Crispy Oven Baked Korean Chicken Wings

Crispy Oven Baked Korean Chicken Wings are sweet, savory & spicy! Baked crisp in the oven (hello!.. secret ingredient) and tossed in an intensely flavored Asian-inspired Korean gochujang sauce, these baked chicken wings are always a favorite appetizer at any gathering and are absolutely addictive!

When it comes to demolishing some chicken wings, I am your girl!! Saucy, spicy … hands all a mess… pounding down some crispy, tender chicken wings is the perfect date-night, as far as I am concerned and my husband is 100% aware that makes me happy, happy, happy.

But sometimes you just don’t want to change out of your yoga pants and Rhinestone Cowboy t-shirt to drive to your local hot wing hot spot.  What’s a girl to do??

You grab up some naked wings and bake yourself some crispy chicken wings right in your kitchen without even dusting off your mini-fryer. 

…. right …. 

No, trust me.. this crunchy double fry my chicken wings girl would NOT steer you wrong when some craptastic fake limp baked chicken wing recipe. 

THIS baked chicken wing recipe is legit. And when you combine crunchy oven baked wings and toss them in an intense sweet and spicy Korean sauce, my friend, you will never leave your house for wings ever again.

Ever.

Now I love me some crispy chicken wings and I love me some Korean chicken and rice. So then I started thinking .. why not combine the two? 

But how do I make fried chicken wings without breaking out my fryer because let’s be real … I’m lazy when it comes to Friday night cooking.

Magic! These baked chicken wings are special because they are tossed in a secret ingredient that I learned from Cafe Delites.

She has an a-ma-zing baked buffalo wing recipe and she suggests using baking powder to make your chicken wings deep fryer crispy in the oven and WOW is she right.  

These oven baked chicken wings come out super crispy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside.

While your wings are baking, whisk up my spicy gochujang sauce and you will be in spicy, finger lickin’ good, my mouth is on fire but my heart is happy heaven.

Yes, that’s a real thing, by the way.

WHY THESE KOREAN WINGS ARE THE BEST!

• These chicken wings are oven baked to perfection so there is no need to break out your mini-fryer.
• Baked wings are no muss, no fuss so you won’t have cooking oil to clean up or recycle.
• By tossing your wings in a seasoned baking powder coating, you are guaranteed a crispy crunchy chicken wing that will fool anyone into thinking they were fried.
• Korean gochujang sauce is life.  Use it on everything.
• This Asian-inspired Korean sauce is sweet, sticky and spicy. Gochujang sauce is no joke and neither is the heat index on these wings. 

To make these crispy oven baked wings, you will need:

• Chicken wings
• Baking powder
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt or seasoning salt
• Gochujang paste
• Soy sauce
• Rice wine vinegar
• Honey
• Sesame oil
• Fresh or powdered ginger
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Green onions

HOW TO MAKE CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS

To bake super crispy wings in the oven, you need to start with the secret ingredient. That magic thing is baking powder.  By coating your wings in a light sprinkling of seasoned baking powder, you are guaranteed that crunchy crispy chicken skin that makes the perfect wings.

Start by combining baking powder, salt, garlic powder, pepper and onion powder in a small bowl. Pat your naked chicken wings with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible and then add them to a separate mixing bowl, one large enough to toss your wings around without them flying out.

Sprinkle half of your baking powder mixture on your wings and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the remaining mixture and toss again until your wings are evenly coated.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet tray with foil and then add an oven safe wire rack on top of your foil.  Lightly spray your rack with non-stick spray.

Lay your chicken wings out on the wire rack so that there is plenty of space between them to ensure they cook evenly.

Cook wings for 30 minutes then flip your wings and return to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes.

While your wings are baking, make your Korean sauce.  Add gochujang sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger and garlic powder to a small sauce pan and heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. 

Once your sauce reaches a slow boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.  Your sauce will start to reduce and thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once your wings are done, remove them from the oven and to a large mixing bowl.  Pour your spicy Korean sauce on top and toss to coat. 

Top with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions.

Serve immediately.

PRO TIPS FOR PERFECT WINGS

• Be sure to pat your wings dry before tossing them in the baking powder so that the seasoned coating sticks.
• Don’t forget to spray your baking rack with non-stick spray so that your baked bites of deliciousness don’t stick while baking.
• This Korean gochujang sauce is spicy!  Feel free to reduce the gochujang measurement by 1 tablespoon if you are nervous about that.
• Making these wings for the whole family? Double the measurements and leave some wings unsauced for the kids. They can dunk theirs in ranch or BBQ sauce 🙂
• Letting your sauce simmer will reduce the sauce and thicken it.  Be sure to stir it occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan.
• Have a glass of milk handy just in case you mouth catches fire.  Just sayin’….

BY THE WAY, WHAT IS GOCHUJANG?

The secret to spicy Korean chicken is a little firecracker of a condiment found in the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store called gochujang sauce.

This concentrated dark red sauce is so flavorful.. a little bit sweet and a whole lot spicy.

So when you combine gochujang sauce with a few of the pantry items you already have on hand and then pour that over chicken wings, you have the perfect spicy game day appetizer that is anything but boring.

DO I NEED TO USE FRESH GINGER?

Fresh ginger is a big plus in this recipe but sometimes you just don’t have it available.

If you’ve never used fresh ginger before, it’s easy. Simply peel the outer casing off the fresh ginger and then grate your ginger using a hand grater or even a cheese grater.

In a pinch, the fresh ginger in this recipe can be substituted with 2 teaspoons of ground ginger.

MORE EASY APPETIZERS YOU WILL LOVE

• Orange Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Truffles
• Queso Blanco Dip
• Slow Cooker Spicy Hawaiian Meatballs
• Goat Cheese Bruschetta
• Blue Cheese Bites

Enjoy!