It’s weird, because for some reason, that particular sweet & savory doesn’t work for me. It’s not bad, but it becomes cloying after a few bites. Same with teriyaki. I haven’t quite figured out why some combos work for me, and others don’t. I also like my barbecue sauces heavily on the vinegar-y side.
Oddly, I also prefer barbecue sauce on the vinegary side, even including the North Carolina vinegar sauce.
But I like that Korean fried chicken. And now that I found a place near me, probably more than is healthy.
I think your last point is a big part of it. We’ve talked about this in other threads, but for me at least, almost all commercially sold BBQ sauces are so overly sweet it turns me off. Hoisin and some Korean options are better than most US versions, but even so, I find I have to use them all sparingly.
So at lot of sweet and savory combos fail for me because the sweet is just overwhelming everything else. And it may also tie into that I’m also on the tangy and spicy side of the BBQ spectrum. If a super sweet BBQ sauce is someone’s preference however, the sweet may well be less cloying to them.
For what it’s worth, the Runza cinnamon rolls are heavy on the cinnamon and light on the icing, which I think makes them pair better. Sometimes I get their chili with cinnamon rolls, but more often I get frings (mixed order of fries and onion rings).
Come to think of it, I haven’t had lunch, and the temperature has warmed up to eight degrees below zero. Off to Runza!