My baked Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings have a wonderful balance of sweet, savory, and spicy from its amazing bulgogi-inspired gochujang marinade and will be the perfect appetizer for your next tailgating or Big Game party!
Wings are a big thing around here. Not just in my home, but the South loves their football, especially college football, so the 'game day' foods are abundant.
Atlanta's lemon pepper wet wings, hearty grinder sandwiches, and plenty of salsa and guacamole are total musts on our spread. We have a whole smorgasboard of the good stuff ready.
So these gochujang wings...they're Korean hot wings with way more going for it than our traditional buffalo-style ones. We marinate them for tons of flavor, bake them in the oven, and serve them up with toasted sesame seeds and fresh scallions or chives.
It's the party appetizer you need in your life...and you're gonna want to make a second batch.
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Equipment
Blender - needed for your marinade! If you don't have one, mince the ingredients well.
Mixing Bowls.
Large Rimmed Baking Sheet.
Silpat or Parchment Paper - place the wings on your silpat and you won't have to worry about any mess while they bake. Parchment paper works great here, too.
Key Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Gochujang Paste - this is the korean chili paste that is the star of our dish! You can find it at your local Asian market or online as well.
Mirin - mirin is a type of rice wine. It's the product of fermenting steamed glutinous rice and cultured rice called koji in shochu, a distilled rice liquor. You'll be able to find this in the Asian section of your local grocery store or at any Asian market.
Brown Sugar - this enhances the sweet side of our savory-spicy-sweet marinade.
Sesame Oil - if you've never used toasted sesame seed oil...you will want to smell this marinade for the next 15 minutes. It smells and tastes incredible!
Soy Sauce - this really brings those umami flavors, it gives that 'savory' we're looking for.
Asian Pear - this part is optional, but this flavor is what brings that classically sweet bulgogi-inspired flavor to our gochujang wings, making a perfect balance of flavor.
Fresh Ginger - fresh ginger is easily found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. If you can't find any, use 1 tablespoon of ginger.
Garlic.
Sesame Seeds - Not only for garnish but also in the marinade. Flavor, y'all.
Green Onions or Chives - cut them on a thin bias to garnish your chicken wings.
Chicken Wing Segments - you can also find these under 'party wings' at the grocery store.
How to Make Gochujang Wings
Step 1 | blend up all your bulgogi-gochujang marinade ingredients. Trust me, this stuff smells amazing and is full of concentrated flavor.
Step 2 | marinate your wing parts for at least an hour.
Step 3 | place the marinated wings on your silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F.
Step 4 | Put on a serving plate and garnish your crispy wings with chive and sesame seeds right after they come out!
Pro Tips
Save those wing tips, if you separated the wings yourself. Wing tips are fantastic in a homemade chicken stock or tonkotsu ramen broth!
Don't marinate for more than 8-10 hours (aka overnight), the wings will start to change texture.
FAQ
Gochujang is a thick, bright red hot pepper paste made from Korean red chili flakes, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt, which give it that spicy and umami-packed flavor.
Traditionally, it’s fermented for years outdoors, during which the starches in the glutinous rice are turned into sugars, giving the gochujang sweetness.
If you're using frozen wings, thaw them in the fridge overnight first.
I find wings of any flavor to be best enjoyed freshly made! So I wouldn't make these more than an hour or two ahead of serving. Just rewarm in a low oven.
More Game Day Recipes
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Gochujang Wings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wing segments
Marinade
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 1 small Asian pear, cored and chopped roughly
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ cup gochujang paste
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
- Sliced chives or green onion, for garnish
Instructions
Marinate the wings
- Add all the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend until very smooth.¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoon mirin, 1 small Asian pear, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, ¼ cup gochujang paste
- Pour the marinade into a large mixing bowl with the chicken wing segments and toss with a pair of tongs to coat all the wings generously.3 lbs chicken wing segments
- Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight.
Bake the wings
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C), placing the oven rack at the top of the oven. Line your large baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Place the marinated wings in one layer on the lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes until wings are cooked through and the skin is golden brown and crispy.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions or chives, serve immediately.Sesame seeds, Sliced chives or green onion
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