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Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas With Caramelized Honey From Eric Kim

by:
February 28, 2022
5
39 Ratings
Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas With Caramelized Honey From Eric Kim
Photo by Julia Gartland. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog. Prop Stylist: Alya Hameedi.
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Imagine the joys of Korean fried chicken. Except skipping the frying (and the chicken). The simple, brilliant yangnyeom chickpeas in Eric Kim's debut cookbook Korean American unlocks them for us, and fast. And once you memorize Eric's sweet-spicy yangnyeom sauce, you definitely won't want to stop at chickpeas.

As Eric writes in Korean American, “Sticky-sweet yangnyeom sauce is one of those genius inventions that was meant for fried chicken, but tastes wonderful on everything else—case in point, crispy chickpeas. To be truly happy, this is all I need with Netflix, a cold beer, and my pup at my side. And like most things in this book, these chickpeas taste divine as a banchan with a little fresh white rice on the side. The scallions are also a nod to a particular preparation of fried chicken in Korea, where a tangle of them is added atop for freshness. Don’t skip the caramelized honey: It’s really fun to make and finishes the dish with a shiny gloss, plus the sweetness helps balance the other flavors, like the funky heat from the gochujang and the savory bite from the soy sauce and garlic.”

A few more tips: If you have leftovers, they’ll keep well for snacking on as a banchan throughout the week. In addition to crispy chickpeas, try yangnyeom sauce in all sorts of other places that could use some sweetness, heat, and shine: roasted potatoes, broccoli, or brussels sprouts; baby back ribs; seared pork chops; crispy tofu; and, of course, fried chicken.

Recipe adapted very slightly from Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home (Clarkson Potter, March 2022).

This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. As an Amazon Associate, Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.

Hear more about this recipe from Eric himself on our podcast The Genius Recipe Tapes. —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas With Caramelized Honey From Eric Kim
Ingredients
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried on a paper towel
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 large scallions, julienned into long thin strips, soaked in iced water
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F. On a sheet pan, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bake until crispy, 25 to 30 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through baking.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or skillet, combine the ketchup, gochujang, strawberry jam, soy sauce, and garlic and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook this yangnyeom sauce until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the crispy chickpeas to the pan and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce reduces slightly and gets absorbed by the chickpeas, and the chickpeas get sticky, 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Move the chickpeas to one side of the pan and add the honey to the empty side. Let the honey bubble up, stirring all the while, and cook down until reduced and caramelized, about 1 minute or so. Stir the chickpeas into the honey and watch as they glisten up. Remove from the heat.
  5. To serve, transfer the chickpeas to a plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and scallions.
  6. Tip: Soaking long strands of scallions in ice-cold water will cause them to curl like the photo on page 198. This garnish doesn’t make or break the dish by any means, but it does look fun and adds volume and freshness to the plate. The icy soak softens the oniony bite from the scallions, allowing you to eat them like a salad.
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19 Reviews

Adi1945
Adi1945 January 4, 2023
Doubled recipe and served over jasmine rice….delicious!
 
Danielle
Danielle December 31, 2022
I crisped my chickpeas in the air fryer, but copied the rest of the recipe exactly. It was delicious and easy!
 
Chelsea B.
Chelsea B. June 21, 2022
Very delicious! This has been one of those "meaning to make it forever" recipes, and I'm glad I finally did it last night, because it was so easy and delicious. I ended up making the sauce twice, once for the chickpeas, and once for chopped up chicken strips for my husband - I wasn't going to include him in the meal but then it was so easy that I did ;) served with rice and cucumbers, it made a good little dinner. I thought we had strawberry jam in the fridge, but it turned out to be raspberry. I couldn't detect any negative flavours from the substitution, though!
 
Winter
Winter May 28, 2022
Fantastic! One of those few recipes where I actually had everything on hand to make it. The crispy chickpeas are an amazing base for the sauce, which couldn't be easier to make.

