Dakgangjeong: Hot, Twice-Fried Wings Meeting a Bubbling Soy Glaze
Make the sauce first. Fry the wings twice, then toss them straight from the oil into the sauce once it is bubbling again, and serve right away.
Garlic and dried red chili pieces sizzle in a little oil for about half a minute. Then soy sauce, rice syrup, white vinegar and mustard go into the pan and bubble together, brown sugar is stirred in last, and the pan comes off the heat to wait. Only after that do the wing sections, rubbed with salt, pepper and ginger and pressed into potato starch, go into the oil. They are fried once, rested, then fried again until golden brown. Finally the sauce is brought back to a bubble, the hot chicken and fried peanuts go in, and everything is turned with a wooden spoon, scattered with toasted sesame seeds and brought to the table at once.
This article follows a single recipe: Maangchi's "Crispy and crunchy fried chicken / Dakgangjeong 닭강정", her current easy version, first published in 2014 and updated on 8 August 2026. The ingredients, amounts, times and temperatures are hers. The recipe gives 4 servings. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested this recipe.
Of the choices the recipe offers, this version uses grapeseed oil, rice syrup, 3 dried chilies (from a range of 3 to 4), the mustard and the peanuts. The chilies, mustard and peanuts are optional, and you can leave any of them out.
We file this dish under Korea because of its Korean context; this is not a claim about where it first came from or that it belongs to one country alone. You can find more Korean recipes here.
Which Dakgangjeong This Is
On her own site, Maangchi publishes yangnyeom-tongdak as a separate recipe from this dakgangjeong. That is a distinction on her pages. We don't claim the two names always mark completely separate dishes everywhere.
Several other versions exist, and none of them are mixed into this recipe:
| Version | How it differs |
|---|---|
| Maangchi's older Dakgangjeong page | 40 wings or chicken chunks, a coating of 2 eggs, ½ cup flour and ½ cup starch powder, and a different sauce using 1 cup of sliced ginger |
| Korean Bapsang's Dakgangjeong | Boneless, skinless thigh or breast, optional milk, starch and a sauce that includes gochujang |
| VISITKOREA's Yangnyeom Chicken | A whole chicken, a coating, and a sauce with ketchup, strawberry jelly and Korean chili paste |
The version here has no egg, flour, baking soda, milk, ketchup or gochujang.
Ingredients (4 Servings)
The oil appears twice: a small amount for the sauce and a larger amount for frying. Keep them as two separate measures.
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board
- Large bowl
- Large nonstick pan or wok, for the sauce
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Deep pot or deep frying pan, for frying
- Kitchen thermometer, helpful for the first fry
- Tongs
- Wire rack or strainer
- Slotted spoon or small strainer, for the peanuts
- Small plate
- Large serving platter
Choosing and Leaving Out Ingredients
- Potato starch: Look for "potato starch" on the label. Corn starch is a different product and is not used in this version. Don't add egg, flour, baking soda or milk to the coating.
- Rice syrup: The sauce is built on ½ cup rice syrup. Do not swap in another syrup.
- Oil: Grapeseed oil is used here. Vegetable oil or peanut oil are the other options.
- Optional items: The dried chilies, mustard and peanuts can each be left out. See Variations below.
This dish contains soy (soy sauce), sesame and, if you use them, peanuts. Soy sauce and other packaged ingredients can contain other allergens, such as wheat, depending on the product. Check the label of each product you use.
Method
Steps 4–7 make the sauce, and it is finished and set aside before any chicken goes into the oil. The first fry has a set oil temperature. The second fry has a set time and a set finish, but no set temperature.
Frying times, a golden-brown color and a crunchy feel are not proof that the chicken is safely cooked through. No internal temperature is given here. For safe cooking of chicken, follow the guidance of your local food-safety authority.
Checkpoints and Common Slips
| Where | What to watch | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Wing amounts | The 3½ pounds is the amount you buy; about 3 pounds and 24–26 pieces is what you have after trimming and halving | Keep the two figures separate. Don't treat the difference as a set amount of waste |
| Seasoning | Salt, pepper and ginger left in the bottom of the bowl | Mix by hand until all of it is on the chicken |
| Coating | Starch only dusted on loosely | Coat one piece at a time and press the starch on |
| Sauce timing | Starting the sauce while the chicken is frying | Finish the sauce first and set it aside off the heat |
| Brown sugar | Adding it with the liquids | Add it after the liquids have bubbled for a few minutes |
| Batches | Crowding a small pot | Fry in more than one batch. Add the pieces one at a time |
| First and second fry | Mixing up the two | First fry: 330–350°F (165–175°C), about 12–13 minutes. Rest a few minutes with the heat off. Second fry: 10–12 minutes, golden brown and crunchy |
| Second-fry temperature | Assuming it matches the first | There is no set temperature for the second fry. Reheat the oil and judge by time and finish |
| Peanuts | Leaving them in too long | 15 to 30 seconds, until light golden brown |
| Finishing | Letting the plated chicken sit | Toss the hot chicken into the bubbling sauce, take it off the heat, plate, add sesame and serve at once |
Variations: Optional Items and Side Dishes
These are not new sauce recipes. The first three leave out an optional ingredient, and the last two are serving choices.
