Hi, my name is Joe and I am addicted to Korean style wings. I first discovered them through friends that lived in Korea, and then later got into cooking them with friends from Korean ancestry.
The basic idea is simple enough - fry some wings, toss in sauce and eat them with some nice beer. But like anything worth doing, there are lots of details & tweaks to make them better. I am not always super authentic, I will fall back on "because I like it" as a reason for anything I do in the kitchen. The ends justify the means.
Tweak 1: Freeze those wings
Yes, Freeze them. Thaw them a bit before you are going to cook them though. They won't crisp right if they're too cold on the outside. The basic idea is you want the meat to be tender and juicy even as the skin and coating get fried twice and will be slightly crispy. Starting out really cold helps that a lot. Thaw about an hour ahead of time. I bumped into it almost by accident, but found friends doing it and Anthony Bourdain suggests it in his recipe as well so it's #legit.
Tweak 2: Use cornstarch
I have tried potato starch. flour, corn starch and some informal mixes of these. Honestly, I like corn starch the best. Easy peasey too. You can add spice to this, salt & pepper or more. But the key thing is the texture, it gives the wings a great bite & texture and it hangs on to your sauce. They don't get soggy very quickly.
Tweek 3: Fry them twice *
Like french fries, the secret here is frying a bit, cooling off and then frying again. I won't pretend to grasp the complexities, all I know is it works. Roughly 5 min each time in 350 deg F oil. But pay attention to the color and texture. If you fry them once, it is still 10-12 minutes. but twice seems to work really well. Try both ways and see what you like better.
* being a basically lazy guy, I have been thawing them for an hour and then frying them once for 12-13min at 350 and that has been just fine. YMMV, but there it is.
Tweak 4: The sauce is the boss
I like lots of different sauces on them. But I tend to fall back on a kind of bastardized Korean BBQ sauce, why? Because I like it. It's Gochujang, honey, brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and a few other items. So hot it makes me sneeze. The recipe I bastardized used a TBS or 2 of ketchup, and while that was better than it sounds, it fought with the other fresh ingredients and the vinegar really wasnt needed here. My friend who is a lot more faithful to the real thing fries them in a Wok and then mixes his sauce in the hot Wok, tossing the wings in it once it is ready. Typically a mix of Gochujang, honey, water and other flavors. You can (of course) try any sauce you like, from traditional wing sauce (1/2 Crystal sauce and 1/2 butter) to Teriyaki sauce to American BBQ sauce to more authentic Korean flavors. I do like the heat in the Korean peppers, & it goes great with beer. You can find the real chili paste at your local H mart or even online (Amazon carries it as well). What a time to be alive.
Yummy pics
Tossed in corn starch. You can marinade them ahead of time, or just spice the starch mixture.
Cooling off on a wire rack afte frying in a Wok. If you can, use sesame oil.
I cool them on a plate with paper towels after frying. Just habit.
Frying them in a Wok
Make your sauce on the stove to get all the flavors to mix. Just getting it to start bubbling and then turning off is plenty. This is my ersatz bbq sauce. It started out as the recipe here and then I modified it, getting rid of the ketchup for starters. It is still a work in process; when I am totally happy with it, I will post a recipe. The basic recipe is great though; the honey & brown sugar along with the garlic really set off the chili paste. You'll want to have it on everything. But make sure you have beer.
Heaven.
More heaven
Waiting to get sauce applied. I'm using an electric "basket style" fryer here. Very convenient & efficient. Also less spatter.
Tossing the wings in sauce in a hot Wok for a more authentic vibe. you'll probably need to add water to keep it from getting too thick and burning.
They are super messy to eat, but it's completely worth looking like a zombie for when you are done.
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