Korean Fried Chicken Wings

Our Korean fried chicken wings feature a crispy, crunchy coating smothered in a spicy, tangy, sweet glaze. They make the perfect finger food.

When it comes to fried chicken, we have a handful of favorites that get rotated through-the classic all American fried chicken, our beloved Vietnamese fish sauce wings, chicken karaage, and Korean fried chicken (KFC). I fell in love with KFC a few decades ago during a layover in Seoul before its popularity exploded across major US cities. There was something about KFC with its perfectly light crispness and tender meat that appealed much more to my palate than its American counterpart. 

Some historians claim that American troops stationed in South Korea during the late 1940s and early 1950s introduced the concept of deep fried chicken to South Koreans. It wasn’t until a couple decades later with the Asian financial crisis leading many laid-off workers to open chimaek joints selling fried chicken and beer to make ends meet. Fueled by popular Korean TV dramas from My Love from the Star to Squid Game, the love for KFC has become a cultural phenomenon across the pond and stateside. Despite its humble roots, it's amazing how things have come full circle for Korean fried chicken!     

When we’re craving for something with a bit of heat, KFC is our go to. After eating our weight (not going to spell it out here for good reason!) in KFC from Bonchon, Cross Street, KyoChon, and many local restaurants and experimenting with recipes from J Kenji Lopez-Alt, Korean food queen Maangchi, chefs Deuki Hong and Hooni Kim, we know exactly what our taste buds like. Our version of Korean fried chicken wings with their crispy, crunchy coating smothered in a spicy, tangy, sweet glaze will give those restaurants a run for their money.

Ingredient Notes

• Gochujang: gochujang is a traditional Korean chili red pepper paste made from red chili powder, fermented soybeans, ground up glutinous rice, salt, and a small amount of sweetener. You can find it sold in tubs at many Asian supermarkets.
• Rice wine vinegar: also known as rice vinegar is widely used in Asian cooking. Rice vinegar is made by fermenting the sugars in rice first into alcohol, and then into acid. Compared to white distilled vinegar, rice vinegar has a less acidic with a delicate, mild, and somewhat sweet flavor.
• Chicken wings: you will need about 2-2.5 pounds of wings. You can also substitute with chicken thighs for this recipe. I like to use dark meat as they tend to stay moist and flavorful after frying.

The Science Behind Getting the Chicken to be Crispy

What sets the crunchy crust of Korean fried chicken from the American version is the thinner, crisper coating that shatters under the teeth but robust enough to stand up to being tossed in sauce without becoming soggy. The secret to that beautiful thin, crispy coating is the combination of potato starch (katakuriko) and corn starch.

Cornstarch by itself crisps up nicely but doesn’t cling or brown as well as flour so it needs the potato starch. Both potato starch and corn starch contain amylose and amylopectin which work wonder for making crispy coatings on fried food. The starch granules of both flours in the coating absorb water, whether from the wet surface of the food itself or because they are combined with a liquid to make a slurry before coating the food. The hydrated granules swell when they initially get heated in the oil, allowing the starch molecules to move about followed by cross-linking with one another at high frying temperatures, further reinforcing the coating’s structure and making the coating crispy. Make sure to buy potato starch and not potato flour. They are very different products.

What Other Flours Can I Use if I Can't Find Potato Starch

If you can't find potato starch, rice flour is a great substitute. Tapioca also works but it has a heavier consistency and may result in a denser coating. All purpose flour is another option but it forms a heavier coating similar to American fried chicken. One trick to prevent this is using alcohol in the batter which inhibits gluten formation. Soju, sake, and vodka would work!

How to Make the Wings Extra Crispy but Still Light

I wanted to experiment if I could make these Korean fried chicken wings even more crispy with a dry coating after dipping them in the wet batter. To make it easier to distinguish, I made the wingette (top) without the dry coating and the drumette (bottom) with the coating. My husband and I prefer different levels of crispiness and the dry coating did bring it to the next level.

Why Double Fry

Korean fried chicken’s famed crispness is due to the double frying technique, where it’s first fried at a relatively low temperature until the chicken is cooked through, then again at a higher temperature to set the crust. To achieve the desired crispness, fry the wings on low heat at 325 degrees F. Lowering the temperature ensures they cook through without the outside browning first. Each wing needs about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on how big they are. Once they're cooked, let them cool to room temperature, then freeze them for 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to serve, fry the chicken wings straight from the freezer at 375-400 degrees F for another 4-5 minutes until they turn golden brown and cooked through. In the picture above you can see difference in color between the fried once wings on the left and the double fried wings on the right. Per Francis Lam, freezing the wings causes the water particles in the crust to freeze resulting in the ice shards breaking open the starch cells and allowing more surface area to crisp.

How to Make the Sauce

When it comes to Korean fried chicken wings, many sauce options exist--gochujang based spicy and sweet, sweet soy, and honey butter just to name a few. Mine is a spicy, tangy, sweet glaze made from a combination of gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey which hits all the right notes. Simply saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant, add all the liquids and let everything reduce to a syrupy consistency. I made mine a little less spicy than the restaurant’s so I can still taste other foods afterward. If you can handle the heat from the gochujang, feel free to add more, double or triple the gochujang! Toss the wings in the sauce and you're good to go!

These Korean fried chicken wings are bursting with the perfect balance of spicy and sweet and a bit of tang. The coating had the perfect crispness and meat remained moist after frying. Delicious and addicting, these wings pair perfectly with a side of kimchi and a cold beer!

For more finger food inspiration, you might like these recipes: Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings, Japanese fried chicken, grilled shishito peppers with bonito flakes.