Easy Korean Oven Fried Chicken
Have you heard of the “other” KFC? It’s Korean Fried Chicken! And it’s just in time for the Super Bowl this weekend!
My husband loves chicken wings while he watches football…or anytime, really. And who doesn’t love fried chicken? (No offense vegans and vegetarians!)
But I wanted something healthier and easier to make. Yeah, it’s a little healthier but what I really didn’t want is a bunch of grease splattering with a toddler running around. Not to mention it’s a pain to clean up!
So I took this chicken to the oven and I love how it turned out. And my hubby loves it every time I make it too! He just wishes I would make more!
I’m sure whoever you make it for is going to love them too! You’re sure to score a touchdown with these wings! (Sorry, I had to!)
Ingredients
Chicken drumettes and wings – about a dozen
Cornstarch – about a cup
Garlic, minced – 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce – 4 tablespoons
Honey – 2 tablespoons
Rice wine vinegar – 2 tablespoons
Ginger, minced – 1 tablespoon
Sesame oil – 2 teaspoons
Gochujang (Korean fermented red pepper paste) – 1/4 cup (more if you want it spicier)
Sesame seeds – 1 tablespoon (optional for garnish)
Green onions, chopped – 1/4 cup (optional for garnish)
Directions
- Wash and pat dry chicken.
- In a casserole dish or bowl, mix together garlic, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil to make the marinade. (This is everything EXCEPT the gochujang)
- Marinade the chicken for at least two hours in the refrigerator.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator. Place a layer of paper towels on a plate for the chicken. Pat chicken dry. Place the marinade back into the refrigerator for later.
- Put cornstarch into a bowl. Have a clean and dry plate or dish ready. Roll each piece of chicken in the cornstarch. Shake off excess cornstarch and place on the dry plate.
- Put cornstarch covered chicken back into the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place chicken on parchment paper, skin side down. Bake for about 20 minutes until just golden.
- Line a plate with a paper towel. And get the marinade from the refrigerator out. Whisk the gochujang into the marinade.
- When the chicken has just become golden, remove them from the oven and transfer the chicken on to the paper towel. Drain grease from baking pan if necessary.
- Roll the chicken pieces in the marinade and place back on the baking pan skin side up.
- Return the chicken to the oven for about 5-10 minutes more. Watch it so it doesn’t burn! Remove from the oven and garnish if you feel like it. Enjoy!
Notes
So you may have noticed that this recipe is a little time consuming. If you’ve read my other recipes, you know that I loathe time consuming recipes. However, this recipe really doesn’t take much time at all! It takes some thinking ahead is all! I start this whole shabang in the morning before I get my kid up. Do a little with it here and there during the day, and bam, it’s quick and easy just in time for dinner (or the game)!
Don’t worry if you don’t have an Asian grocery store with gochujang (Korean fermented red pepper paste) available. You can buy it online because Amazon has basically everything! Also, you can try a red chili sauce. I don’t think it’ll have that Korean flavor anymore, but I’m sure it’ll still be tasty!
You may be wondering why the cornstarch? That’s to add a little crispness/texture. Traditionally, people use flour but I’ve found that flour can get goopy (that’s the scientific term, goopy). 😆
Also, for full disclosure, I made this recipe once all at the last minute before because I had something come up. You know, one of those days when things just keep coming up? So I had to skip the part where after you coat the chicken in cornstarch, it goes back in the refrigerator for at least two hours. I just put it straight into the oven. It was still tasty but not crisp.
Enjoy chomping into these wings during the game, or anytime! And if you need something to put out the fire in your mouth after, try making shikhye. It’s a deee-licious Korean rice punch!
By the way, did you know that there’s a wacky Korean superstition that if you give your husband wings to eat, it’ll make him fly the coup? Check it out here!
I know you’re going to enjoy these wings! Let me know how it goes in the comments!