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Sticky, juicy, and crazy addictive, these spicy Korean chicken wings are coated with a sweet and savory gochujang sauce that will have you licking your fingers in delight! It's a nice twist on the classic buffalo wings that you probably have had one too many times.
All things spicy are my jam and gochujang is one of my all-time favorites! And it doesn’t matter where you put it because it just makes everything taste so much better. Trust me, it’s that good!
Those who love bold, spicy flavors like me will find their new favorite thing in this Korean-style chicken wings recipe. The perfect combination of heat, sweetness, and tanginess makes these wings one of the best finger foods you will ever have!
Want more flavor options? Make my Korean Fried Chicken, and Vietnamese Chicken Wings for your next party!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Signature Korean flavors. These chicken wings are coated in spicy, sticky, and delicious gochujang sauce. It’s classic, bold, and undeniably addictive, so you won’t regret serving these at your next get-together!
- Healthier. Unlike usual buffalo wings coated in a buttery sauce and deep-fried, I bake these wings with just salt and pepper, which cuts down on fat and calories.
- Perfect for sharing. It’s so easy for me to double or triple this recipe for a crowd. I can make a big batch of these wings to enjoy during game nights, last-minute potlucks, or lazy weekend dinner parties!
What Is Gochujang
Gochujang is a fermented Korean red pepper paste made from chili peppers, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It has a deep red color and a thick consistency, with a funky, savory, slightly sweet flavor.
This spicy paste is often used in Korean cuisine to add heat and depth of flavor to dishes such as stews, marinades, and sauces. It’s actually one of my must-haves in the kitchen and I use it a lot for Korean dishes like bulgogi, tteokbokki, bibimbap, kimchi jiigae, and many more.
Ingredients
- Chicken wings – I use wingettes and drummettes in this recipe for variety. But you can use whatever you have on hand.
- Gochujang – a Korean red chili pepper paste that gives a spicy kick to these wings! You can buy gochujang tubs in the Asian section of big supermarkets or any Asian grocery store.
- Gochugaru – this is not your usual chili powder! It has a mild to moderate spice level with a hint of sweetness and smokiness that you won’t find in regular chili powders.
- Soy sauce – adds a nice umami flavor to the sauce.
- Sugar – for a touch of sweetness to balance out all the complex flavors.
- Apple cider vinegar – provides a bit of acidity to cut through the richness of the wing sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
Variations
- Air fryer. If you don’t have an oven at home, you can use an air fryer to cook the wings!
- Yangnyeom sauce. Make some Yangnyeom chicken by tossing the wings in a tangy and spicy sauce made with gochujang, ketchup, honey, and other seasonings. Enjoy it with a glass of beer like how Koreans do it!
- Chicken tenders. Use this Korean chicken wing sauce as a dipping sauce for chicken tenders or nuggets! It’s an easy and delicious alternative to the usual ranch dip.
How To Make This Recipe
I found inspiration for this recipe from Food and Wine’s Chicken Wings with Angry Sauce. And let me tell you, the sauce is really angry in the best ways possible! It’s fiery, tangy, and sweet all at the same time.
But what I like most about this spicy Korean chicken wings recipe is that you don’t need to deep-fry them! Just pop them in the oven and they come out perfectly tender, juicy, and crispy.
Here’s how to make these Korean sweet and spicy chicken wings in the oven:
First, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss your wings with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Then, place the wings on the baking sheet skin side up and roast them in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until they’re nice and crispy and fully cooked through.
Grab a small saucepan and add all the remaining ingredients—except the white sesame seeds and scallions. Heat it on low, giving it a good whisk to mix everything together. Once it’s nice and thick like a sauce, turn off the heat.
Once your wings are baked and crispy, toss them in the sauce and give them a good mix until they’re fully coated. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and scallions to finish. Serve them up while they’re still hot and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- I preheat the oven to 450°F while I prepare the wings and sauce. Since I’m not using flour, cornstarch, or baking powder (though you can if you want to), I bake the wings at a high temperature to get the perfect texture.
- I coat the chicken wings with the gochujang sauce while they’re still hot. It helps the sauce stick better, giving them that deliciously sticky texture.
- If you’re not a big fan of heat, reduce the amount of gochujang or gochugaru in the sauce. But if you live for spice, feel free to add more chili powder for an extra kick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Korean fried chicken is coated with starch and/or baking powder before frying and then glazed with a sticky sauce. It’s way lighter than American chicken wings which use batter usually made with flour, eggs, and milk/buttermilk.
Yes, Korean-style chicken wings are less greasy because they have a lighter coating, resulting in less oil retention than heavy batters.
Yes, you can freeze the cooked chicken for up to three months. But I suggest storing the wings separately from the sauce to prevent them from becoming soggy. Just reheat the chicken in the oven or air fryer and toss them with heated sauce before serving.
