These sesame-flavoured Korean -inspired Chicken Wings are a healthier way to enjoy your fave pub food, served with cucumber salad!
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Ingredients in Korean chicken wings
This will make enough sauce for one and a half pounds of wings. If you want to reduce the calories in the meal, you could use skinless thighs instead. This sauce will taste great on any cut of chicken.
For the Korean chicken wings sauce, you will need:
- Sweet chili sauce
- Soy sauce
- Ketchup
- Sriracha hot sauce
- Honey
- Sesame oil
How to make Korean chicken wings
I bake these wings for a healthier version of deep-fried wings you get in a restaurant. Plus, its nearly hands-off when you bake them.
- Make the marinade and divide in half.
- Put half the marinade and the chicken in a ziplock bag. Let it marinate for about 30 minutes. Be sure to discard the marinade that the raw chicken was in.
- Bake the wings at 450 F for ten minutes per side.
- Broil the wings for two to three minutes until they are crispy.
- Microwave the other half of the sauce and toss the finished wings with it, then serve and enjoy!
How long to marinate wings
The acid in the marinade will break down the proteins in the chicken to infuse it with flavor and keep it moist. It only takes about 30 minutes to achieve this with chicken wings.
Chicken is not as dense as beef so it is quicker. You need to find a balance for the amount of time to marinate chicken. Let it sit long enough for the flavor to fully penetrate the meat, but not so long that it gets tough.
Wings only need about 30 minutes. If you choose to use thighs instead, an hour is preferable. Any cut of chicken with skin will need about one to two hours.
Chicken never needs to marinate overnight.
How to make cucumber salad
My cucumber salad is a light, refreshing side to go with the heavier Korean chicken wings. It easy to make while the wings marinate or bake.
- Slice the cucumber very thin. Use a slicer if you have it so they are consistent in size.
- Combine the sesame oil, vinegar, chili sauce and salt.
- Toss the cucumbers with the dressing and let it sit for at least ten minutes before serving so the flavours can mingle.
Ingredient substitutions
This sauce tastes amazing on wings, but you can use other cuts of chicken. This would even taste great on pork.
Chili garlic hot sauce is ground jalapenos, salt, garlic and vinegar. This is the sauce I use on the cucumber salad. Instead, you could use Sambal Oelek or harissa sauce.
You can add other veggies to this salad as well. I use my spiralizer to create thin slices that easily absorb the sauce. Some that work great are:
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Beets
- Butternut squash
- Sweet potatoes
Sweet chili sauce has a base of red chili peppers and rice wine vinegar. It is widely found in most grocery stores, but you can use other sauces. Sriracha is a common replacement, which I use in this sauce, but you can omit one or the other.
What can you make ahead?
The sauce for the Korean chicken wings can be made in advance. While you don’t want to marinate the chicken for more than a few hours, you can make a bigger batch of the sauce and keep it on hand – just make sure the sauce has not touched the raw chicken, as any leftover marinade will need to be discarded. Sauce that has been made ahead of time will last in the refrigerator for a month. Store it in a mason jar for easy use!
You can also make the cucumber salad in advance. The salad will actually taste better if you let the flavors meld overnight. The salad will last in the refrigerator for about a week.
Also, if you love the seasoning on the cucumber salad, you can make this as a dressing for anything. It will also last for about a month in the refrigerator by itself.
Storing Korean chicken wings
Cooked chicken wings will last in the refrigerator for five days. That makes this recipe a great meal prep meal. This recipe makes four servings. Divide it into four meal prep containers, and you’ll be ready for lunch.
The best way to reheat wings is to pan fry them or put them back in the oven. If you don’t have time or access, you can use the microwave. Leave the lid on the container while heating the wings to prevent them from getting too soggy.
Can you freeze chicken wings?
Chicken wings can be frozen. Put them on a tray and freeze them for about an hour before transferring to a freezer safe bag or container. This will prevent them from sticking together.
Wings will last for three months in the freezer.
Thaw the wings in the refrigerator before reheating. Put them in the oven to reheat, and then cover them in sauce when you are ready to serve them.
More Korean-inspired recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Order some chili garlic sauce for the cucumber salad
- Order some sweet chili sauce for the chicken wings
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months
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Korean Inspired Chicken Wings and Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
Cucumber Salad
- 1 cucumber, sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chili garlic hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
Chicken Wings
- 1.5 lb chicken wings
- 2 green onions, sliced (for garnish)
- sesame seeds (for garnish)
Wing Sauce
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Mix together chicken wing marinade and pour half of it into a Ziploc bag with wings. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice cucumber very thinly and toss with sesame oil, vinegar, chili sauce and salt. Set aside.
- Once wings are done marinating, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes per side. Once finished, switch oven to broil and broil wings for 2-3 minutes until crispy, watching closely so they don't burn.
- While wings are cooking, microwave the remainder of wing sauce for 3 minutes, making sure to cover it so sauce doesn't splatter.
- Toss chicken wings in wing sauce straight from the oven and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with cucumber salad and enjoy!
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