken in the batter, using tongs, and place gently in hot oil, careful not to splatter. Be careful not to overcrowd. Fry 7-9 minutes or until golden, being patient, then gently turn over and fry 3 more minutes. They should be golden and crispy.
Place on the wire rack (set over over a sheet pan) and keep them in the oven while you fry all the remaining chicken. Once all the chicken wings are fried, keep them in the oven for 15 more minutes or until the last batch is cooked through. Double-check by cutting into one- juices should run clear, there should be no red or pink.
Reheat the sauce, then toss the crispy chicken wings in the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.
Serve immediately so they stay crispy.
Notes
I like adding the chili paste to make this a little spicier.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4 wings
- Calories: 524
This was fantastic! I was daunted by the deep frying, not having done it before, but it was easy. I brought it to a cookout, where it was loved by all. It was great with your Korean cucumber salad.
Oh good! Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Some of the best chicken wings I have ever had! I changed up the recipe a little bit as I didn’t have the ability to fry the wings and baked them with the sauce on. I reserved a bit of extra sauce to add on when serving and they were DELICIOUS!! The sauce is super easy to make and incredibly tasty.
I am so glad you enjoyed these~!
Hallo Sylvia, wanna hear a funny story? I planned this dish today for when we had friends coming to help us redoa our flat. Never made iz before, but decided to make it as it looked uber yummy and also cause I knew your recipes do not let me down. What can I say was a huge hit. My hubby devoured most of it too, haha! Especially tasty with homemade gocjuang sauce- it is not difficult at all. Thank you!
thanks Alex- glad you gave these a go and happy they were a hit!
Incredible Sauce. Any suggestion how u could use this sauce for other dishes?
Thanks for all those delicious recipes!
Hi Leslie! I should bring this sauce around and repurpose it. 🙂 It would be good on crispy tofu, baked chicken or even salmon or roasted veggies. 🙂
Use it on a pulled pork sandwich instead of BBQ sauce also as a basting sauce for baby back ribs. BBQ will never be the same
Sounds tasty Joe!
Hi. Planning to cook this today. In the “make the sauce” paragraph you say “stir in remaining”. But you don’t specify what to stirring. I’m not clear what is remaining to be stirred in. Can you clarify? Thank you so much big fan of your recipes
I’m sorry about that, I updated the recipe, it was basically adding the remaining sauce ingredients.
Sounds like this could be one of my fav. recipes. Could I substitute dry sherry for the mirin as I can’t seem to find it in my local store. Many thanks.
Yes that should work fine. Mirin is a little sweeter, so you may need to adjust sweetess.
This is the best wings recipe I have ever tried. I had Korean sticky wings in a restaurant a few years ago and remembered them ever since. This recipe is perfect. Follow the steps and you will be in heaven! Thank you! xx
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These wings are really amazing. The sauce really is the best -sweet with a spicy kick and the fresh taste of orange. I am trying to think of other ways I can use this sauce. Great recipe again! Thanks!
Awesome Amy, thanks for the feedback and let me know what else you try it on!
The wings look so delicious! Yum!