If you love Korean fried chicken but want something even richer, these Korean Boneless Pork Wings take things further. Made from tender pork loin, each bite fries up golden and crisp before getting coated in a bold sweet and spicy yangnyeom sauce. The result is juicy Korean fried pork with deep umami heat and sweetness to balance it out. The kind of crispy pork bites that make takeout feel average.
No bones. No dryness. Just ultra crispy Korean pork bites with serious sweet heat flavor.
What are Korean Boneless Pork Wings?
Pork Wings are bite-sized pieces of pork loin cut and shaped to mimic boneless chicken wings, then fried until crisp and tossed in bold sauce.
Korean Boneless Pork Wings follow the same technique as Korean boneless chicken wings or Korean Fried Chicken, but swap in tender pork loin cut into bite-sized pieces. The pork is marinated first to tenderize it and help the coating cling properly during frying. A bold homemade yangnyeom sauce is prepared ahead of time, ready to glaze the crispy pork once it comes out of the fryer.
The pork bites are fried once for about 5 minutes until lightly golden, rested briefly, then fried again for 1–2 minutes to create an ultra-crispy exterior. Once hot and crisp, they’re tossed in the glossy Korean red sauce and served immediately. The double fry method is what gives this Korean fried pork its signature crunch while keeping the inside juicy.
Can You Make Korean Boneless Pork Wings Ahead of Time?
Yes. Because these Korean Boneless Pork Wings are fried twice, they’re perfect for making ahead.
If preparing in advance, complete only the first fry until the pork bites are lightly golden. Let them cool completely, then spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag for longer storage.
When ready to serve, remove the desired amount and let them sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes while preheating your deep fryer to 375°F (190°C). Fry a second time for 1–2 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Toss immediately in warm yangnyeom sauce and serve.
For best texture, always fry and immediately sauce just before serving to keep the exterior crisp.
Ingredients for Korean Boneless Pork Wings
These crispy Korean Boneless Pork Wings are built in four stages: the pork, the marinade, the breading, and the bold yangnyeom sauce.
Pork Loin or Chops, Marinade (Water, Chicken Bouillon, Potato Starch, Baking Powder, Egg, Sea Salt, MSG), Breading (Cornstarch, Flour, White or Black Pepper), Oil for deep frying, Yangnyeom Sauce (Gochujang, Water, Soy Sauce, Ketchup, Garlic, Ginger, Chili Oil, Sugar, Cream of Tartar).
Pork
Use Pork loin or boneless pork chops, cut into bite-sized pieces . Use a digital scale to weigh out 2 lbs worth for 4-5 servings.
Can I use Pork Chops
Alternatively 1/2 inch Boneless Pork Chops (lean cuts) can be used. You can also use 1 inch bonless pork chops and slice them to create 2 x 1/2 inch pork chops for a serving.
Pork Wing Dimensions
I cut and shape the pork to mimic the size and feel of boneless wings, giving you that same handheld, snackable experience. But with richer flavor and better texture. Once fried and sauced, they eat just like wings, just without the bones.
You can Just chop the pork into chunks about 1 inch or twice as long as it is wide. For specifics on the Pork Wing dimensions, I cut them as below.
The dimensions of the pork is about 1/2 inch thick, 1 inch wide and 2 inches long. With 1/2 inch pork Chops, trim off any excess fat and save this to render out for other recipes. Slice each pork chop into about 1-inch-wide strips the length of the pork chop. Then slice at a 45-degree angle about 2 inches long. Roughly the same size as a boneless chicken wings.
How much pork per serving?
You should be able to get about 12+ pieces from a 1 inch, decent size pork chop or 2 x 1/2 inch Pork Chop for 1 serving. I typically make about 12 pieces per serving or slightly more to snack on later throughout the night. About 12-16 pieces. This can certainly be cut back a bit if serving with a few sides.
How to keep Pork Loin Juicy when frying
This marinade keeps the Pork juicy for frying and works in a few different ways. First is absorbing moisture into the meat itself with flavor coming from Chicken Bouillon, Salt & MSG. It is further tenderized or slightly velveted with the use of Starch & Egg. Baking powder also assist in this, but is added to create puffiness when the dry breading goes on before deep frying. The combination of starch, egg, and baking powder lightly velvets the pork, helping it retain moisture even during high-heat frying.
Marinade
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl. Start by placing 1/2 cup of water and the bouillon cube over the stovetop so that you can press the bouillon cube down and assist it in dissolving in the water with a fork. Then empty it into the bowl and add 1/2 cup very cold water to help it cool down fast. Add in the remaining ingredients to whisk and follow with the pork to toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; longer is better. Mix again before breading as the starches will have settled at the bottom.
You can also just use Knorr Chicken Powder and in that case just combine all the ingredients together. No need for heating to dissolve the bouillon cube.
Yangnyeom Sauce
This sauce is the same one that is used for Korean Boneless Chicken Wings or the Red Marvel dish. Use about 1/2 C to 1/3 C for each serving.
The small addition of cream of tartar prevents sugar crystals from forming when caramelizing the sugar.
