Urgent! A question about a recipe: KFC: Korean Fried Chicken Wings

I have a question about step 2 on the recipe "KFC: Korean Fried Chicken Wings" from ravenouscouple. It says:

"Now in a small saucepan, add the water, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and bring to boil. Then add the honey/corn syrup and chile and reduce by half and it will be a thick maple syrup like consistency and set aside.

Re-fry the wings until crispy golden brown, about another 5-8 minutes. Drain on frying rack or paper towels. Dredge or brush on the spicy soy ginger glaze. Can also top with optional sprinkle of toasted sesame.

"how do i get the glaze to get thicker? i put the right amounts at first, brought it all to a boil, then turned it down, and added the honey and red pepper. however, i tasted it and it was too hot, so i added more sugar and honey to counter this, brought it back to a boil, and then brought it back down to simmer. i am currently refrigerating this to try and get it to thicken. what did i do wrong?