Dak kang jung is another popular Korean traditional dish and is usually made with chunks of chicken from a whole chicken. I am using chicken wings for the same recipe.
Each piece of chicken wing is coated with sweet and crispy sauce. Of the ingredients, thinly sliced ginger will turn into something like candy which has not only its own special chewy taste but also influences the whole flavor of chicken. Peanuts turn it into an amazingly crispy snack!
Ingredients:
40 pieces of chicken wings, salt, flour, starch powder, eggs, ground pepper, vegetable oil, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, corn syrup (mulyeot), vinegar, peanuts, sesame seeds, dried and crushed red hot chili pepper.
Bread and Deep fry:
- Prepare 40 chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinse them off in cold water and drain them.
- Transfer the chicken into a big bowl.
- Add 2 ts of salt, 1 ts of ground pepper, 2 eggs, and the mixture of ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of starch powder. Mix it by hand.
- Deep fry the chicken wings in vegetable oil 2 times at about 350-380 degrees (F).
Sauce for coating:
- Prepare a big wok or pan.
- Place 1 cup of water in the wok and heat it up.
- Slice 1 cup of ginger thinly after peeling the skin off and washing, and add it into the boiling water.
- Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of vinegar and boil it over medium heat.
- 5 minutes after, add 1 cup of corn syrup and keep boiling over low medium heat about 30 minutes.
- Raise a spoon of the sizzling sauce above the wok in the air and drop it until the sauce begins stopping halfway. Then turn off the stove.
Mix it up:
- Reheat the sauce.
- Add the deep fried chicken, 1 cup of peanuts (or any kind of nuts), 1/2 tbs dried red hot chili pepper, and ½ cup of toasted sesame seeds into the sizzling sauce and mix it with a spatula. The amount of sticky sauce will decrease while you are stirring. Then turn off the heat and you are done!
Tip: Before the chicken cools down, you may have to separate each piece of chicken wings to prevent them from sticking to each other.
For spicy food lover:
You can sprinkle 2 tbs of dried and crushed red chili pepper instead of 1/2 tbs.
For vegetarians:
Just make the sauce following the recipe above, and then add whatever dried ingredients you like and make candy! You can use sliced ginger, nuts (almond, walnuts, pine nuts, and peanuts), or sesame seeds.
- Place plastic wrap on your cuttingboard
- After mixing all the dried ingredients with the sticky sauce, spread it on the plastic wrapper on your cuttingboard. Wait a few minutes for it to harden.
- Cut it into bite size pieces and enjoy!
That just looks so good, I’ll be making it tomorrow for lunch! Thanks for sharing this with us!
ooh hee! My fingers are crossed!
Maangchi,
How long can you keep this for after you’ve made it? I would like to make this for a potluck lunch, but not sure if I want to get up at 0430 to make it! Perhaps I can make it the night before and it’ll still be crispy and taste good?
Thanks,
Anna
Anna,
It could be ok up to several hours, but I wouldn’t recommend keeping it in the fridge overnight. I usually make this a few hours before serving. Start making it at about 8:00 am for your potluck lunch. Give me your feedback later! : )
I made this for the first time and took it to a potluck (I was bold for taking something I’ve never made before). It was a complete success and I came home with an empty dish. I only got 2 pieces. Thank you!!!
wow, great news! Thank you for your update!
Oh my god! This looks so good! I think I have some chicken wings in the freezer. I’m gonna go shopping for other ingredients tomorrow!! haha
do you serve this hot or cold?
Hi Maangchi! I have never tasted Korean food before, much less tried to cook it. I just made Dak Kang Jung and it was AWESOME! Thank you so much for your recipe and for your site. I’m looking forward to making more. I have some leftover ginger so I’m going to make Su Jung Gwa. My husband is sick, and this should make him feel better. Thanks again!
“I have some leftover ginger so I’m going to make Su Jung Gwa. ”
Brilliant idea!
