Buffalo-style chicken wings have long ruled the roost, but there's a spicy new upstart poised to challenge their spot at the top of the game-day menu: Korean wings.
With their balance of salty, sweet, and spicy, Korean wings are packed with delicious flavor, but they also come with a lengthy ingredient shopping list. By fusing the best elements and techniques from Korean and Buffalo-style wings, we've come up with a dynamite wing that's—dare we say it?—better than the sum of its parts.
In this version, the iconic Frank's RedHot Original sauce (which can still be slathered as liberally as you wish) is balanced by the sweet-and-sour tang of rice vinegar and soy sauce. Gone is the hefty dose of butter; instead, a very light coating of rice flour keeps the wings super-crispy, even a day later.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
Makes 8 snack servings
Ingredients
FOR GLAZE
FOR WINGS
Preparation
Make Glaze:
Step 1
Combine all glaze ingredients in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Briskly simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Fry Chicken:
Step 2
Cut off chicken wing tips (save and freeze for stock), and halve chicken wings at joint. Put rice flour, salt, and pepper in a paper bag or large resealable plastic bag and shake to combine. Working in 4 batches, shake chicken in rice mixture to coat completely. Transfer each batch, as coated, to a large sieve set over a bowl and shake wings several times (be gentle) to knock off excess flour. Arrange each batch, without layering, on plates. Clean and dry sieve.
Step 3
Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a wide 4- to 5-quart pot over medium-high heat until it registers 350°F. Working in 4 batches, fry wings, stirring and turning occasionally, for 5 minutes (adjust burner to keep oil as close to 350°F as possible while frying, and return oil to 350°F before adding each new batch). With a slotted spoon, transfer each batch of fried wings to the cleaned sieve, set over a bowl. Let wings drain in sieve while the next batch fries, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. When the last batch of wings is fried and transferred, clean and dry sieve.
Step 4
Reheat oil to 375°F and beginning with first batch, fry wings again, stirring and turning occasionally, until cooked through and golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer fried wings to sieve set over a bowl and drain while next batch fries, then transfer to baking sheet lined with fresh paper towels.
Step 5
Brush wings with glaze on both sides while hot, and transfer to a platter.
