Ideas in Food's Korean-Style Chicken Wings Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Serves a Crowd

by: Genius Recipes

January28,2014

4.3

3 Ratings

  • Serves 4 to 6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

A genius marinade for oven-crisped chicken wings that might be even better than fried (plus a magic dipping sauce you're going to use on lots more than wings). Recipe adapted slightly from Maximum Flavor (Clarkson Potter, 2013). —Genius Recipes

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • Neutral high smoke point oil (like vegetable, canola, or grapeseed) or spray for racks
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 teaspoons(10 grams) baking soda
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons(10.5 grams) fine sea salt
  • 4 pounds(1.8 kg) whole chicken wings (smaller wing sections like drumettes and flats or wingettes will also work)
  • 1/4 cup(65 grams) tamari soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons(42 grams) apple juice
  • 1 tablespoon(16 grams) honey
  • 1 tablespoon(14 grams) rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon(14 grams) toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon(2 grams) Korean red chile flakes (available at Korean markets, or substitute crushed chile flakes if unavailable)
  • 1 tablespoon(3.75 grams) toasted sesame seeds, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1/2 teaspoon(2.5 grams) grated fresh ginger
  • 1 scallion, finely sliced
Directions
  1. Oil 2 wire racks and set them each over rimmed baking sheets. Put the egg whites, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to dissolve the salt and baking soda. Add the chicken wings and stir to coat evenly. Remove the wings from the bowl, draining off excess marinade, and lay them out on racks set over baking sheets. Refrigerate the wings uncovered overnight for them to dry out.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450° F (235° C).
  3. Put the wings, still on the racks on the baking sheets, into the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the wings over and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the wings over again and bake until a deep golden brown with a crackling skin, about 10 more minutes. Take the pans out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, apple juice, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chile flakes, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, and scallion.
  5. Pile the wings on a serving platter and serve the sauce alongside.

Tags:

  • Apple Juice
  • Green Onion/Scallion
  • Honey
  • Sesame Oil
  • Soy Sauce
  • Chicken
  • Vinegar
  • Serves a Crowd
  • Fourth of July
  • Memorial Day
  • Father's Day
  • Entree

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Virginia Martin

  • kedivine

  • GourMel

  • Alexandra Stafford

  • Michael Mangiapane

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

Popular on Food52

57 Reviews

Ugh. Oil the racks, then refrigerate wings on them. C’mon. WhoTH has the fridge space for this? There must be a better way.

LULULAND February 2, 2022

I don't care for wings, but this recipe I would try on cubed boneless thighs, why not!

C January 30, 2019

Want to print this recipe which looks good but I don't want to waste paper having to also print what Food 52 is selling that is in the middle of the recipe. Looked for "print recipe" on this page but didn't see it. Food 52, please stop putting your "for sale" things in between the recipes.

Kristen M. January 31, 2019

Hi C—there's a print button at the top of the recipe (it's the printer icon, below the recipe title and to the right of the save button, on my laptop, at least). Our for sale things are one very important way that we're able to support our company and create and share recipes and articles for free. Our team puts a lot of time into finding (and often designing) special kitchen and home goods that we love to use in our own homes and we think our readers will also love.

pat March 6, 2019

Amen!

Tommy C. April 10, 2019

Reviews are meant to be used to "grade" how a recipe went. If you want to complain, contact the website directly and not use Reviews to voice your displeasure with the way a website is run.

Gioia M. December 7, 2018

This recipe is very tasty. I did not have the real estate in my fridge to dry out the wings, So baked them at 475 degrees about 30 minutes before flipping them and another 20 minutes. Then I sprayed them with canola oil and did another 20 minutes on each side. They were very golden and crispy!

KBG September 1, 2016

I've made these wings several times now. They are always a hit. Great recipe. Highly recommended for entertaining!

Nellie January 31, 2016

I made these yesterday. The chicken was great really nice and crispy. Genius! I did tweak the sauce a little; some lime zest and juice, a little more heat and honey. Think I will try a different coating something slightly thicker.