Hi Maangchi,
do you have to put peanuts on the dish if you don’t want to?
no, skip them if you don’t like. It will still be delicious!
hi maangchi! im a filipina but my family realy love korean food. i want to try dakkangjung. can i omit ginger and chili for my kids to like it? because they don’t like spicy food, me neither i don’t like the taste of ginger. but my husband will surely like it. tnx for this recipe, i will try this soon. tnx! :)
yes, you can omit ginger and chili! It will still be delicious!
thanks a lot. my kids will surely enjoy it, they love chicken so much. i will try this tomorrow. wish me luck…. :)
Hello, I just wanted to say I LOVE UR RECIPES!!!
they all look sooooooooooooooooooo YUMMY !!! lol whenever I watch them, they make me hungry!:p
and u r beautiful!!!:D
BTW I am planning to make this chicken wings for my parents this weekend! wish me luck!:)
My fingers are crossed! hope your dakkangjung turns out great!
Can I substitute brown sugar with white sugar?
yes, you can.
Do I have to use flour for this recipe? Can I just do the chicken using only corn starch like the sweet and sour recipe?
Yes, no problem, you can use only corn starch or potato starch
Is it necessary to put in corn syrup I didnt buy it because in the ingredients u didnt put that in there only on how to make it please reply ASAP thanks
omg,I’m sorry! I forgot to write that in the recipe! Yes, you need corn syrup to make it shiny! I am going to update it. Thank you for pointing it out. Happy Holiday!
i reali like the sweet and crispy chicken. thanks for the recipe. I tried to find the korean spicy uncooked crab on your website but i didn’t find it. are you gona share the recipe in the future?
Yes,it’s one of my upcoming recipes. Thank you very much!
Love your cooking on youtube! I just bought your two cookbooks vol I and II. I can’t wait to get them. I have a question about the starch used in your Dakkangjung…is it corn starch or potato starch? What kind is it? Thank you! Lee
it is corn starch she said it in the video =)
It doesn’t matter much. You could use corn starch, potato starch, and sweet potato starch.
Maangchi~ I love your site. I especially like that you include the names of the recipes and some of their ingredients in Korean. I live in Korea and it is sometimes difficult to read an English recipe but to try and find out what those ingredients are in Korean…
If you use a whole chicken, do you cut it up but leave the bone in before frying it or do you just cut off the meat and fry that.
Also, what is starch powder (in Korean)? I can’t seem to find it.
When I use a whole chicken for fried chicken, I leave the bone in.
Starch powder is called 전분 (jeonboon). http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/potato-starch
Maangchi,
Hi! Plan on making this for a workplace potluck on New Year’s Eve. Are the peanuts raw or roasted before adding to the recipe?
Thanks,
Anna
roasted peanuts! I hope your dakkangjung turns out great!
Hi,
I just want to say how my wife and I love your website. She is half Korean but grew up outside of the country in a family not much fond of food, and now we are both so curious to learn to prepare these wonderful dishes. In Europa, there is fairly little culinary literature focusing on Korea, so your site is a real cultural contribution!!
Thanks,
Tom
thanks a lot for this recipe it is sooo good!
what brand of vinegar and soy sauce did you use? Kikkoman and Heinz apple cider vinegar good enough? Thanks
I’m no Maangchi, so maybe she has another opinion, but I personally always use regular white vinegar. It has turned out very well the 4 or 5 times I’ve made it now. You could use apple cider vinegar, but that has such a distinct taste – it would be a different flavor than the usual dakkangjung, maybe. Kikkoman soy sauce should be fine. :)
I just wanted to say thank you! this recipe looks amazing :)
Maangchi, when I tried your this recipe my end product, all the chickens stick to each other and the sugar coating actually harden. It was so hard to chew inside the mouth because the coating will stick to the teeth. May I know what goes wrong with my end product?? Cause I really want to taste how good your recipe can be. Thanks.
I’m sorry to hear that the sauce turned out too sticky! It must have been sizzled too long. Next time you make it, don’t boil it so song. cheers! : )
Ok. I will take note during my next attempt. :D Thanks alot.
I made this and it turned out fine. Thank you!
I just wanted to say that I found your website by accident and that I am totally glad that I did…I’ve been trying to find good “home-made” recipies for the korean food that I love. I’ve always asked my mom or my older sisters (they’re full korean and I am half) to teach me but they are always to busy. Thank you so much!
Also can you just use chicken breast?
My boyfriend doesnt like chicken wings and i made him these and he just looovvvesss it! He ate all of it lol.
Please, please tell me how to make Yang Yum chicken. It is so delicious with the pickled radish. I’m so happy that I found your site. I lived in Korea for four years and I miss it so much. It is so helpful to have your video and the recipe at the same time.