Gochujang wings, also called Korean chicken wings, are spicy just the way we like: earthy, pungent, and bold. It’s the umami of authentic gochujang (a Korean red chili paste) that carries them, and it’s what makes these taste like something other than every wing on the table.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor Profile | Savory first, then sweet, with a sharp edge behind it. There’s fermented soybean and chili from the gochujang, honey and the rice sugars for the sweetness, and rice vinegar cutting back through all of it |
| Primary Heat Source | Gochujang, with a teaspoon of crushed red pepper as the optional lever on top |
| Heat Level | Mild to medium. Gochujang lands mild to moderately hot on its own, and the crushed red pepper that pushes it up runs 15,000 to 30,000 SHU |
| Texture | Sticky and lacquered, not crisp. There’s no flour or cornstarch here, so the skin sets under the sauce. Broiling the last five minutes gets it closer |
| Best Uses | Party food, and anything where people are standing up. It’s 4 servings as a main and a good deal more as an appetizer |
| Customization Ideas | Drop the crushed red pepper if you want it mild, double it if you don’t, or swap the soy sauce for tamari and it’s gluten-free |
Flavor notes
Gochujang is a fermented paste of chilies, soybeans, rice or wheat flour, and salt. The fermented soybean is where the savory depth comes from, and the rice is where the mild sweetness comes from. That’s a lot of flavor you haven’t had to build yourself.
The rest of the sauce works around it. Honey pushes the sweetness further, and it’s part of why the wings darken the way they do at 450F. Soy sauce brings the salt without thinning the paste out. Rice vinegar’s the sharp edge that stops the sweetness sitting heavy, and sesame oil’s the toasted note you’ll get before you’ve tasted anything.
Gochujang isn’t where the heat comes from. Most of it runs mild to moderately hot, so the teaspoon of crushed red pepper is what sets the level, and that’s 15,000 to 30,000 SHU. It’s optional in the ingredient list, so it’s the easiest thing here to turn up or down.
Adaptation ideas
- Hotter: Double the crushed red pepper, or stir in a spoonful of gochugaru, the Korean chili flake that’s already in the gochujang, so you’re not pulling the flavor somewhere new.
- Milder: Leave the crushed red pepper out. Gochujang on its own sits mild to moderately hot, and you’re keeping the whole savory side of it.
- Less sweet: Cut the honey back to a tablespoon and add another splash of rice vinegar. You’ll still get the gloss, it just won’t coat as thick.
- Gluten-free: Swap the soy sauce for tamari, and read the gochujang label, because some are made with wheat flour and some with rice. It’s worth a look before you buy.
- From scratch: we have a simplified gochujang recipe here. It’s less savory than the jarred kind, so it’s what you reach for when you can’t find the real thing.
Serving ideas
They’re rich and sweet, so whatever sits next to them should be cold, sharp, or plain.
- Pickled radish: The cubed daikon that comes with Korean fried chicken. It’s cold and sour, and it resets your mouth between wings.
- Steamed short-grain rice: Plain rice under the wings catches whatever sauce slides off them.
- Cucumber salad: Thin-sliced cucumber with rice vinegar and a pinch of salt. That’s two minutes of work.
- Sliced scallion greens: Over the top with the sesame seeds, for a raw bite against everything that’s been cooked down.
- A cold lager: Nothing hoppy. The bitterness fights the gochujang instead of getting out of its way.
Storage notes
Cooked wings keep 3 to 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge, which is the USDA line on cooked poultry. Reheat them in a hot oven or an air fryer, not a microwave, because the sauce softens and the skin goes with it. They won’t be what they were on day one, but they’ll be good.
The bowl of leftover sauce has had raw chicken in it. Brushing it on at the halfway flip is fine, because the wings go back into a 450F oven for another ten minutes after that. Don’t brush it on once they’re out, and don’t keep what’s left.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Honey Chipotle Wings: This recipe leans in smoky-sweet – oh so good.
- Spicy Chicken Strips: So fun to eat – and you can control the heat level.
- Jalapeño Fried Chicken: Double the spice – both in the breading and the brine.
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Gochujang Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 piece ginger 3/4 inch long and peeled and grated
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional, more heat
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper more to taste
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds as garnish
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the Sauce
- In a large bowl (big enough to add the chicken wings in the next step), combine the gochujang, crushed red pepper, garlic, ginger, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and black pepper. Stir well.
- Add the chicken wings and stir to coat the wings thoroughly.
Bake the Wings
- Transfer the chicken wings to the parchment-lined baking sheet and place the bowl with any excess gochujang sauce to the side.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the wings for 20 minutes, flipping the wings once at the 10-minute mark and brushing with more gochujang sauce (if preferred).
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
