Baked Chicken Wings with Spicy Korean Barbecue Sauce

I love

spicy food with big, bold, pleasant

flavor. That puts Korean cuisine on my list of favorites, and “gochujang” is

one of the reasons. This warm, spicy, big-flavored Korean

red pepper paste is a staple ingredient in Korean cooking, and it’s a delicious

accompaniment to most meats and poultry, even stir-fried vegetables.

What’s in

it? A variety of ingredients, depending on the brand you buy—or whose grandma

is making it in her own kitchen—but common ones include ground rice,

soy bean powder, hot pepper powder, red pepper powder, yeast powder, seed malt,

and water. Cooking gochujang

from scratch takes days because it needs to ferment awhile, but excellent

pastes are available in Korean or general Asian markets.

One Brand of Gochujang Gochujang

In this

recipe, I used gochujang as the main ingredient in a Korean-style barbecue

sauce for chicken wings. Don’t put the sauce on too early because it will burn,

so bake the wings until they’re nearly cooked through, then toss them with the

sauce and return them to the oven for a nice, smoky char to finish.

Ingredients

to toss the wings). Bring to a slight simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook,

covered, 20 minutes. Set aside.

Sauce Beginning to CookCooked Sauce Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper. (The wings may stick to uncoated foil.)

Remove the wings from the

marinade, with some marinade still clinging, and place on the baking pan.

(Discard marinade.) Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and bake until nearly

cooked through, about 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes.

Wings Ready to BakeWings before Turning Wings Nearly Baked Meanwhile, gently re-warm the

sauce. Remove the wings from the oven (leave the oven on) and place them in the

pan with the barbecue sauce. Use tongs to turn several times, coating

completely.

Place the wings back on the

baking sheet and return to the oven. Bake until the sauce begins to char in

spots and the wings are cooked through, 5 minutes, turning once.

Baked Wings

To serve, place the wings on a large platter and

sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve hot.