Korean Bulgogi Chicken Wings

Crispy wings coated in a sweet sesame glaze. This quick and easy Korean Bulgogi Chicken Wings are made of simple ingredients and serve well as a main dish, party food or appetizer. I share how to air fry and deep fry these wings.

Korean Bulgogi Chicken Wings features crispy chicken wings air fried to perfection with a crispy exterior. Then coated in a sweet and savoury bulgogi made of honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.

These bulgogi wings are great as a main course, a perfect appetizer or party food for game day. They are packed flavor and will be a crowd pleaser!

The idea of these wings originates from South Korea where Korean fried chicken is incredibly popular thanks to the crispy skin and bulgogi sauce is a very common in Korean cuisine.

After making these Korean BBQ wings repeatedly and perfecting the ratio of ingredients, I'm proud to share it with you all! 

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements. 

• Chicken wings and drumettes
• Potato starch: or sub with cornstarch 
• Green onion

Wing Seasoning

• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice. 
• Black pepper
• Garlic
• Ginger powder
• Onion powder

Wing Sauce

• Honey
• Regular soy sauce
• Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar will work.
• Garlic
• Sesame seeds
• Sesame oil

Expert Tips

• Generously coat your wings in potato starch BUT shake off any excess otherwise they will have a powdery finish.
• Ensure there is enough room between your wings. So, if you own a smaller sized air fryer, you may need to divide the wings into two batches for air frying
• If you are planning to normally deep fry the wings in oil, use a cooking thermometer to help you achieve golden brown wings that are perfectly cooked. The internal temperature of cooked chicken is 165 F.
• No need to add oil if you're air frying. In the past, I would spray a bit of oil over my wings, but I realized this step was not necessary for crispy wings. In fact when there is too much oil it prevents them from being crispy.
• If you want to keep your wings crispy, allow your guests to dip the wings into the sauce instead of tossing them in it.

Instructions

1. Add your wings to a large bowl along with Seasoning ingredients as listed. Mix well until wings are coated in seasoning.
2. Spread potato starch on a large tray sheet or into a ZipLock bag and evenly coat wings in the starch.
3. To Air Fry: Transfer coated wings into the air fryer basket in a single layer giving each piece enough room. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to air fry in batches. Air fry wings on each side for 8 minutes at 400 F (16 minutes in total). Remove and transfer to a large mixing bowl. To Deep Fry: Fill a large pan or large Dutch oven with 2 cups of neutral oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 350 F. Fry the wings for 7-8 minutes until golden crispy brown and cooked internally to 165 F.
4. In small bowl, combine ingredients for the wings sauce.
5. Pour the sauce over the fried wings and give them a toss. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!

Storage

• Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
• Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.