Dakgangjung is a very popular traditional Korean dish and is usually made with chunks of chicken from a whole chicken. I’m using chicken wings in this recipe, but you could use chunks.

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!

I also posted an easier version of dakgangjeong where you don’t need to mix a batter or slice ginger. It’s just as delicious as this one, so check it out!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Prepare 40 chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinse them off in cold water and drain them.
  2. Transfer the chicken into a big bowl.
  3. Add kosher salt, ground pepper, eggs, and a mixture of the flour and the starch powder. Mix it by hand.
  4. Deep fry the chicken wings in vegetable oil 2 times at about 350” to 380”F.

Make sauce:

  1. Prepare a big wok or pan.
  2. Place 1 cup of water in the wok and heat it up.
  3. Add the ginger to the boiling water.
  4. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and boil it over medium heat.
  5. 5 minutes after, add corn syrup and keep boiling over low medium heat about 30 minutes.
  6. Raise a spoon of the sizzling sauce above the wok in the air and drop it until the sauce starts to stop halfway down. Then turn off the stove.

Mix it up:

  1. Reheat the sauce.
  2. Add the deep fried chicken, peanuts (or any kind of nuts), dried red hot chili pepper, and the 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, separate each piece of chicken to prevent them from sticking to each other.

dakgangjeong - fried chicken

For the spicy food lover

You can sprinkle 2 tbs of dried and crushed red chili pepper instead of ½ 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.

  1. Place plastic wrap on your cutting board
  2. After mixing all the dried ingredients with the sticky sauce, spread it on the plastic wrap. Wait a few minutes for it to harden.
  3. Cut into bite size pieces and enjoy!

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340 Comments:

  1. pam d. novilla& has 1 comment

    hi maangchi,
    i tried your dak kang jung today this is my first time to
    cook korean chicken, my husband & i love it. sooooo delicious,
    crispy outside & soft inside.i used honey instead of corn syrup and white sugar instead of brown coz i dont have any in my kitchen. maybe next time i make it i’ll reduce the sugar & honey coz i find it too sweet. but to top it all excellent recipe. thanx for sharing your
    recipe…. Godbless……

  2. mel san pedro& has 1 comment

    hi ms. maangchi! anyong ha seo ^^ dont know the exact spelling hehe anyways i hope you get wat im saying anyway, i want to tell you that your dish is really really great especially with hot rice yum yum!
    i have question though, ive got friends who will come over and im planning to use your recipe AGAIN ^^and just wondering if how can i make the sauce thinly without affecting its taste. because im worried that the chicken might harden or caramelized too much if it will wait for 2 hours before the guest eat it.thank you and will really appreciate your advice ^^

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

      oh, I’m very sorry about lat reply. Last night I was too busy last night. I hope your dakkangjung turned out good.
      Check the step 5 in the recipe “add 1 cup of corn syrup and keep Boil the sauce for 15-20 minutes instead of 30 minutes, then your sauce is not going to be too thick.

  3. hi maangchi, ive tried your recipe and it was really good! thanks for sharing it. i do have question, how can i make the sauce thinly not too thick so the sauce will be not be too sticky and the coating will not harden much?

  4. im only 15 and i tried this couple of months ago, and it was YUMMY! but EXTREMLEY sticky haha!

  5. Thanks a lot, momy!
    my friends loved it! =)
    Chooseok is coming. Oct.3 i think…
    “H♥ppy Chooseok!” to you and your family!!

  6. This recipe was a HUGE hit. It barely made it to the table. Everyone loved it. Thanks for your help! :D

  7. Maangchi

    I made the dakkangjung for our Korean exchange student living with us. I had never seen or tasted this dish so I was unsure of how the taste and texture should be. We loved it and she seemed to enjoy it but said it was not as crispy as it should be. My sauce was sticky and from what I got from her was that the sauce should be a crunchy coating I think maybe like the coating of a candy apple. Is this correct?

    Thanks for your recipes and the videos. They are great. I will be trying more.

  8. Hi,

    I’m planning to make this dish for two potlucks coming up. What type of dried ingredients can I use? Is there anything besides the nuts and ginger you mentioned?

  9. WOW! DELICIOUS! it is 9:30 PM in LA right now and i am tempted to go to the store to buy some wings to make this recipe now! haha..i will wait until tomorrow ^^ thank you!