| Variation | What changes |
|---|---|
| No dried chilies | Cook only the garlic in the oil in step 4 |
| No mustard | Add the soy sauce, rice syrup and vinegar in step 5 without it |
| No peanuts | Skip step 12 and add only the chicken in step 14 |
| With baek-kimchi | Serve baek-kimchi alongside as a side dish |
| With chicken-mu | Serve chicken-mu alongside as a side dish |
No separate dipping sauce is needed. Keep the side dishes on their own plates rather than mixing them into the chicken.
Korean Fried Chicken at the Table
In an article on Daegu as "Korea's crispy capital", the Korea Tourism Organization (VISITKOREA) describes fried chicken in Korea as food eaten while watching sports, on holidays, and at festivals and events. The same article describes fried chicken spreading in Korea in the 1970s and credits the brand Pelicana, in 1981, with popularizing seasoned fried chicken.
That article is about Korean fried chicken in general. It does not single out dakgangjeong, and we don't present it as evidence of where this particular dish came from or that it is a festival dish in its own right.
The Cook Behind This Recipe
On her About page, Maangchi introduces herself as someone born and raised in Korea who learned to cook from her family, relatives, friends and market vendors. This is her own account of her background. We don't present this dakgangjeong as a family recipe or as the single standard version.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people does this serve?
Maangchi gives 4 servings. The recipe starts from 3½ pounds (about 1.6 kg) of wings and notes about 3 pounds, 24 to 26 pieces, after trimming the tips and halving. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested these amounts.
What temperature is the second fry?
The recipe gives 330–350°F (165–175°C) only for the first fry. For the second fry it says to reheat the oil and fry for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy, but gives no temperature. We don't assume the second fry uses the same temperature as the first.
Are the chilies, mustard and peanuts necessary?
No. All three are optional in the recipe. This version uses 3 dried chilies (the recipe gives a range of 3 to 4), 1 tablespoon mustard and ⅓ cup peanuts, but you can leave out any of them. See Variations.
How do I know the chicken is safely cooked?
The recipe gives frying times and a finish (golden brown, crunchy when gripped with tongs) but no internal temperature or food-safety check. Time, color and crunch are not a safety guarantee. Follow your local food-safety authority's guidance for cooking chicken.
Can I make it ahead or keep leftovers?
The recipe is written to be served immediately. It gives no tested food-safety guidance for keeping the finished chicken, so this article does not give a storage or holding time. Comments about how long the texture lasts are not safety guidance. If you have leftovers, follow your local food-safety authority's advice.
Is this the same as yangnyeom chicken?
On Maangchi's site, yangnyeom-tongdak is a separate recipe with its own ingredients. VISITKOREA's Yangnyeom Chicken recipe also differs, with a whole chicken and a sauce containing ketchup, strawberry jelly and Korean chili paste. We don't claim the two names always mean completely separate dishes, but none of those ingredients belong in this version.
What about allergens?
The ingredients include soy (soy sauce), sesame and, if used, peanuts. Packaged products vary, so check the label of each soy sauce and other packaged ingredient you use.
Sources
- Maangchi, "Crispy and crunchy fried chicken / Dakgangjeong 닭강정." The recipe followed in this article: its scope, 4 servings, the wing amounts before and after trimming, all ingredients, optional items, steps, times, temperatures and finishing cues. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-dakgangjeong
- Maangchi, "About Maangchi." Her own account of growing up in Korea and learning to cook from family, relatives, friends and market vendors. https://www.maangchi.com/about
- Maangchi, "Sweet and crispy fried chicken / Dakgangjeong 닭강정" (older recipe). Used only to compare her older version's different coating and sauce; nothing from it is used in this recipe. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dakgangjeong
- Korean Bapsang, "Dakgangjeong (Sweet Crispy Korean Fried Chicken)." Used only to compare a different version made with boneless chicken and a gochujang sauce. https://www.koreanbapsang.com/dakgangjeong-sweet-crispy-chicken/
- Korea Tourism Organization / VISITKOREA, "Yangnyeom Chicken Recipe: Korean Food." Used only to compare a separate yangnyeom chicken recipe. https://english1.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FOD/FO_EN_EC_Recipes.jsp?cid=1928339
- Korea Tourism Organization / VISITKOREA, "Fried Chicken: Find it in Daegu, Korea's Crispy Capital." The occasions on which Korean fried chicken in general is eaten, and the article's account of its spread in the 1970s and of Pelicana in 1981. Not a source on the origin of dakgangjeong. https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=221290
