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Bring the heat with my truly crispy Korean chicken wings recipe! They’re marinated in a spicy gochujang wing sauce and baked until caramelized and SO juicy. It’s my family’s favorite game night app!
If you’re as obsessed with chicken wings as we are, try my lemon pepper wings, smoked chicken wings, or boneless chicken wings next!
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My family wouldn’t complain if I made chicken wings five nights a week. That’s how much we love them. As much as we love garlic parmesan wings, my Korean wings steal the show.
To make them, I coat the wings in a fiery mix of fresh garlic, Korean chili paste, brown sugar, and a handful of Asian staples. The sugar helps the chicken caramelize, while the chili paste adds the perfect amount of heat.
Why I love this recipe
- No frying needed. Meaning you save on tons of calories, and you don’t have a big pot of hot oil to deal with.
- That sticky sauce! Please don’t limit yourself to only using this sauce for chicken wings. It’s just as addictive on my air fryer tofu or cast iron salmon!
- A fun snack or dinner. This recipe is wholesome enough that I love serving it for dinner, but it also doubles as THE best game day and party snack.
- Sticky, crispy, and juicy. This wing recipe ticks all the boxes.
Key ingredients
- Chicken wings. I like to make this recipe with a mixture of wingettes and drumettes. You can buy them pre-separated, though I tend to buy them whole and just separate them myself using a pair of kitchen shears.
- Garlic cloves. To complement the spices and ginger.
- Korean red chili pepper paste. Also known as Gochujang, this is a red chili paste that’s sold in the Asian aisle of your grocery store in small red tubs. It’s spicy and salty but also sweet and pungent, adding SO much flavor to the wings.
- Brown sugar and maple syrup (or honey). I strongly suggest using both as they work together to balance the sauce. The maple syrup adds that sticky factor, while the brown sugar caramelizes, making the wings even crispier.
- Soy sauce. Use gluten-free soy sauce if needed.
- Sesame oil. For a warm, nutty flavor.
- Korean chili flakes. AKA gochugaru. If you can’t find these at an Asian market, use red chili flakes.
- Rice vinegar. For essential acidity. I also had luck with apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar.
- Ground ginger. Adds an extra layer of complexity. Feel free to use 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger if you have it at home.
- Salt and pepper. To taste.
- Green onions and sesame seeds. For garnish.
How to make Korean chicken wings
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Marinade. Combine the gochujang sauce ingredients in a large bowl, toss the wings to coat, and let them marinate.
Bake. Place the wings on the baking sheet (save the excess marinade) and bake until they’re almost fully cooked.
Broil. Baste the wings with the marinade. Turn on the broiler and broil the wings until they’re lightly charred and crisp.
Assemble. Remove the wings from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Pat the wings VERY dry. I know it seems redundant since we’re marinating them, but drying the wings with a paper towel first reduces the moisture in the mixture, allowing them to become crispier.
- Bring them to room temperature. Once they’re done marinating, let the wings rest on the counter for 20 minutes. This helps them cook more quickly and evenly.
- Use a wire rack. Rather than flipping the wings halfway through cooking them, you can place them on a wire rack with a lined baking sheet under them. This way, the wings will get crispy on all sides, and the sauce can drip onto the baking sheet.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the wings. Once they reach 165F, they’re done.
Frequently asked questions
I strongly recommend it! As the wings marinate, they soak up the intricate and bold flavors of the Korean wing sauce. The longer they marinate, the more flavorful they’ll be.
Traditional Korean fried chicken wings are special because of their ultra-crispy skin and wing sauce made with gochujang, which gives them a unique flavor profile.
Truly Crispy. Korean Chicken Wings
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings separated into two pieces
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons Gochujang Korean chili paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru Korean chili flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chicken wings. Add the garlic, gochujang, brown sugar, maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochugaru, rice vinegar, ground ginger, salt, and pepper. Mix until all the wings are coated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes, or up to 12 hours, to marinate.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/450F.
- Spread the chicken wings on a baking sheet, reserving the rest of the marinade for later. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken wings from the oven and baste them with the remaining marinade. Turn on the broil function of the oven, and place the baking sheet on the top position in the oven, and bake for another 5 minutes minutes, until the wings get charred.
Notes
Nutrition
More Korean-inspired recipes to try
Originally updated September 2023, updated and republished December 2024
This was fantastic! I used grated ginger as well as a little ginger powder, and Everything bagel seasoning in the sauce and also on top of the wings with green onions. Made a little extra sauce for basting. I’m going to use this sauce as my next jerky recipe!
I made these in my air fryer using your instructions. I only made a pound. Wow, they turned out great! So now these are my favorites.
These were so good and my kids actually ate all two pounds! Win win 🥇