  10. I just made this. This recipe is awesome.

  11. Hi Maangchi!

    I cannot wait to try out this crispy chicken recipe. My question is can I use tapioca starch in place of potato starch? Would using tapioca starch prevent the chicken from getting crispy?

    I just made the kimchee porridge and will finish that recipe tomorrow!

    Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.

  12. happymom& has 5 comments

    HI maangchi, its happymom again, i wonder instead of using chicken wings, can I use chicken breast? because my husband has very high cholesterol, i wonder if i use chicken breast, it would taste as delicious as the wings?

  13. happymom& has 5 comments

    Thanks so much maangchi, this recipe is super duper delicious! me and my husband had a wing fiesta tonight! thanks so much for posting your recipe!

  14. Richard Nguyen& has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi!

    Tonight guess what I am having for dinner! You guessed it! I made it just now and it tasted wonderful we didn’t have any leftovers and it was not over powering at all!

  15. Hi Maangchi,

    all your food is delicious. I have a Korean boyfriend and sometimes he wonders how do I know to cook all these Korean foods well of coz i got cheat sheets from your sites…i just wonder if you post a recipe for jjimttak ( the soy sauce chicken with potato nooddle). My Bf cooked it once and I really like it but he won’t cook anymore coz he said it troublesome and he won’t tell me the exact recipe!!! so if you could help tat would be great!!! thanks Maangchi!!!

  16. miriam& has 3 comments

    hellooo i have a little question

    if i dont add the peanuts it wil change the flavor ?

  17. Hello Maangchi!!!
    I’ve been watching Kdrama for a year now and only recently i finished watching Gourmet by Kim Rae Won. From that, I was fascinated with Korean cuisine so last night i started browsing internet for recipes. until I had this chance to get onto your site. I was amazed with your dedication in sharing your expertise to us that you made all your instructions simple as possible. Also, I’m very impressed with the way you spend time replying to every comments you get from your supporters. I want to thank you for all your hard works.

    Today, i tried this “dakkangjung” and we did liked it, specially my kids loved it so much!!!First time that we had emptied the rice cooker!!! Anyways, I really wanted to try all your recipes but unfortunately here in Qatar we don’t get most of the needed ingredients. But still, i’ll work this out, maybe purchasing online will help…

    Thank you so much and pls. continue uploading recipes in future… All the best for you Maangchi!!!

  18. Manngchi,

    Your recipe is awesome it is soo delicious and tasty, it went down a treat with the entire family. God bless and keep uploading those delicious recipes !

  19. Maangchi, can I able to use the ginger powder instead of ginger root?

  20. An-Yong!!!

    Maangchi I love your recipes and videos! I recently visited one of my favorite Korean markets and I purchased a pancake, it middle was taste like brown sugar maybe. I went back to the store and i notice that they actually sold a green tea flavor. Do you think you will ever make these delicious pancakes? or in Los Angeles they have a Korean Taco truck…or well maybe not the tacos, lol but pancakes??

  21. May Loh& has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi,

    I went to the korean mart the other,I was told by the person that i can use the brown sugar syrup to subtitute with corn syrup. Maybe I know if this is suitable?

    Thanks

    May loh

  22. I think you’re amazing at cooking and you seem very sweet. I’m looking forward to your next videos and using this chicken wing recipe. Thanks for your help(:

  23. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Vietnam& has 2 comments

    Dear Ms. Maangchi

    Your website is very helpful for me. I’m Vietnamese but I like Korean food, it’s very delicious. When I read your website, I will try to make Korean food for my family.

    Thanks and best regards
    Phuong

  24. Hi Maangchi,

    Thank you for your wonderful recipes, I’ve made a lot from those ( like cabbage kimchi, oi sobagi, radish kimchi also Stirfried dried anchovy side dish, dukbokki….) all are so yummy. I love korean food so much.

    Then I have a question about this sweet and crispy chicken. My friends will open a party and I want to make this main dish, how long could these chicken keep crispy after being cooked? Or should I let it in the oven just a few minutes before the party to make it crispy again?

    All the best wishes from Germany and waiting for your coming recipes

  25. Kimmie& has 4 comments

    Dear Maangchi…
    I am not sure of the name of the recipe, but when I stayed in South Korea I visited a place near Camp page, I think it was called Taegu. They were known for these little restaurants that made the best spicy chicken pot. It was a huge skillet on the table and they loaded it up with rice, noodles, vegtables, and tons of chicken pieces. Do you have a recipe similar to this??? I loved it so much!

