Soy Garlic Crispy Chicken Wings (Bonchon Chicken)

Soy Garlic Chicken Wings – BONCHON inspired!

If you love Bonchon's soy garlic chicken wings then this recipe is for you! It is truly one of the best chicken wings you'll ever have. It has the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness with delicious Asian flavors.

I've been making this homemade version for years ever since it became popular. Made a few tweaks here and there to suit my personal taste. And of course, I made it so much easier by using a simple dry batter. Yes, there's no wet batter in this recipe. You're welcome 🙂

So you want to learn how I make it? Read on!

Ingredients

Here's what you need for the crispy fried chicken wings:

A few notes about the ingredients:

• Chicken Wings - use drumette and wingettes. These parts are so much easier to fry and cook than whole chicken wings as they don't take up a lot of space.
• Cornstarch - the best flour to use for fried chicken wings is cornstarch. It makes the chicken crispy and crunchy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside.
• Baking Powder - the secret to, even more, crunchier chicken wings. DO NOT USE BAKING SODA.
• Garlic Powder - to season the chicken wings and the cornstarch.

Sweet Soy Garlic Glaze

And here's what you need to make the soy garlic sauce:

To make a delicious sauce

• Use fresh onion and garlic. Minced them finely to give the sauce a nice texture. I don't recommend substituting with onion powder or garlic powder.
• Use grated ginger instead of chopped or minced. As we know, the root itself is fibrous. Grating helps remove the fiber and extract its juice.

Type of Soy Sauce

To make a nice less salty sauce with a good balance of flavor, this recipe uses equal parts of regular soy sauce and low-sodium soy sauce. You can find these in the Asian section of most grocery stores or Asian supermarkets.

If you want a saltier sauce, use all regular soy sauce and omit low-sodium soy sauce.

What is mirin?

Mirin is a popular condiment in Japan made of sweet rice wine. It adds sweetness and gives a nice aroma to the sauce. You can buy this in most Asian stores or online (link in recipe card).

How to Make Soy Garlic Chicken Wings

And here's how to make the best soy garlic chicken wings, Bonchon style:

1. Make the Sauce

It's as easy as combining all the ingredients in a small pot. Bring it to a boil then lower the heat to prevent the sugar from burning. Simmer until the sauce becomes slightly thick.

TIP: Do a taste test. Add more sugar if preferred or add a splash of water to lessen the saltiness.

2. Prepare the chicken

• Pat dry chicken with a paper towel - removing the extra moisture will help the chicken skin become crispy and crunchy.
• Season the chicken - you only need a small amount of salt, about ½ teaspoon for 2 pounds of chicken wings. DO NOT OVERSALT. The soy garlic glaze has enough salt to flavor the wings.

3. Dredge Chicken Wings in Flour

The best way to dredge chicken wings in any type of flour is using a resealable plastic bag. This method is popularly known as "Shake and Bake". In this recipe, we will be deep-frying the chicken and we will be making our own coating mix.

Here's all you need to do:

• Place cornstarch, baking powder, and garlic powder in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal and shake to combine.
• Add 4 to 6 pieces of chicken to the bag.  Seal the bag and shake, tossing the chicken until it's coated.
• Take out the chicken wings from the bag. Tap excess cornstarch. Deep-fry, bake, or air-fry.

4. Frying

There are 3 ways to "crispy fry" the chicken wings. The first and the most classic method is deep-frying in hot oil, the second is air-frying using an air-fryer and the last is baking in an oven which is essentially similar to air-frying.

My favorite way of cooking the chicken for soy garlic wings is of course deep-frying. Let's be honest and just say that deep frying adds a unique flavor to the chicken that is difficult to replicate in air-frying.

What makes the best fried chicken wings?

Double frying is the secret to making extra crispy chicken wings. Yes, it requires a little bit more effort but it is worth it!

How to double fry?

Let the chicken rest and cool after the first fry. Re-fry in hot oil until completely brown and crispy. Even if coated in a sauce after frying, the skin remains crisp.

Tips for Deep Frying

To prevent the chicken from having a greasy taste, make sure the oil is hot enough before adding the chicken.

The easiest way to check if the oil is at the right temperature is to stick a wooden chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If it's bubbling (see picture above), then it's ready. If it's bubbly too rapidly then it's too hot and will burn the chicken. Let it cool a bit then test again.

Tips for Air Frying

Place the chicken wings in the air-fryer basket in a single layer half an inch apart. Do not overcrowd the basket. Cook in batches if necessary.

To prevent floury patches, brush both sides with oil. Do it generously. I don't recommend using conventional cooking spray/ chemical-based cooking spray as it may break down the coating.

Air Fryer Cooking temperature

The best temperature for air frying chicken wings is 200c or 400f. It will cook and brown the chicken with a total cooking time of 15 minutes. There's no need to use two different temperatures because chicken drumettes and wingettes aren't as thick as chicken thighs or breasts.

Tips for Oven Frying

Cooking the chicken in the oven is essential the same as air-frying. The only difference is that is spacious and bigger in capacity.

Here are my tips on how to get a perfectly crispy chicken in an oven:

• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush or spray with cooking oil.
• Arrange the chicken wings on the baking sheet in a single layer with a little space in between.
• Preheat the oven at a high temperature, 250c or 482f.
• Place the baking sheet on the middle rack. Set the oven to convection mode and lower the temperature to 425f or 220c.
• Bake the chicken wings for 30 to 40 minutes until brown and crispy. Rotate after 20 minutes of cooking.

5. Toss in Sauce

And now, my favorite part.

To make sure that every wing is evenly covered in soy garlic sauce, throw the wings in a big stainless bowl. Now pour the sauce then shake the bowl. This shaking will make sure that the sauce will be evenly distributed on all the wings.

Way better and faster than brushing every individual wing, right?

Serve and Enjoy

Enjoy it on its own with beer or your favorite refreshment served with pickled radish just like in Bonchon!

I often eat this with warm rice and Spaghetti Aglio Olio (olive oil pasta).

Variation– Make spicy soy garlic chicken wings

Add some chopped red chilies to the sauce. You can also add 2 to 3 teaspoons of gochujang (Korean red chili paste). It will make the sauce a little bit thicker and add a splash of water as needed.

More Asian recipes...

• Spam Kimchi Fried Rice
• Easy Korean Japchae
• Teriyaki Salmon Baked/ Air Fryer
• Coconut Curry Salmon with Mango
• Filipino Chicken Adobo
• Easy Tom Yum Soup with Salmon
• Easy Air-fryer Meatballs (Asian style)
• Korean Spicy Salmon with Gochujang

Watch How to Make It