Spicy Korean Chicken Wings, where to find in the burbs?

Hello everyone

I've seen a lot of posts for Korean BBQ and Korean cuisine. And kinda miss living in the Skokie/Lincolnwood area cause there is this nice little Korean grocery called Dong-Ah Food. It's right near the corner of Crawford and Touhy.

Anyway, my mom introduced me to this place cause she orders their triple-fried, spicy chicken wings there for parties. I also do too....but now that I've moved out to Streamwood, I'm kind of hard-pressed to find a korean grocery/asian grocery that makes these spicy wings over here. My cousin, who lives in Palatine gets these other wings, which aren't quite the same...they are more sweet than hot pepper spicy like Dong-Ah.

And she has not disclosed where she gets those wings from to me either.

These wings look just like buffalo wings, but they have a kind of thick coating which is apparently triple fried and it has a combination flavor of hot red pepper flakes and sweet and sour sauce. It's covered in a glaze that reminds me of sweet and sour sauce.

Can anyone help me?

Ahh...the Dong-Ah chicken wing. It is heavenly indeed. My wife and I have devoured countless containers of these wings over the years. I can't recommend a place that would match their wings, but if you craving Dong-Ah wings and are willing to experiment with the fryer, I have some observations that might be helpful in recreating these wings at home.

After years of consuming these delicacies, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that the sauce used on the wings bears an incredible (dare I say identical) resemblance in flavor and consistency to the Thai sweet chili sauce we buy as a condiment for lumpia and other fried things. The only hint of difference we can discern might be the addition of a little honey.

As for the fried chicken itself, I don't think it's triple fried. Instead, the consistency of the coating is very similar to my Mom's fried chicken. She uses a 50/50 mix of potato starch (you can buy this at any Korean store) and corn starch rather than flour. She marinates the chicken wings then puts them dripping wet in a ziploc bag filled with the corn/potato starch mix and leaves the wings coated in the bag for upwards of a half-hour. The result is when she fries them, they have a very crispy, thick coating on them quite similar to the wings at Dong-Ah.

I hope this is helpful, though I have to admit that we have never directly tested this recipe ourselves.

Mr. T. wrote:Ahh...the Dong-Ah chicken wing. It is heavenly indeed. My wife and I have devoured countless containers of these wings over the years. I can't recommend a place that would match their wings, but if you craving Dong-Ah wings and are willing to experiment with the fryer, I have some observations that might be helpful in recreating these wings at home.

After years of consuming these delicacies, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that the sauce used on the wings bears an incredible (dare I say identical) resemblance in flavor and consistency to the Thai sweet chili sauce we buy as a condiment for lumpia and other fried things. The only hint of difference we can discern might be the addition of a little honey.

As for the fried chicken itself, I don't think it's triple fried. Instead, the consistency of the coating is very similar to my Mom's fried chicken. She uses a 50/50 mix of potato starch (you can buy this at any Korean store) and corn starch rather than flour. She marinates the chicken wings then puts them dripping wet in a ziploc bag filled with the corn/potato starch mix and leaves the wings coated in the bag for upwards of a half-hour. The result is when she fries them, they have a very crispy, thick coating on them quite similar to the wings at Dong-Ah.

I hope this is helpful, though I have to admit that we have never directly tested this recipe ourselves.

We DO have a deep fryer, so, perhaps we will try this one day. I was told by the Dong-Ah shop owners it was triple fried....I was amazed...maybe that's why it tastes so good, and is rather bad health-wise, but IT'S GOOD!

Dem little suckers are quite addicting. Unfortunately, they don't stay heavenly too long and get kinda soggy afterward, BUT they still taste good. I'll have to "throttle" my cousin for the information on where this place that she gets her wings from. Not exactly the same, but it is a good substitute. Maybe I can special request that they be a bit more spicier than usual?

Thanks for the recipe!

Mr. T. wrote: The result is when she fries them, they have a very crispy, thick coating on them quite similar to the wings at Dong-Ah

Mr. T,

While I prefer Great Sea's Korean style chicken wings, which are more oily/spicy than sweet/sticky, DongA's are quite good, though, to me, the sweetness can get cloying after just a few wings..

If you are trying to duplicate DongA's wings at home, I'd suggest, after frying, you drizzle the wings with maltose that's been lightly heated with a little white vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes.

Enjoy,
Gary

Dong A
Oriental Food Market
3933 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-673-3055

Great Sea
3254 W Lawrence
Chicago, IL, 60625
773-478-9129

G Wiv wrote:

Mr. T. wrote: The result is when she fries them, they have a very crispy, thick coating on them quite similar to the wings at Dong-Ah

Mr. T,

While I prefer Great Sea's Korean style chicken wings, which are more oily/spicy than sweet/sticky, DongA's are quite good, though, to me, the sweetness can get cloying after just a few wings..

If you are trying to duplicate DongA's wings at home, I'd suggest, after frying, you drizzle the wings with maltose that's been lightly heated with a little white vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes.

Enjoy,
Gary

Dong A
Oriental Food Market
3933 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-673-3055

Great Sea
3254 W Lawrence
Chicago, IL, 60625
773-478-9129

Thanks for the advice!


Oh, I just wrestled the information from my cousin...here is the information for those of you in my area...

Oriental Food Market
1105 N Salem Dr
Schaumburg, IL 60194
(847) 885-8610

They don't speak English very well there. So, if yer wanting some wings and a big pan of it...I just said $20 chicken wings...and I gave my phone number and when I was going to pick it up.

Mr. T,

While I prefer Great Sea's Korean style chicken wings, which are more oily/spicy than sweet/sticky, DongA's are quite good, though, to me, the sweetness can get cloying after just a few wings..

If you are trying to duplicate DongA's wings at home, I'd suggest, after frying, you drizzle the wings with maltose that's been lightly heated with a little white vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,
Thanks for the tip. I also like Great Sea's, though my preference is for the sweet ala Dong A. We talk all the time about replicating the wings at home, but in actuality it will probably remain talk. It's just a whole heck of a lot easier to zip up there and grab a tin or two.
John

Just a little update...

Looks like the Oriental Food Market (Woory Market)'s spicy korean chicken wings tastes just as good as Dong-Ah.... I'm happy. I ordered a pan for my Super Bowl party yesterday. Had lots leftover, but it's still good nuked.

Hi,

If you care to make them yourself, you can check this link to a Modernist Cuisine approach.

Saveur had an article on Korean fried chicken, which included a second fry in older oil.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:If you care to make them yourself, you can check this link to a Modernist Cuisine approach.

That must be one of the more approachable recipes that lab has produced.

Just last weekend, in a conversation with a physicist friend, I learned that a mutual acquaintance, another physicist, works for Modernist Cuisine's Nathan Myhrvold. I know Physicist No. 2's wife fairly well, and she complains that her husband's preferred diet is pretty much limited to plain hamburgers with nothing on them. The universe is a small, absurd place.