Make these super addictive Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings for game day or as a party appetizer. It is a bomb combination of sweet, spicy, and umami flavors and will make you want more and more once you try it. Make this recipe in an oven or an air fryer.
Once you try it, you can also try some other Korean recipes – Gochujang Fried Rice, Sheet Pan Spicy Korean Chicken, Kimchi Noodles, and Kimchi Omelette.
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About Gochujang Chicken Wings
Gochujang Wings is a Korean chicken appetizer that can be served for game days, parties, or as a side dish with your elaborate weekend meals. These are sticky, spicy, crispy, tangy, and full of umami, which makes these chicken wings insanely addictive.
Chicken wings are baked or air fried and then mixed with a sweet and sticky Korean-inspired glaze prepared with gochujang, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. This combination of sauces is also called angry sauce due to its fiery red color and spicy taste.
You can always adjust the spice level by changing the quantity of gochujang (Korean red chili paste) in the recipe. Once you try these Korean wings, you will never return to your usual chicken wings.
What Is Gochujang
For those of you who are not aware of what gochujang is? It is a spicy fermented paste made from red chilies, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It is often used in Korean recipes to make them nice and spicy.
Gochujang is so addictive I am making many recipes by incorporating it into them. Check out gochujang aioli, gochujang dipping sauce, gochujang noodles, gochujang fried rice and gochujang tofu.
You can find it in the “Asian” section of your grocery store or local Asian market, or even order it online on amazon. You might also find it in the Korean restaurants of your city. Some of them will be kind enough to provide you with some. This paste keeps good in the refrigerator for about a month, so you can order extra and try it with a few recipes.
Ingredients
Chicken Wings – It’s best if you can get a hold of organic wings. You can also use frozen wings; make sure to thaw them to room temperature before using them in the recipe.
Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste. It comes in five levels of spiciness – mild hot, slightly hot, medium hot, very hot, and extremely hot. You can select one of them, depending on how spicy you want the sauce to be.
Oil – You can use any vegetable oil to make gochujang wings. Sesame oil or light olive oil are also great alternatives.
Soy Sauce – Dark soy sauce adds a nice umami flavor to the wings. Use tamari for gluten-free.
Brown Sugar – To compensate for the heat from gochujang, add a little brown sugar, which will also add a nice hint of sweetness. You can replace brown sugar with honey or maple syrup.
Rice Vinegar – It gives a pungent, sweet, and tangy flavor to the sauce.
Sesame Seeds – Toasted sesame seeds give Korean chicken wings a nice texture and crunch.
Others – You will also need salt, black pepper powder, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger.
How To Make Gochujang Wings
Cook The Wings
In An Oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Wash 22-24 wings with water and pat them dry using paper towels. This step is essential to make crispy wings.
Arrange the wings on a baking tray in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Note – Line the tray with parchment paper to prevent the wings from sticking to the tray. If you haven’t used the paper, use a fish spatula or a sharp spatula to remove the stuck wings from the tray.
Keep the baking tray in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
In An Air Fryer
Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C) for 3-5 minutes.
Wash 22-24 wings with water and pat them dry using a kitchen tissue.
Arrange the wings on the air-fryer basket in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook for 12-15 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through cooking until they are crispy and golden brown.
Make The Sauce
Once the wings are almost cooked, start making the sauce.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add 2 teaspoon minced ginger and 2 teaspoon minced garlic and saute for 40-45 seconds.
Add
- 4 tablespoon gochujang paste
- ¼ cup dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Coat The Wings With The Sauce
Remove the crispy chicken wings from the oven or air fryer and add them to the pan. Toss well to coat them with the sauce.
Increase the heat to high.
Cook until the sauce thickens and the wings are slightly charred (1-2 minutes). Garnish with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon chopped green onions, and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you cannot find gochujang, you can substitute it with sriracha. But let me tell you, it’s not the same. The taste of that spicy fermented taste is just unmatchable.
No, To make Korean-style chicken wings, you would typically start by making the marinade, which might include ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and gochujang (a Korean chili paste).
The wings are then tossed in the marinade and left to marinate for a few hours or overnight to absorb the flavors.
Once the wings are marinated, you make the batter by combining flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and water until you have a smooth, thick batter.
The wings are then coated in the batter and deep-fried until crispy and golden brown.
Serving Suggestions
Serve gochujang wings as an appetizer on game days, movie nights, or house parties. They deserve some sticky hands with a chilled beer.
You can also serve them as a side dish with your Korean meals.
Storage Suggestions
Gochujang chicken wings taste great when made fresh, as they tend to lose their sticky texture once refrigerated. As it hardly takes 45 minutes of your kitchen time, most of which is passive time, I recommend making them fresh.
But, if you have leftovers, store them in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. Reheat them in the microwave or oven until nice and warm.
You can also freeze them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw, reheat, and serve.
While you can reheat them in the microwave, I recommend the oven, as it maintains the crispiness. Heat in a 300 F oven for 10-15 minutes until warm. Add an extra 5 minutes if reheating straight from frozen.
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Recipe Card
Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings Recipe (Oven + Air Fryer)
Ingredients
- 22-24 chicken wings
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 4 tablespoons gochujang paste
- ¼ cup dark soy sauce (use tamari for gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
Instructions
Cook The Wings
In An Oven
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Wash the wings with water and pat them dry using paper towels. This step is essential to make crispy wings.
- Arrange the wings on a baking tray in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Keep the baking tray in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Note – Line the tray with parchment paper to prevent the wings from sticking to the tray. If you haven't used the paper, use a fish spatula or a sharp spatula to remove the stuck wings from the tray.
In An Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C) for 3-5 minutes.
- Wash the wings with water and pat them dry using a kitchen tissue.
- Arrange the wings on the air fryer’s basket in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through cooking until they are crispy and golden brown.
Make The Sauce
- Once the wings are almost cooked, start making the sauce.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add ginger and garlic and saute for 40-45 seconds.
- Add gochujang paste, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Coat The Wings With The Sauce
- Remove the wings from the oven or air fryer and add them to the pan. Toss well to coat them with the sauce.
- Increase the heat to high.
- Cook until the sauce thickens and the wings are slightly charred (1-2 minutes). Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions, and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!