Korean Chicken Wings with Gochujang Sauce

Korean chicken wings baked in the oven, coated with a spicy gochujang wing sauce, these chicken wings are really addictive.

Baked Korean chicken wings glazed with a spicy Gochujang wing sauce, easy to make and rather quick meal that everybody will love. Just writing about it, puts me in the mood of making them again, they are just that good.

And despite the fact that due to the Gochujang paste they are rather spicy, the children adore them as well, they just can’t stop eating every time I make them.

And if you like wings, have a look at these Spicy Baked Chicken Wings or these Baked Turkey Wings.

What is Gochujang?

Gochujang paste is a Korean fermented condiment – hot pepper paste – containing chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It comes in several heat degrees, so you might want to pay attention to that when purchasing gochujang paste.

I didn’t have a choice here, there was only one brand of Gochujang paste I found, I’ve just checked the container, it says medium. I find it perfect for my purposes, it has already become one of my favorite condiments.

How to use Gochujang paste?

Well, first of all, you should get familiar with the product, just to know how hot it is and how much of it you can take. Otherwise, there are endless dishes you could spice up with it.

I definitely recommend starting with these amazing baked Korean chicken wings and make the Gochujang wing sauce to coat them with.

Otherwise, you could use it for making other typical Korean dishes, such as bibimpap, which means “mixed rice” and consists of a rice dish topped with several other ingredients like eggs, meat, and vegetables. Or have a look at this amazing collection of recipes using the paste.

How to make?

Usually, Korean chicken wings are fried and not baked. But as I am not that much into frying (too much oil, too much smell, too much mess, too much trouble), I prefer to make to cook them in the oven (or air fryer). And I could not be happier, I cannot imagine liking the fried ones any better.

How to cut chicken wings

• Start by cutting them at the joint, if necessary, of course. In Germany, I can only buy them whole, so I have to cut them myself into drumettes (the part looking like a mini drumstick) and wingettes.
• Dividing them at the joint is very easy, you just have to find the right spot between the bones, where your knife will easily go through the joint.
• To do that, pick up the wing holding the drumette in your hand, stretching the joint open. The wingette part should still be on the working surface. Go with the knife through the joint, you should not encounter any serious resistance.
• If there is any resistance then you are not in exactly the right spot between the wings. Try again, a few millimeters more on the right or left of the joint until you hit the right spot. The knife should be able to easily go through the skin and between the bones.
• If they also have the wing tips still attached (in Germany they do have them sometimes, but not always), then remove the tips and use them for something else. Actually the only way I use the tips of the wings is to make chicken stock.
• If the wings I bought were fresh and not frozen, then I freeze the tips for later use. But if the wings I bought were frozen and are now thawed, I make the stock immediately. Never freeze food that you have already thawed again.

How to make Gochujang wing sauce?

• Mix the ingredients for the marinade: grated garlic cloves, peeled and grated ginger, gochujang paste, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.
• Coat the poultry with the marinade.
• Remove them from the marinade and reserve the leftover sauce.
• While the meat cooks, reduce the marinade, this will take only a few minutes. Place the sauce into a small saucepan and simmer for about 3-5 minutes, until it has thickened and has a glossy look.
• Once the wings are thoroughly cooked, brush them with the sauce, and serve immediately.

How to serve?

The Korean chicken wings are best served immediately. However, I had some leftovers from time to time and I just reheated them in the preheated oven at about 200 degrees/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 to 10 minutes or until hot. They were still delicious.

We had the oven baked chicken wings with rice and a sweet and sour carrot salad, with French baguette and green salad with yogurt dressing and with oven baked potatoes and cabbage salad. All combinations were wonderful, so choose what you like best.

The recipes serves 2 adults and 2 children with side dishes or 4-6 adults as a snack or appetizer. The recipe can be easily doubled.

More recipes with Gochujang sauce:

Spicy Korean Chicken in Gochujang Sauce

Spicy Korean Chicken Stew with Potatoes

Gochujang Fried Rice – Bokkeumbap