Virginia M. April 9, 2015

I was really excited to try he overnight drying method and it did not disappoint. The wings turned out super crispy in a way I haven't experienced before without frying. I'll definitely be making wings with his method again. The sauce was excellent as well, but I think III personally prefer something that you can toss the wings in before eating (though to hate to endanger that super crispy skin!).

kedivine January 20, 2015

Would the recipe only work with an overnight uncovered drying session in the fridge? With a shared fridge and limited room, I am not sure I can monopolize it with large plates of raw chicken for 24+ hours. I could probably handle an hour or so though.

GourMel May 27, 2014

I was really excited to try this over the weekend but my wings never crisped but rather the skin was so tough I couldn't even eat them. Any ideas what happened?

Alexandra S. May 5, 2014

Made these tonight, and they were spectacular! Sauce and all. I've never eaten so many wings in one sitting in my life. Not sure if I should feel proud or sick, but the wings and sauce were a huge hit here.

Congrats on the book! Can't wait to have so many genius recipes consolidated in one place. I continue to love this column.

Kristen M. May 7, 2014

Thanks Alexandra! I'm so happy you liked the wings.

Molly F. February 26, 2014

Divine!!! Ours didn't brown quite enough, but they were great. I think next time we will just grill them as we always have done, and use the sauce, which is AWESOME!!! Thank you! Served it with sesame rice and Korean coleslaw...nary a morsel left!

JK February 17, 2014

Use potato starch if you can, more authentic and doesnt leave the off taste

CGollay February 17, 2014

I haven't tried these yet, but that sounds like an awful large amount of baking soda. I think that when I do try them, I'll substitute baking powder for the soda, and perhaps add 1/4 tsp baking soda to aid in browning.

Lizziemac69 February 12, 2014

Love the technique and the way these turned out...making them again today for the second time. Drying out the chicken in the fridge is something relatively new to me, but it does the trick for offering snapping crunchy skin. The baking soda must work as a tenderizer on some level. We tossed our wings in Buffalo sauce before baking last time (and will again). They were fall-off-the-bone tender + that snappy skin. Awesome! We enjoyed with blue cheese and celery. Very, very good! (The sauce was also excellent, however, we used that for the Chicken Dumplings also found on this site! FANTASTIC! Better than any Asian restaurant we've ever had!)

Lizziemac69 February 12, 2014

Sorry - the recipe we used the sauce with is "Chicken Potstickers" also found on this site.

Michael M. February 10, 2014

So I'm making the wings but using liquid egg whites, and the marinade seems very thin. I'm hoping they still turn out okay.

JK February 5, 2014

welp..basted them, returned to the oven, flipped and repeated..another 10 minutes or so just build the outer crispiness back and allow the sauce to adhere, and lingering flavor that makes me want to tweak that 'marinade', because something tastes off. Too bad really, looked like a terrific technique. As for the color? Don't be afraid to vary the cooking times, not all recipes are exact,and all ovens are different. As for the smoke..well, clean your oven before heading into 450 land. That sounds like the issue, not the recipe. This method wold be for high heat oven baking not grilling..the method with the whites/baking soda is to crust am air dried skin, grilling would just burn that off. It's a whole different animal, just grill them like you normally would and make the sauce.

JK February 5, 2014

Tasted a little off..I'm not sure if it's the baking soda or the eggwhite, or just both..something off-putting, so basting and going back in for a few minutes

Tyaprey February 5, 2014

What are the ingredients for the sauce? ;-)

Kristen M. February 7, 2014

They're listed above!

Ingrid P. February 5, 2014

Is there any way to get the sodium content on this recipe? My husband has to be on a low sodium diet. Maybe these can only be for company! :-)

Kristen M. February 7, 2014

Hi Ingrid, I'm sorry that I don't know the sodium content for this recipe, although there may be good services for that online. I can tell you that some of the salt, egg white, and baking soda get left behind in the bowl, so this isn't a very salty recipe.

Amy February 3, 2014

Made these for that BLOW OUT super bowl yesterday. Like a previous post, I basted the wings in the sauce for the final turn in the oven. Definitely made them wonderful. Also, I used pineapple juice instead of apple and added a 1/2 t of cayenne for extra heat.

Ideas in Food's Korean-Style Chicken Wings Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why are Korean chicken wings so good? ›

The double frying technique gives the wing such a fried taste sensation compared to other wings. Once the breading is a crispy golden brown, the wings are ready for the sauce. It usually takes ten minutes or so for them to be fried totally. The sauce is then made from a classic buffalo sense or a Korean BBQ derivative.