Quick question - is it possible to make the sauce in batches and store?
 
wonkamom
wonkamom May 7, 2022
This was so fun to make and super delicious. I loved the instruction to "watch them glisten", and I did! Thank you!
 
CristyLeeNYC
CristyLeeNYC April 26, 2022
Yum, yum, YUM! Absolutely delicious and so easy. Made it a full dinner (for 2) by steaming some purple, orange, white cauliflower and broccoli (so pretty!) and serving with rice, buddha bowl style. Julienned an entire bunch of scallions for practice and piled em all on. So refreshing, would have been sad with less. Was worried I'd regret not doubling sauce for veggies, but chickpeas were so flavorful that it wasn't necessary. Def rotation worthy.
 
Justine S.
Justine S. April 26, 2022
Excellent! Can't wait to make it again!
 
Diana
Diana March 31, 2022
This was delicious! I served the chick peas with vegetable fried rice that I prepared with pineapple. It was an excellent combo!
 
Emily M.
Emily M. March 17, 2022
This is such a delicious weeknight recipe! Comes together quick, and very satisfying for both me and my vegetarian partner. Paired with rice and pickled veggies for a complete meal. Only quibble: in what universe is one can of chickpeas meant to serve 4 people?
 
emma
emma March 14, 2022
I've made this twice, doubling the recipe both times. The first time I used chili garlic paste bc my gochujang was all dried out, and it was delicious, although the chickpeas lost their crunch pretty quickly. The second time, I used gochujang and also roasted the chickpeas for 35 minutes in my convection oven. The sauce was even better balanced with gochujang and the chickpeas stayed crunchy once sauces. Easy and addictive! Pretty quick too, since the longest part is passive time while the chickpeas roast.
 
SilverInBlood
SilverInBlood March 11, 2022
This was great! I made it with a pound of chickpeas cooked from dry for workweek lunches, and although I'm sure I lost some crispness it was such a pungent tasty treat in the middle of WFH meetings.
 
Kate W.
Kate W. March 7, 2022
I made these without the scallion salad to give it a try (will make the scallions next time). I think I could have gotten my chickpeas crispier. I thought the sauce was tasting not quite spicy enough so I added a big squirt of chili garlic paste, wrong! It was too spicy with that addition. I used a nonstick skillet, which I think is key. Delicious and addicting. Will definitely make again and use the sauce on other things. May use the leftovers with roasted broccoli for dinner, tossing all together. Winner winner chickpea dinner!
 
C
C March 6, 2022
Such a tasty amalgam of flavors and fragrances. Loved the sweet-spicy combo and the scallion “salad.” I think I should have given honey a little more time to caramelize, but otherwise recipe was easy!
 
Louise
Louise March 5, 2022
Really tasty! Quick and easy. I made it in stages - made the sauce and chickpeas earlier in the day, then finished it all off just before I served. It worked beautifully and was a hearty snack with a drink. Will definitely make again!
 
Kimi4702
Kimi4702 March 4, 2022
I love this recipe and can see how you could use on other foods, it’s easy and ingredients were already in my pantry, I did not have strawberry jam but home made berry jam and it was still delicious. Chickpeas were nice and crisp with a little kick of heat. Good appetizer when drinking a beer. This is a keeper
 
Elizabeth T.
Elizabeth T. March 4, 2022
The chickpeas are so crispy, and everything put together is wildly addictive. Thank you!
 
nmueller89
nmueller89 March 2, 2022
This looks delicious and I'm eager to try it, but how in the world is one can of chickpeas supposed to feed four people??
 
NickS
NickS March 2, 2022
The recipe is written as an side dish or appetizer (banchan in Korean), not as a main course. But there’s nothing stopping you from doubling or tripling the recipe!
 
emma
emma March 3, 2022
I doubled this for a (hungry) family of 2 so we could have leftovers. Hoping it holds up well in the fridge!