This baked Korean chicken wings recipe has only 326 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
These spicy Korean wings are best enjoyed with a bowl of white rice, some pickled vegetables, and a cold beer. For a wholesome dinner, make the following dishes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Spicy Korean Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs (1kg-1.35kg) chicken wings, wingettes and drumettes only
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons Korean red chili pepper paste, Gochujang
- 1/2 teaspoon Korean chili powder, Gochugaru
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- white sesame , for garnishing
- chopped scallions , for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, season the wings with salt and pepper. Transfer the wings skin side up to the baking sheets and roast them for about 40-45 minutes or until they are cooked through and crispy.
- In a small saucepan, add the remaining ingredients except white sesame and scallions. Heat on low heat, whisk to mix well. Turn off the heat when it becomes thick like a sauce.
- Toss the baked chicken wings in the sauce and coat well. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- I preheat the oven to 450°F while I prepare the wings and sauce. Since I’m not using flour, cornstarch, or baking powder (though you can if you want to), I bake the wings at a high temperature to get the perfect texture.
- I coat the chicken wings with the gochujang sauce while they’re still hot. It helps the sauce stick better, giving them that deliciously sticky texture.
- If you’re not a big fan of heat, reduce the amount of gochujang or gochugaru in the sauce. But if you live for spice, feel free to add more chili powder for an extra kick.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious and easy to make! Love this recipe and will make many times I’m sure!
You can order the Korean chili paste, gochujang from Amazon. No need to substitute with other ingredients.
I live in extreme rural Nebraska. I’ve learned to order my ingredients online and make occasional shopping trips to Denver.
This recipe is delicious,but a little too hot for me. What can I do to tone down the spice a bit?
Cut down the Gochujang if you want less heat. :)
Hello
What can you use to sub the Korean chili powder and the chili paste?
I have Lan Chi chili paste with garlic which I can use for the chili paste, but not sure about the powder.
Would regular chili powder work?
These sound so good, but getting some spices are hard and we want the same flavor. Can I suggest listing substitutions in the future?
5 stars because it sounds sooo good!
Thank you for sharing!
Sue
It’s 400 Celsius or Farenhait?
400F
They were amazing! Made them for super bowl and they are now my husband’s favorite. Made to recipe except I doubled the recipe and did 4 pounds. I like extra sauce on my wings. We wanted to have Korean wings similar to Wing Stop (that was a seasonal flavor and we miss it!). These were even better than the ones we get from Wing Stop. Thank you for posting.
Hi Mandy, thanks for loving my Spicy Korean Chicken Wings recipe. I am so happy that you guys enjoyed the recipe. :)
I think my husband would absolutely love these. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Rasa, I made these Friday night. I doubled the sauce recipe so I could have a nice dipping sauce too. I cooked the chicken at 450f for about 40 min. They came out crispy and delicious. I put salt and pepper and just a little Siracha and soy sauce too when I baked them. I could not find Korean chili paste or Chili powder locally so I had to substitute Siracha for the paste and little smoked paprika and cayenne for the powder. I also added a small cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. I know the flavor profile would be different but the measurements worked and they were Very good. Too spicy for my girl but perfect for me! Ready to try the next recipe!
Hi Tony, thanks for trying my Spicy Korean Chicken Wings recipe. Your adapted recipe sounds absolutely perfect, I love it. :)
Bee!, I made this last night. Why did I wait so long?=:-) Okay, here’s what I did…used 3 lbs. wings=10 wings, and they were meaty. Instead of the oven, I grilled in my Weber charcoal grill. I put the coals along the sides, and browned the wings over the coals turning every several minutes, flipping a total of 4 X’s. Then the wings went in the center with a water pan underneath and I left the air vents in the charcoal kettle wide open. One more thing, I soaked several handfuls of Mesquite wood chips in water, and placed the soaked chips over the coals when i moved the wings to the center of the grill, for about 20 minutes, so they also got a nice smoke on them. I followed your marinade recipe exactly as you wrote, now since my wife and her Aunt wont eat anything hot, I only submerged the wings I ate in the Korean sauce, and they were very good. Just the right amount of heat, with a nice spicy flavor. Can’t wait to do these again. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Jake, wow, you were fast I just posted this a few days ago. Your method sounds very intriguing, you are definitely a pro! So glad you enjoyed these spicy Korean chicken wings.
Hi, is this too spicy for kids?
Yeah, they are spicy!
You want to make the chicken crispy like they are deep-fried. You don’t have to bake for so long, you can try 30 minutes but they are not going to be crispy.
I think Darryl means 200 degrees CELSIUS? That is the temp I would be using here in Australia…
Recipe sounds delicious