Honey & Gochujang Chicken Wings

I use my air fryer for chicken wings, and they turn out perfect every time. Pair them with this Korean sweet and smoky sauce, and you won't care about the mess you make while eating them.

Oh chicken wings, oh chicken wings! I can’t lie, I’m an absolute fiend for them. They make a great football snack, part of a sharing board for hosting friends, or even if you just want a cheeky dinner after a boring day. Throw a side salad or some coleslaw and corn on the cob and you’ve got a yourself a full meal.

Without tooting my own flute, I’ve had chicken wings all around the world. From Manhattan to London, the Caribbean to my local pub down the road—and everywhere in-between. When it comes to making these at home, I’ve had plenty of inspiration and plenty of practice.

What’s great about this recipe is that you can follow the chicken wing part and have them dry or with any other sauce of choice. I’ve made it so that they’re delicious any which way you have them. Don’t say you don’t get your money’s worth with this one.

I’ve been on a bit of a culinary adventure with gochujang recently—gochujang is a flavourful Korean chilli paste made from fermented soybeans, red chilli peppers, and rice—giving it a unique sweet, spicy, and umami kick. It’s been a go-to ingredient in Korean kitchens for centuries, adding depth to everything from stews to marinades. Now it’s in my kitchen and I’m going absolutely mad with it.

When I first made these chicken wings with this honey and gochujang sauce, I knew that this had to be my first chicken wing recipe. It’s the best sauce for wings and I really think you’ll like them.

So what’s the secret? Or what’s the cooking hack should I say? (must be on brand at all times). It’s made up of four parts:

1. Buy the full wings (which are much cheaper!) and butcher them yourself to separate the flats from the drums. This YouTube video shows you how: How to Cut and Break Down Chicken Wings.

2. My perfect spice blend to coat the chicken before cooking.

3. Cooking them (in the air fryer) at the correct temperature and for the correct amount of time.

4. Making the sauce and coating the wings at the end.

Why do I air fryer them? It started out of laziness to be fully honest with you. But I think it’s the easiest and best way to turn something that could be faffy, into a viable mid-week recipe. Air frying them will give you a really nice crispy outer layer with flavourful caramelisation, but keeping the meat tender and juicy (not overcooked and dry!). You’ll also avoid the one big mood killer of chicken wings, any undercooked or slightly-pink bits on the bone. I hate that.

If you don’t own an air fryer I’ll be including how to cook them in a traditional oven too. I got you fam.

Anyway, enough of me going on about my unending love of chicken wings and let’s get to the recipe. Let me know how you get on—I really hope you like them! Judging by the sauce all over our faces, we certainly did.

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Serves 4-6 as a snack or side, or serves 2-3 as a meal. Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

• 1kg whole chicken wings

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt (1.5 if having wings dry)

Honey & Gochujang Sauce

• 50g honey

• 50g gochujang

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 teaspoon minced ginger

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

• 1 knob of butter

• Sesame seeds (for finishing)

Method

1. Cut your chicken wings to separate the flats from the drums and pat dry before putting into a large mixing bowl.

2. Mix the dry seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl.

3. Add the oil to the chicken along with the seasoning mix and mix well to coat the wings. Get right in there.

4. Place the wings in your air fryer basket, trying to space them as evenly as possible. For best results, try not to overcrowd your air fryer. If you have two baskets, separate the wings between the two. If your air fryer has one basket, you can increase the cooking time slightly (3-4 minutes) or cook in batches.

5. Air fry at 190°C for 20 minutes. Shake the basket or flip the wings a couple of times during the process. But I don’t have an air fryer! No problem. To bake these chicken wings in a conventional oven, preheat oven to 200°C and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until crispy, flipping the wings after 30 minutes.

6. While the wings are cooking, it’s time to make that sauce. In a wide pan, heat 1 tbsp neutral oil over medium heat. Add your garlic, ginger, and gochujang and fry for 30-45 seconds until fragrant.

7. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, and water. Stir until the sauce bubbles and the sugar is dissolved, about 4-5 minutes. That bubbling is turning the honey and sugar into a thicker, sticky, caramel-like texture. Perfect. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. It will thicken even more.

8. When your wings are done and looking perfectly crispy, tip them into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the honey and gochujang sauce and thoroughly mix to coat the wings.

