Yangnyeom Sauce

Korean Style Yangnyeom Sauce According to food historians, Yangnyeom Sauce was invented by a restaurant owner in Korea as a response to complaints that the skin on his establishment’s fried chicken was far too crunchy. Rather than change his batter recipe, the restauranteur whipped together a sticky-sweet and spicy sauce of gochujang, sugar, and various savory spices to serve over the chicken, thus softening it. Beyond the textural benefit, customers fell in love with the sauce, and yangnyeom (Korean for “seasoned,” pronounced “YANG-nyum”) chicken soon became a certified bar food craze. 

Inspired by this bit of on-the-fly ingenuity, Trader Joe’s Yangnyeom Sauce offers all the same satisfying gochujang spice and sugary sweetness that made yangnyeom chicken famous. And while it is indeed incredibly delicious on some crispy-fried chicken, that’s just the beginning, as far as we’re concerned. We recommend trying it on everything from roasted veggies to grilled short ribs, air-fried salmon, shrimp tacos, and omelettes. Frankly, we’ll even use it as a dip for French fries... or as sauce on a homemade Pizza topped with Pepper Jack Cheese, Spicy Chicken Nuggets, and cilantro or green onions (trust us on this one—it’s delicious.)