What are good sides for Korean wings? ›

In this article, we will explore some of the best sides to eat with Korean Fried Chicken.
  • Pickled Radish. Pickled radish is a traditional Korean side dish that is commonly served with fried chicken. ...
  • Kimchi. ...
  • Coleslaw. ...
  • Fries. ...
  • Rice. ...
  • Sweet Potato Fries. ...
  • Beer.

How to sauce wings and keep them crispy? ›

In general, it's best to add your sauce only at the end of baking or until you're ready to serve. Doing so will preserve the crispiness of your wings and maintain the desired texture and taste all throughout the big game. Indeed, it's challenging to achieve the right balance between crispy and saucy wings.

What is the most popular Korean chicken flavor? ›

Of all the flavours, yangnyeom is the most popular of all. Made with a glaze from gochujang, a sweet and spicy Korean paste used in many sauces, it creates a sensational taste and sticky texture. Don't forget to lick your fingers after each bite!

How is Korean fried chicken so crispy? ›

The Korean fried chicken is super crispy because potato starch is added to its batter and the chicken is fried twice. This second frying also cooks off the excess water in the chicken from the first frying. Korean fried chicken is known to stay extra crispy for a long time, even with a glazed surface.

What vegetables do Koreans eat? ›

Commonly used vegetables include Korean radish, napa cabbage, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, spinach, bean sprouts, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, seaweed, zucchini, mushrooms, lotus root.

What do Koreans eat chicken with? ›

Pickled radishes and beer (or carbonated drink) are often served with Korean fried chicken.

Should I coat wings in sauce before baking? ›

Most oven-baked chicken wings are tossed in sauce after they have been cooked, which means that the skin needs to be perfectly crisp to soak up all the sauce. Thoroughly pat the wings dry with paper towels before seasoning them with salt and placing them on a baking sheet.

Is it better to fry or bake chicken wings? ›

Removing the skin and baking also reduces the fat content which is extremely healthy for seniors and children. Baking keeps the nutrient content of the meat intact making it an utterly healthy cooking process.

Should I put flour on chicken wings? ›

Flour: Coat the wings in a seasoned all-purpose flour mixture before frying for extra crispy skin. Oil: Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable oil, to fry the chicken wings.

Why add butter to wing sauce? ›

Butter adds a velvety smooth richness. It also balances the flavors of the other ingredients. White vinegar lends welcome acidity and a pleasant tanginess. Worcestershire sauce deepens the flavor, cayenne pepper turns up the heat, and garlic powder adds a powerful bite.

How do you get sauce to stick to chicken wings? ›

However, there's a simple technique that can help the maximum amount of sauce coat every inch of the wing's surface area: Dusting chicken wings with flour before cooking. This easy step transforms the wings into a canvas that both promotes a crispy texture and ensures that the sauce clings irresistibly to every inch.

How to get flavor into chicken wings? ›

Butter: Dot the baking sheet with pats of butter–it melts while the wings are in the oven, and helps to add moisture, flavor, and it crisps up the skin. Seasoning Blend: The dry rub is what makes these baked wings so irresistible! It's a simple mix of paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper, and it tastes amazing.

Why do people love Korean fried chicken? ›

The combination of the spicy, sweet chicken and the crunchy, tangy banchan creates a flavor explosion in your mouth. But it's not just the taste and texture that make Korean fried chicken so appealing. There's something about the experience of eating it that's incredibly satisfying.

What does Korean wings taste like? ›

These Korean Chicken Wings hit all the flavor notes: sweet, spicy, tangy, and savory. The sauce only takes 5 minutes to make and coats the chicken beautifully with a consistency that's similar to BBQ sauce.

Why does Korean chicken taste different? ›

Korean Fried Chicken: Why Is the Flavouring So Different? The seasoning for Korean fried chicken is very different from the American. The most notable difference is the type of soy sauce used. In contrast, the American version uses a thinner soy sauce that doesn't have any sugar mixed in with it.

What is the superstition about chicken wings in Korea? ›

닭날개 means "chicken wings." In Korea, it's believed that offering chicken wings to your husband or boyfriend will make him cheat on you. It's because the wings could make him fly away.

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