9. Place the wings into a serving bowl and top with a healthy sprinkling of sesame seeds.

10. Grab some kitchen towel because you’ll need it. Enjoy!

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Having dabbled in intermittent fasting and carb cycling (alternating between high and low carb days to help with my weight loss), I’ve ended up with quite a strange relationship with lunchtime. One of the ways I managed to drop from 93kg to 80kg during 2022 and 2023 was due to many factors, but a significant one being the way I approached lunch. It used to be one of three major meals of my day. I’d eat the same amount at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s only when stepping out of that routine and attempting to cut calories and make healthier changes to my diet in order to build a healthier body that I realised how crazy it was to eat like that. As humans, we just don’t need three equally sized meals set out unnaturally at five-hour intervals.

I’m currently writing a post about exactly how I managed to drop 13kg in preparation for my wedding, and I’ll be going into much more detail in that post. I’m hoping to share the story of how I went from a depressed, anxious, and rather large-bellied man working in a dingy Tesco bakery to a much lighter, more confident married man. There are a lot of layers to the story, and I want to do my little tale justice. But what I’ll say for now is that intermittent fasting played a huge role in my successful weight loss journey. To follow intermittent fasting, I mostly skipped breakfast, had a very small lunch (or just a protein shake and a piece of fruit), and then gave myself the freedom to eat pretty much anything I wanted for dinner.

I’m a firm believer that there’s no right or wrong way to achieve the body you desire. There’s obviously some science shit that you need to abide by, otherwise fat loss in your body just won’t happen, but as long as you’re playing within the parameters of the tried and tested weight-loss rules (mainly calories in vs calories out and hitting your daily protein minimum), you can attack it however you like. The key is doing it in a way that matches your lifestyle, otherwise it’s just not sustainable. For me, I had to protect dinner time and weekends. I live for eating good food, especially at the weekends, and for me, it was worth a highly reduced calorie intake during breakfast and lunch, Monday to Friday, in order to enjoy normal dinners and (pretty much) whatever I wanted to eat at the weekend.

I’m off on a tangent here, and you’re probably wondering: “What does any of this have to do with bananas on toast?” Fair point, but I’m almost there. I can talk about this stuff all day, which is why I’m making a dedicated post to get it out of my system and share as much knowledge as I can. I’ve been unhappy with my body for a long time, and it’s in these past few years that I’ve made more progress than I have in my entire life. I’m hoping to share my story and the exact way I managed it, in the hope that I can help someone else who’s looking for a way to get healthier while still enjoying food to the fullest. If I can do it, anyone can. I really believe that.

Let’s push on towards the bananas on toast, shall we? As I mentioned, during my weight loss phase, lunchtimes were almost non-existent. When transitioning out of my weight loss phase and into my weight maintenance one, I allowed myself the introduction of more calorific lunches. Enter stuff on toast. Lunches for me need to be quick to prepare, low-faff, and tasty. I work full-time, so anything that takes a long time to prepare digs into my precious lunch-hour relaxation protocol. Having good-quality sourdough became a lifesaver for this, as it helps with lunches that are calorie-conscious, quick, easy, and tasty. Toasting a good, sturdy, and flavoursome bread like sourdough gives you a stable, crunchy, and chewy base to build a world of flavours on top of.

I often have tuna, mayo, and pickles on toasted sourdough, or poached eggs with hot sauce. Sometimes, I opt for diced tomato and red onion, like a little bruschetta bastardisation, or goat's cheese and slices of pickled beetroot. I also enjoy cottage cheese, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. But my latest sweet treat version is peanut butter, sliced banana, and honey. It’s a little more calorie-dense so it’s good for days when I know I’m eating something healthier for dinner. If you’re someone who doesn’t give a flying f about calories or eating healthy: 1. I’m jealous of you, 2. you don’t need to have concerned yourself with the previous five paragraphs—I’m sorry for that. You can just go ahead and eat it and enjoy it, mate.

This quick-to-prepare and delicious sweet treat is packed with flavour. The peanut butter gives a rich, sweet base, helping to stick your ripe banana pieces down, and a drizzle of good honey on top seals the deal. I wish I’d sprinkled a little ground cinnamon over mine to finish because I think that would be perfect. It’s a simple lunch that uses a foolproof combination of ingredients that most people have lying around, and I implore you to give it a try. Keep your eyes peeled for my weight loss post if that’s something you’re interested in, and happy lunching folks!

See you next time!

Thanks,
Miles x