Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Crispy baked Asian chicken wings are sticky and spicy, just the way wings should be! The savory sauce has amazing flavor and is easy to make.
How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: large bowl, baking rack and pan, oven, saucepan, stove
Servings: 4 (3 wings each)
Spicy Asian Wings
The best sauce! There’s plenty of Asian flavor going on with these chicken wings. Soy sauce adds salty/sour umami and toasted sesame oil brings an earthy nutty flavor. With plenty of fresh garlic, tangy lime juice, zippy ginger, and spicy sriracha for heat, this sauce won’t disappoint. Make it as hot as you like by adding more sriracha!
An entrée or appetizer. Whether you’re serving these wings for dinner or as an appetizer, you’ll find that they disappear quickly. Plan on three to four wings per person as a main course. And if you’d rather have drumsticks, they work fine with this recipe, too.
Two ways to cook them. These wings are baked in the oven first, then coated with sauce before serving. If you prefer to use your air fryer to bake the wings, make air fryer chicken wings and add the same sauce.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken wings: You’ll need about one and a half pounds, which works out to about 12 wings. The wings are seasoned with flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt.
- Soy sauce: The base of the sauce is soy sauce. Choose less sodium soy sauce, if possible. If you can’t find it, omit the salt from the first step.
- Toasted sesame oil: Dark brown toasted sesame oil adds a distinctive nutty flavor. It’s not the same product as regular sesame oil which is light-colored and clear.
- Lime juice: Buy a lime and squeeze it! Freshly squeezed lime juice is so much better than bottled lime juice.
- Flavorings: Fresh garlic, grated ginger root, and spicy red pepper sriracha flavor the sauce. A little bit of cornstarch is added to thicken it and make it sticky.
- Suggested garnishes: You can choose any or all (or none) of these garnishes. I love sliced green onions on my wings but sesame seeds, chopped fresh parsley or cilantro are all good choices, too.
What kind of wings work best?
Full chicken wings are comprised of three parts: the drumette, the wingette (aka the flat), and the wing tip. The drumette is the thickest part on the end, and the wingette is the middle part. You can cook whole wings if you want, but I find wings are easier to cook and eat when they’re cut into three parts and the wing tip is discarded, or used for stock. In the photos, you’ll see the drumettes and wingettes.
How To Make Asian Chicken Wings
Prep the wings. Coat the wings with the seasoned flour mixture. You’ll notice that baking powder is added to the mixture. Baking powder helps dry the exterior of the chicken, creating crispier skin. (Don’t worry if you don’t happen to have baking powder, your chicken wings will be just fine without.)
Bake wings. After the wings are coated, bake them in the oven on a rack placed inside a sheet pan. For easy cleanup, line the sheet pan with foil and lightly spray the rack with nonstick spray. The wings will take thirty-five to forty-five minutes to get done.
Make the sauce. Meanwhile, stir up the sauce ingredients and bring them to a simmer in a small saucepan. I usually make the sauce when the wings are nearly done.
Coat wings. Put the sauce and the wings in a big bowl and toss them together.
Serve. Serve the wings immediately with your choice of garnishes.
Serving Suggestions
Wings as a main course. If you’re making the wings for dinner, they’re a perfect match with jasmine rice and a vegetable. Since you already have the oven on, put in a pan of vegetables to roast, like roasted broccoli, sweet potato wedges with Chinese five spice, or roasted sugar snap peas.
Wings as an appetizer. Wings are a popular appetizer, too. Everyone loves finger-licking wings. Serve them alongside chicken lettuce wraps and bacon wrapped water chestnuts. Make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand!
Easy Recipe Variations
- Sweet & spicy! If you prefer a sweeter flavor, add 2 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar to the sauce before cooking it.
- Make a double batch. If you’re expecting a crowd, you can easily double the ingredients to make twice as many wings. They should fit on one baking sheet, but try to arrange them with a little space between so they brown. They do shrink as they bake so I’ve found if you take them out of the oven halfway through the baking time, you can rearrange them a bit.
- Substitute drumsticks for the wings. The sauce is so good on either one and drumsticks are a little more substantial if you’re serving them as a main course. Bake the drumsticks just like the wings.
- Make them in your air fryer. The wings will bake much more quickly in your air fryer. Bake them for ten minutes at 400°F. Remove them from the air fryer and toss with the sauce. You may want to try these easy air fryer BBQ chicken wings, too, for a flavor variation.
- Not a fan of wings? Try healthy chicken nuggets, orange chicken, Instant Pot honey sriracha chicken or bourbon chicken.
Refrigerate/Freeze: If you have chicken wings left over, store them in the refrigerator for up to four days. They can be frozen for a couple of months.
Reheat: Frozen wings, unthawed, can be reheated in a 400°F oven, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through (140-145°F). If the wings aren’t frozen, they’ll be hot in about 15 minutes. You can also reheat the wings in the microwave but they tend to get tough. The air fryer also is great for reheating; try 380°F for 5 to 10 minutes.
More Chicken Recipes
Spicy Asian Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For Chicken Wings
- 1 ½ pounds chicken wings (about 12 pieces)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (see note)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For Sauce
- ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic (1 or 2 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sriracha (or to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare sheet pan by lining with foil and placing a wire baking rack inside. I usually spray the rack with nonstick spray to make sure the wings don't stick.
- Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel.1 ½ pounds chicken wings
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic, and salt. Add wings and toss to combine.¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Arrange the chicken wings in a single layer on the baking rack in prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the outside is crisp and golden brown.
- Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, grated garlic, grated ginger root, cornstarch, and sriracha in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes.¼ cup less sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon grated garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger root, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon sriracha
- Transfer the sauce to a clean large bowl. Add the hot wings and toss to combine.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions, parsley, or cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Baking powder: Why use baking powder on wings? Baking powder helps to dry out the chicken skin and create a crispier exterior. If you don’t have it, you can leave it out.
- With drumsticks: if you prefer, substitute chicken drumsticks for the wings, if desired. Bake as directed; they take about the same amount of time.
- Sweet and spicy: Try this sweeter variation! Add 2 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar to the sauce.
- Air fryer instructions: The wings will bake much more quickly in your air fryer but you may have to do them in batches. Air fry them in a single layer for ten minutes at 400°F. Remove the wings from the air fryer and toss with the sauce.
- Reheating: You can freeze the cooked wings. Reheat frozen wings, unthawed, at 400°F, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through (140-145°F). If the wings aren’t frozen, they’ll be hot in about 15 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I made this recipe and by adding brown sugar and honey, the sauce tastes like the oyster wings from Leeann Chin, YUM! The only tip I would give is to spray the rack with oil because my chicken did stick. I roasted fresh broccoli just to warm it up because I love my broccoli really crunchy.
I haven’t purchased an air fryer yet but I would really appreciate a recommendation for a smaller one.
Thank you for this recipe, Rachel!!
Thanks Karen! Cosori makes a smaller one you could check out!