Buldak Pork Wings
I was really curious on exchanging the Chili Oil for the Spicy Red Buldak Sauce you get with the Buldak Noodles. While the Yangnyeom made with Chili Oil I believe is spicier, mind you I only added about 1 Tbl of the Buldak Sauce. The Buldak Sauce really is something else and you can certainly add more Buldak sauce, maybe the whole pouch to get it spicier.
Breading
The breading is what creates that beautiful, crunchy batter in combination with the marinade so that the breading can stick. Combine the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk. Either white or black pepper can be added in for the heat in the breading.
How to Bread Korean Boneless Pork Wings
Working in batches, toss the pork pieces into the breading bowl while shaking it. Toss the pieces around to get full coverage, and one by one, shake off any excess breading before transferring to a baking sheet. Repeat until all the pork pieces have been breaded.
The breading is designed to coat about 64 pieces, though full coverage may vary slightly depending on size. You may have some pieces that are not fully coated, and that’s fine. When they are deep-fried, the breading will puff up and give full coverage.
How to deep fry Korean Boneless Pork Wings
Preheat your deep fryer to 375°F (190°C) before adding the breaded pork. Once all your pork has been breaded, place a serving in each basket and lower it into the hot oil. Give the basket a shake to ensure nothing sticks and deep fry for 5 minutes. Lift the baskets up and shake off any excess grease and empty onto another clean baking sheet. Repeat for each batch.
Once all the Korean Boneless Pork Wings have been fried up, let them rest for about 2 minutes and allow the oil to hit max temp again. Then deep fry serving 1-2 minutes for a final crisping. Lift the basket up and toss with about 1/4 C of the Yangnyeom sauce before plating. Repeat for each serving.
Can I Air Fry Korean Boneless Pork Wings?
No. Deep frying is best for authentic texture. You can however go through the first fry and freeze them. Then as a final cook air fry or place into the oven to crisp up. But deep frying will always yeild the best results.
How to Sauce Korean Boneless Pork Wings
After the pork bites are deep-fried, they are tossed in a stainless-steel bowl with sauce to coat. You can toss all of them in all the Yangnyeom sauce, but you will have to toss them around for quite a bit to get full and even coverage of the sauce over the pork bites. Otherwise, work in serving size, tossing about 12-16 pork bites in about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of sauce, and then repeat for each serving.
What to Serve with Korean Boneless Pork Wings
Serve with French Fries, a Steamed Rice Bowl, or Fried Rice. Include some Korean Cucumbers or Rice Cakes too.
These Korean Boneless Pork Wings deliver everything you want from Korean fried chicken, but richer, deeper, and with a satisfying pork bite that holds sauce beautifully. Once you try them, takeout won’t hit the same.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Pork Chops - Fat trimmed off and saved for other recipes.
- As Needed Neutral Oil - for deep frying
Marinade
- 1 C Water
- 1 Cube Pork or Chicken Bouillon
- 4 tsp Potato Starch & Baking Powder - each
- 1 Whole Egg
- 1 tsp Sea Salt & MSG - each, see notes for how much to use per 1 lb
Breading
- 1 1/4 C Cornstarch
- 3 Tbl Flour
- 1/2 Tbl White or Black Pepper
Yangnyeom Sauce
- 1/4 C Gochujang
- 2 Tbl Water, Soy Sauce, & Ketchup - each
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Inch Ginger - sliced and removed later
- 1 Tbl Chili Oil - or 1 Tbl or more of Buldak Sauce
- 1 C Sugar
- 1/3 C Water
- 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
Instructions
- Marinade: Place half of the water into a pot over max heat with the bouillon cube and mash it until completely dissolved and empty into the marinating bowl. Add the other half of very cold water along with the remaining ingredients for the marinade, and whisk well.
- Pork Bites: Slice the pork into bite size pieces. About 1-inch-wide strips that are 1/2 inch thick. Then slice each strip into about 2 inches long, slicing at a 45-degree angle. Once all the pork is prepared, add it to the marinade, toss well, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to an overnight marinade.
- Yangnyeom Sauce: Caramelization: Place 1 C sugar, 1/3 C water, and 1/8 tsp cream of tartar in a saucepot over medium heat and whisk. Let it cook to a light amber color, and swirl the pot every so often.Bowl: Combine in a bowl the remaining ingredients and mix while caramelizing the sugar. Set aside for now. Yangnyeom Sauce: Shut the heat off and empty the sauce bowl in and whisk. Set aside and let rest. When cooled down, remove the ginger slices.
- Breading: Remove the marinated pork from the fridge to rest on the counter. Preheat the deep fryer to the max setting. Combine the breading ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well.Working in batches, add the marinated pork to toss in the breading and shake off any excess before transferring to a baking sheet.
- Deep Frying Pork Bites: First Fry: Working in batches, place the breaded pork bites into the basket/s to fry for 5 minutes. Give the basket a shake to ensure nothing gets stuck. Empty them out on a baking sheet and repeat for the remaining pork bites. Second Fry: Once all the pork bites have been deep-fried, wait for the oil to come back to temp and fry all of them at once or in batches for about 1-2 minutes. Lift up and shake off any excess grease. Transfer them to the bowl of sauce to toss and coat before serving.