This Crispy Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings recipe is delicious, sweet, sticky, and a little bit spicy. The Air Fryer provides the perfect crunch to these wings without all the added fat from frying.
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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
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So here’s a fun fact about me…I am not the biggest fan of traditional fried chicken. Only a few close friends know this fact because I live in the South and in the South, everyone loves fried chicken. However, fried chicken should be doused in a delicious sauce after it’s fried to perfection. This must be why I love Korean fried chicken so much.
*Update: My thoughts changed on traditional fried chicken after I made it in the air fryer. Air Fryer Fried Chicken is the truth!
What is Korean Fried Chicken
Korean Fried Chicken is fried chicken that has a super crunchy exterior, yet juicy interior. Therefore, the chicken is usually double fried in oil and then covered in a delicious spicy, sweet and sour type sauce. Any part of the chicken can be used to make Korean Fried Chicken.
Korean fried chicken is popular for the spicy sauce that it is covered in. The main ingredient to this sauce is a spicy Korean paste known as gochujang. The good thing about this paste is there are different heat levels. I used the mild for this recipe so I could enjoy the flavors more but the paste can be extremely spicy if you are not careful.
Why make these chicken wings in an Air Fryer?
Most Korean fried chicken is double fried in oil. Part of me wanted to find a healthier alternative but another part of me didn’t want to do all that work. Blame it on the baby, work, life…but if I can simplify a delicious recipe then that’s what I’m going to do.
Coating these chicken wings in cornstarch and frying them for 30 minutes in the air fryer was easy, fast, and healthy.
How to Make Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings?
Creating Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings is easy. You don’t even need to preheat the air fryer. Just set the temperature to 390 degrees, season the chicken wings, cover them in a corn starch, and cook in air fryer for 30-35 minutes.
Make sure when coating the chicken wings with cornstarch, that you shake off the cornstarch from each piece really well. You want the chicken wings to be completely covered but you don’t want too much excess corn starch. Pick up each chicken piece with a pair of tongs, tap it against the side of your bowl before placing it in the air fryer basket.
As with any air fryer recipe, make sure the bottom of your air fryer basket is properly seasoned with oil so your chicken does not stick.
Never use aresole can sprays in your air fryer. Invest in a good quality spray oil bottle. I use this brand.
As always, enjoy.
If you like this recipe, check out my general Air Fryer Chicken Wings from Fresh or Frozen post or my Honey Mustard Chicken Wings recipe.
Notes on Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings
- The sauce provided in this recipe is enough to lightly coat 2 lbs of chicken wings. If you desire more sauce, feel free to double the sauce ingredients.
- I’d suggest serving Korean Air Fried Chicken with a nice quick pickled carrot.
Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- ¾ cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Korean Air Fried Chicken Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon gochujang Korean chilli paste
- 3 Tablespoon honey
- 2 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse and dry chicken wings with a paper towel. Place in a large bowl and season with garlic powder, onion powder, and ½ tsp salt.
- Cover chicken with corn starch and use kitchen tongs to stir, ensuring all chicken pieces are coated. Tap each piece of chicken on the side of the bowl (to remove excess starch) and place it in the air fryer basket.
- Close the basket and cook chicken wings at 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, turning and rotating chicken about every 10 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.
Korean Air Fried Chicken Sauce
- Add the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk until combined. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once chicken is done cooking, add sauce to the wings and toss to cover all wings. Enjoy 🙂
Notes
Suggested Tools for Korean Air Fried Chicken
Air Fryer
Kitchen Tongs
Large Bowl
Nutrition
Step by Step Photos of Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings
Pin Korean Air Fried Chicken Wings for Later
Looking for more Air Fryer recipes? Try my Perfect Air Fryer Steak or Healthier General Tso’s Chicken in the Air Fryer.
Jennifer
Saturday 26th of March 2022
Is there a substitute for the Korean paste known as gochujang I don’t have any and wanted to make them for dinner and can’t run out again today? If not will try another one of your amazing recipes!
Tanya
Tuesday 29th of March 2022
Hi Jennifer, I honestly don't know of one really. You could try siracha and play around with the flavors, but I would use a bit less as I find siracha more spicy than gochujang.
Moira
Thursday 17th of February 2022
I forgot to mention, that rather than just cornstarch to coat, I used a mix of 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 rice flour. Great recipe.
Moira
Thursday 17th of February 2022
This turned out great. I just did 1 lb of wings to try it out and halved the other ingredients. Per son's suggestion (he's a chef and has a Korean Fried Chicken sandwich on his menu) I added about 1-1/2 tsp of rice vinegar to the sauce. Tossed the wings with toasted sesame seeds after tossing in the sauce and sprinkled chopped green onions over to serve. They stayed crispy and tasted great. Will definitely make again.
Tanya
Thursday 17th of February 2022
Thanks Moira! I love the addition of rice vinegar to the sauce. I'll have to try that next time.
Jimmy
Sunday 13th of February 2022
Wings came out great, but no link to the quick pickled carrot?
Tanya
Monday 14th of February 2022
Thanks Jimmy! Good point! I'll make sure to add that to my list of recipes to write down. I usually just add vinegar, water, sugar and salt over some sliced carrots.
Pamela
Thursday 20th of May 2021
Can you use this recipe with skinless chicken and it will still be crispy? My husband and I have become used to eating chicken without the skin.
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes that are so easy to follow!
Tanya
Friday 21st of May 2021
Hi Pamela, it likely won't be as crispy but it will still be tasty. I've had a few readers make it with skinless chicken in the past.