Spicy Baked Korean Chicken Wings
Gotta have these Spicy Baked Korean Chicken Wings! There’s something crazy addictive about chicken wings smothered with a bold-flavored sticky, zesty Korean inspired sauce made with Gochujang. It is crispy on the outside, juicy on the insides, and never lacking in flavor!
And the best part is, these chicken wings are baked, not fried. And yes – still as crispy!
Get ready to fall in love, and become addicted, to these delicious Baked Korean Chicken Wings!
Love baked chicken wings? Don’t forget to also check out my BBQ Baked Chicken Wings and Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings!
Baked Korean Chicken Wings
These delicious Baked Korean Chicken Wings are inspired by the famous Korean fried chicken, which are known for their super crispy texture and coatings of bold flavored sauces.
Instead of frying these chicken wings, I decided to bake them to make them a tad bit healthier, then coated in a sauce created using the classic Korean red pepper paste, Gochujang.
The product is some super delicious Baked Korean Chicken Wings.
AND I CANNOT STOP EATING THEM!
How to make Crispy Baked Wings
I have always wanted to make baked wings with the same level of crispiness as the deep fried versions, because I don’t want to clog my arteries, and also, let’s face it, cleaning up splattered grease is no fun.
After some research and some trial and error, we found ourselves a winner, a.k.a. some kickbutt crispy baked wings.
Just like a lot of things in life, I turned to Google for this one.
According to many bloggers, foodies, and recipe developers, there is a secret to making baked wings super crispy, and all this is thanks to Cook’s Country’s genius find.
The secret is this:
- Pat chicken wings dry and coat with baking powder (the secret ingredient to get the skin super crispy!). Not baking soda. I haven’t experimented with it, but from what I understand, really bad things will happen if you use baking soda. So NO BAKING SODA please.
- Place chicken on a baking rack that is sitting on a baking sheet
- Bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes
- Then bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes
- Flip chicken, bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes
And boy, did it work.
This is what you get – CRISPY, as CRISPY as deep fried Chicken wings, without the grease.
At first, I couldn’t believe it myself.
And then I took a bite, and I was CONVINCED.
How to make the Spicy Korean Sauce
WAIT! We are not done yet!
A solid sauce takes this Baked Korean Chicken Wings to the next level.
And I have to say, I’m kinda obsessed with this delicious sauce…
This Korean Spicy Sauce that we will be smothering all over our beloved baked chicken wings has a kick to it, is a little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty, and mouthful of flavor.
Here’s what you will need to make it:
- Korean Gochujang Sauce – this is a Korean spicy paste that is served alongside Bibimbap and other Korean dishes. I found it in my local grocery store in the Asian aisle, or you can find it in an Asian grocery store, or here online. It is spicy so if you want this dish milder, you’ll want to reduce the amount of this sauce
- soy sauce
- sugar
- garlic – use fresh if possible
- ginger – use fresh or ground ginger
- rice wine
Bring all the ingredients together and cook it in a pot until everything dissolved, and sauce is smooth and thick.
Stir continuously to avoid burning at the bottom of the pot.
Sauce will be very flavorful, and a little bit does go a very long way!
When the chicken wings are done, bring it to a large bowl and pour sauce all over.
Toss to coat!
I like to sprinkle chicken wings with sesame seeds and/or chopped green onions before serving, although it is completely optional as it will not change the flavor of the wings.
And that’s it! Spicy, delicious Baked Korean Chicken Wings.
If you love bold-flavors you will LOVE this!
How to serve Spicy Baked Korean Chicken Wings
My favorite way to eat Baked Korean Chicken Wings is with plain white rice. I absolutely love it when the rice soaks up all the delicious flavors of the sauce.
Along with rice, I also like to serve it with fresh carrots and cucumber, because the crunch and the freshness of the veggies pairs well with it.
These Baked Korean Chicken Wings also makes the best appetizers for game day, Superbowl Sunday and March Madness watch parties, etc.
Pair them with my Easy Cheesy Potato Wedges and you are all set! It’s a nice change-of-pace from classic bbq wings or buffalo wings.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few things to note when making these Spicy Baked Korean Chicken Wings
- Chicken wings should be pat dry before coating with baking soda.
- Place a parchment paper between baking rack and baking sheet to catch drippings. This makes cleanup much easier!
- Stir sauce continuously when cooking to avoid burning at the bottom of the pot.
- This Baked Korean Chicken wings recipe is spicy. To make it milder, reduce the amount of Gochujang.
- Sauce is very concentrated, so a little bit of sauce goes a long way!
Storage and Reheating
The best way to store this is to store chicken and sauce separately, and then when reheating, reheat chicken in the oven so that it will be crispy again.
You can totally store chicken with the sauce coated on it but it will be harder to get it to crisp up like it was.
If reheating in microwave, chicken wings will no longer be crispy.
Give it a try and enjoy!
These Baked Chicken Wings recipe is legit, you guys.
Glorious, heavenly, lip-smackingly good.
So there you go. Spicy Baked Korean Chicken Wings. Prepared to be wowed!
DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍
More Asian Recipes
- Asian Peanut Chicken Salad
- Kung Pao Shrimp
- Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
- Pad See Ew Noodles
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
- Slow Cooker Asian Ribs
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Spicy Korean Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings (drumettes and wingettes)
- 1 tbsp baking powder more if needed
- 1/4 cup gochujang sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger packed
- 2 tsp rice wine
- 2 tbsp water
- chopped green onions optional
- sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Pat dry defrosted drumettes and wingettes and coat with baking powder. Set drumettes and wingettes on a baking rack that is placed on top of a baking sheet. Use aluminum foil or parchment paper to line baking sheet (underneath baking rack) to catch drippings for easier cleaning.
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes on the lower middle rack.
- Move oven rack to upper middle. Bring oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue baking for another 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and flip chicken drumettes and wingettes over. Bake for another 20-25 minutes. Check at 20 minutes to see if chicken is done.
- In a small pot, combine gochujang sauce, soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic, minced ginger, rice wine and water. Turn stove on to medium heat and bring to boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn to medium low and continue cooking and stirring for 3-5 minutes.
- Bring baked drumettes and wingettes to a large bowl, add sauce, and toss to combine.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds (optional).
- Serve with plain white rice and enjoy!
I cant wait to try this.My mouth already started watering.Thanks for sharing wonderful recipe and your picture s are really awesome.
Thank you, Bruce! It’s pretty yummy! When you try it let us know how it turns out!
How much Rice Wine do we add? I was looking at the recipe, but I couldn’t find rice wine on the ingredients list, but it’s in the recipe for the sauce.
Oops! 2 tsp of rice wine! I will add that to the ingredients. Thanks for asking!! 🙂
How much Rice Wine do we add. I saw it in the recipe, but I couldn’t find an amount of rice wine to put in the sauce.
The chicken was sooooo crispy and lovely… my family couldn’t believe it was baked!! The sauce was perfect too… I wanted a bit more spice so added a tsp of gochugaru and it was perfect!!
So glad it was a hit! We love this recipe too! 🙂
*****
Wow, Wow, Wow. I didn’t think I would like these as I prefer deboned chicken, however I am trying to be more flexible in my eating habits. I realize I could do the same with boneless wings, but they weren’t available in our store. These were so very good. We will definitely make them again! All I can say is we were happy campers with sticky fingers:)
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this so much! The big bright flavor is definitely my favorite part of it all!