  26. Could you please post a recipe for Yam Yung chicken?

    My girlfriend and I made this, and it didn’t quiet taste like Korea.

    I miss Yam Yung so much, and this recipe was the closest I could find.

  27. Nanci Mitchell& has 3 comments

    I made this recipe and it was really tasty. I was curious if you had a recipe for “Volcano Chicken”. I have researched it and there are many variations it seems. Is there a particular traditional version or way to make it? We thought this recipe would be close, but it was more sweet than spicy. (Delicious anyhow though!!!) Thank you for your time and recipes!!!! :)

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

      haha, you must like real hot spicy food! There is no volcano chicken dish in Korean cooking, but you can use more hot spicy pepper or pepper sauce in your seasoning mix. I will post some more spicy chicken recipes in the future. Thanks a lot for your question.

      If you want to discuss it more, leave your question here on the forum on my website.
      https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
      someone else may know what it is.

      • Nanci Mitchell& has 3 comments

        Yes, I LOVE hot and spicy food!!!! :) I have tried volcano chicken for the first time a few weeks ago and I can’t get enough! Thank you very much for the link, I will post it on your forum to see what kind of responses come back!!! Have an awesome day!

  28. Nanci Mitchell& has 3 comments

    Maanchi –

    Thank you for posting this recipe. I made it for my boyfriend and his friends. They loved it. I like more spice, but that can always be adjusted. Thank you for also posting the video. It made it much more helpful!!! I am looking forward to making many more of your recipes!!!!

  29. hi! i like your dakkang jung recipy.it’s look very nice.i like
    korean food.all the best to you and your work.

  30. hey maangchi ^^
    omg i really want to try making this one day (:
    i have a question though . i dont have any starch powder or corn/potato starch. is there any other substitute for this? or it will have a different taste without it?

  31. hi maangchi…i try to make this eventhough i didnt put peanut but still nice!! thank you for your recipe^^

    by the way can i know what i can use to replace the corn syrup?thank you:)

  32. Hi, Maangchi..Just wondering what is 1 cup of flour in grams? & what is 1 cup of water in ml in your recipes? Thanks so much..

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

      I’m sorry that I can’t give you exact answer because I don’t have a kitchen scale at the moment.
      A cup is a measure of volume, but a gram is a measure of mass.

      Here are A FEW COMMON FOODS and their conversion from cups to grams (notice how much the weight varies!):

      Granulated sugar: 1 cup = 200 grams
      Brown sugar: 1 cup, packed = 220 grams
      Sifted white flour: 1 cup = 125 grams
      White rice, uncooked: 1 cup = 185 grams
      White rice, cooked: 1 cup = 175 grams
      Butter: 1 cup = 227 grams
      Almonds, slivered: 1 cup = 108 grams
      Oil: 1 cup = 224 grams
      Maple syrup: 1 cup = 322 grams
      Milk, non-fat: 1 cup = 245 grams
      Milk, sweetened condensed: 306 grams
      Broccoli, flowerets: 1 cup = 71 grams
      Raisins: 1 cup, packed = 165 grams
      Milk, dry: 1 cup = 68 grams
      Yogurt: 1 cup = 245 grams
      Water: 1 cup = 236 grams
      Confectioners sugar: 1 C = 110 g
      Cocoa: 1 C = 125 g
      From
      http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_grams_are_in_one_cup

  33. Hi maangchi!!!

    I can’t wait to try this!! It looks like this chicken dish that’s very popular in san francisco …, anyway, will this work with fish as well?

    Risa

  34. This recipe looks wonderful! :)

    I don’t eat corn syrup; is there anything I can replace it with or just leave it out? Thanks!

    Love your videos! Made kimchi last week and it turned out great!

  35. Hello, my classmates and I are covering North & South Korea in our Global Issues class. We need to make a dish or 2 and bring it in & tell how we made it. I was wondering if this would be easy enough to do and if you new of anything else I might cook. I will need to use a crock pot to keep stuff warm. I really like the poaced egg dish with the way your mom made it with the rice. Do you think I could use Basmati Rice with it? Thank you ever so much Angela S.

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