Delivery chicken is practically its own food group in Korea, arriving in insulated bags at every hour of the night with two sauces almost always in the box: a sweet, garlicky glaze and a red, sticky one that bites back. Recreating that at home sounds like it needs a fryer built for a restaurant, but it really just needs two fries and two saucepans.
This version makes one batch of wings and splits it into both classic flavors, soy garlic and spicy yangnyeom, so you get the full delivery box experience without ordering anything.
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| Same batch of wings, split into two very different directions. |
Plan for about 45 minutes total, this serves three to four people as a shared plate, and both sauces come together while the wings are frying, so nothing sits waiting around.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (900g) chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 cup (about 120g) potato starch (or cornstarch as a substitute)
- Neutral oil for deep frying (vegetable or canola)
- Soy Garlic Sauce: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 garlic cloves minced, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Spicy Yangnyeom Sauce: 2 tablespoons gochujang, 1 tablespoon gochugaru, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 garlic cloves minced, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for the soy garlic batch
- 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts, for the yangnyeom batch
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
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| One shopping trip covers the chicken and both sauces. |
How to Make It
- Pat the wings completely dry with paper towels, then toss them with the salt, pepper, and grated ginger. Let them sit for 10 minutes.
- Add the potato starch to the wings and toss until every piece is fully and evenly coated, shaking off any loose excess.
- Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep pot or wok to 325°F (165°C).
- Fry the wings in batches, without crowding the pot, for 6 to 8 minutes until pale golden and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack.
- Let the oil come back up to temperature, then raise it to 375°F (190°C).
- Fry the wings a second time, in the same batches, for 3 to 4 minutes until deeply golden and audibly crisp when tapped.
- While the wings fry, combine the soy garlic sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
- In a separate saucepan, combine the yangnyeom sauce ingredients and simmer over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until glossy and slightly reduced.
- Divide the fried wings into two bowls once they're all done frying.
- Pour the soy garlic sauce over one bowl and the yangnyeom sauce over the other, tossing each quickly while the wings are still hot.
- Plate the two batches separately, topping the soy garlic wings with sesame seeds and the yangnyeom wings with chopped peanuts, then scatter scallions over both.
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| A dry starch coating, pressed on firmly, is what gives the shell its crunch. |
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| The second fry is what actually locks in that shattering crust. |
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| The sauce goes on while the wings are still hot, so it grabs on properly. |
The Korean Insider Tip
Chicken restaurants in Korea almost never skip the second fry, and it's not just about extra crunch. The first fry at a lower temperature cooks the meat through gently without browning the outside too fast, and the second fry at a higher temperature is what actually drives out the remaining surface moisture, which is the real reason delivery chicken stays crisp even after a twenty-minute scooter ride. Skip the second fry and you'll still have cooked chicken, just not the shell that makes it worth ordering.
Why This Recipe Works
- Frying the wings twice at two different temperatures produces a shell that stays crisp far longer than a single fry ever manages.
- Making both sauces while the wings fry means nothing sits around losing heat before it's tossed together.
- Tossing the sauce on while the wings are still hot lets the glaze grip the crust instead of sliding off.
Pro Tips
How do you know the oil is actually at 375°F without a thermometer? Drop a pinch of starch into the oil, and if it sizzles up immediately and floats within a second, the oil is ready for the second fry.
Sauce poured over wings that have cooled even slightly tends to pool at the bottom of the bowl instead of clinging to the crust. Toss each batch within a minute or two of pulling it from the oil, and the glaze holds properly.
Wings crowded into the pot cool the oil down fast, which is exactly what turns a crisp fry into a soggy one. Frying in smaller batches with room to move takes a bit longer overall but keeps the temperature steady where it matters.
If you only want one flavor instead of two, simply double whichever sauce you're making and toss the entire batch of wings in it rather than splitting things down the middle.
Plating Like a Local
Korean chicken shops rarely plate the two sauces on the same dish, and there's a reason for that beyond just presentation. Keep the soy garlic and yangnyeom wings on separate plates so the sauces don't bleed into each other, then pile each batch slightly off-center rather than spreading them flat, the way they'd look tumbled straight out of a toss. A small dish of pickled radish cubes next to each plate, the way delivery orders always include them, finishes the scene and gives your guests something to cut through the richness between bites.
How to Serve and Variations
These wings pair naturally with cold beer or a fizzy soda, and a side of steamed rice turns the whole thing into more of a meal than a snack. For a milder yangnyeom batch, cut the gochugaru in half and lean more on the ketchup for color and sweetness instead of heat.
Boneless chicken thigh pieces work as a substitute for wings if you'd rather eat with a fork, though the frying time drops slightly since the pieces are usually smaller. Either sauce also works well over crispy tofu for a version without meat at all.
Why is my Korean fried chicken not staying crispy?
This almost always comes down to skipping the double fry or tossing the sauce on wings that have already cooled. Both frying stages matter for driving out moisture, and sauce needs to go on while the crust is still hot to bond properly instead of just sitting on top.
Can I use chicken drumsticks instead of wings?
Yes, though drumsticks need a longer first fry, closer to 10 to 12 minutes, since the meat is thicker and takes more time to cook through before the second fry crisps the outside.
What's the difference between yangnyeom and regular spicy Korean chicken?
Yangnyeom specifically refers to this sweet, tangy, gochujang-based glaze, while other spicy Korean chicken styles can lean purely on gochugaru heat without the sweetness. Yangnyeom is the one most commonly found at Korean fried chicken chains internationally.
Can I air fry this instead of deep frying?
Air frying gets closer to the delivery version than baking does, though the crust won't be quite as shatteringly crisp as a true double fry in oil. If you go this route, spray the starch-coated wings lightly with oil and cook at 400°F (200°C), flipping halfway, for about 20 to 25 minutes total.
Between the two sauces, most people end up picking a favorite by the second bite, and it's rarely the one they expected going in.
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