Korean Gochujang Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings with Honey & Sesame

Chicken Wings are the quintessential food for tailgates and sports games. These wings combine both sweet and spicy and are just a little bit sticky by design, because the best wings are. In Asian cooking they believe that dishes should contain 5 flavors. Sweet, spicy, savory, salty and sour. Don’t be afraid of these Asian ingredients. All of them are readily available at normal grocery stores and online. Sometimes the Gochujang Korean paste is harder to find, but most upscale markets carry it as well as Trader Joes and Whole Foods Market in Miami. Once you try Korean Gochujang paste, you will look for ways to use it. It goes well with meats, ribs, roasts and adds that certain smooth “umami” flavor that is so popular in Asian food. I have used gluten free ingredients so that it fits a wide arrange of diets.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

4 lbs. chicken wings, thawed

For the sauce:

1 ½ cup Gluten free Tamari (you may substitute Soy Sauce or Coco Amino Acids)

½ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup honey

4 tsp rice vinegar

4 Tbs toasted sesame oil (toasted has a stronger, richer flavor, but you may use untoasted)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

3 Tbs Gochujang paste

1 Tbs minced garlic

2 Tbs minced ginger

For garnish:

Sliced green onions, cut on the diagonal

Sesame seeds, white best, as easier to see. But you may use black or a combination of both

Radishes (optional) I used Chinese Red Meat Radishes from my garden. These are most often referred to as Watermelon Radishes in the stores.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pat your wings dry with a paper towel. They will brown better and be a bit crispier if they are dry.

3. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. This is essential as the sauce can be very sticky.

4. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and whisk well. Place the wings in the sauce. You can now marinate the wings anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.

5. When ready to cook, place the wings, skin side up spaced apart well onto the parchment paper, or even better use a metal drying rack on top so that the air circulates well underneath the wings. Reserve the marinade.

6. Cook the wings 20 minutes, then flip and cook another 25 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, while cooking the wings, place the sauce in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes over very low heat until the sauce reduces and thickens.

8. Remove wings when done. Pour sauce over the wings and toss, reserving about ½ cup of sauce to serve alongside for dipping.

9. Cut your green onions on the diagonal and sprinkle on top. Serve radishes slices throughout. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.