Asian Chicken Wings Are Sweet & Sticky

Asian chicken wings are a sweet and slightly spicy version of the typically Hot Buffalo Chicken Wings.

Some people call these Asian sticky wings because the sauce does tend to stick to your fingers, so have lots of napkins.  Our version is not quite as sticky as others and I prefer it that way, a lot easier and less messy to eat!  These Asian chicken wings are a combination of sweet honey contrasting with the orange ginger soy glaze to make these wings irresistible, a great alternative to the Buffalo version we all know and love.

My recipe is a version that I’ve been using for over 20 years from a cookbook called Hors d’Oeuvres by Gillian Duffy.  You’ll see many versions of Gillian’s recipes on my site.  She definitely was a star before her time as she used what are now common ingredients, but when she wrote the cookbook the ingredients were hard to find.  Ingredients like chipotle peppers, crème fraiche, even cilantro and arugula were harder to come by 20 years ago.  Now you don’t think twice about these ingredients.  I’d add a link but I think the book is out of print now, here’s  a link to used versions of on Amazon.

How To Make Asian Chicken Wings

This wing recipe is for baking, not frying.  If I can avoid frying I do so.  Leaving frying to restaurants as a special treat and keeping my kitchen cleaner, my body healthier and just plain a heck of a lot easier.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  It’s best to cover your pan with parchment paper letting the paper go up the sides.  Asian chicken wings live up to their sticky reputation and make for a bear of a pan to clean.  Don’t crowd the pan keeping a little space between chicken wings and in a single layer.

You’ll want to up the oven temperature to 450 for the last 10-15 minutes to get a nice char on the wings.  Or if you want to brave the broiler do that for just a few minutes.  For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that I am broiler challenged, as in I’ll burn whatever I put under it!

See post on how to separate chicken wing parts if your wings don’t already come separated.  You’ll know if it’s been separated because each “wing” gets cut into three pieces.  A small drumette, the classic wing shape and then the tip of the wing that is a throw away or keep for stock.

Mix all the glaze ingredients directly into a gallon size resealable plastic bag, stir.  Then place chicken wings in the bag and marinate for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator, flipping the bag at least once.  If you don’t have time, no worry, they still taste delicious right after dunking in the glaze, the flavor just isn’t as pronounced than if the Asian chicken wings marinate longer.

If you forget to line your pan (like I did in the picture below), then remove the cooked wings from the pan and immediately soak in water.  If this doesn’t loosen the cooked on glaze then place the pan, with water in it, over burners set at a low heat until the glaze loosens from the baking sheet, then scrape with a rubber spatula.  Have I convinced you to line the baking sheet with parchment paper yet?

Chicken wings vary in size and thickness, for this reason you’ll want to check the “fattest” thickest piece of chicken wing when you think they are ready and make sure that it’s cooked all the way through before removing all of the wings from the oven.

Make Ahead Asian Chicken Wings

As stated above, you can marinate the wings a day ahead of time.  Then when your party guests arrive for the big game you just bake and you’re ready to go.

How To Take Asian Chicken Wings On The Road

The Asian chicken wings are already bite sized.  It’s more how to pack the wings and how to keep yourself clean while eating them.  If you have any or something like that pack it with you, you know, the towelettes that are like baby wipes without the baby powder smell.  Or if you won’t be around a sink to wash your hands you can always wet a paper towel, wring it out and put in a resealable plastic bag.  It works in a pinch and you’ll thank me later.

You can safely keep chicken wings at room temperature for about 2 hours (less if it’s really hot outside).  If you won’t be eating the wings within that time then pack a or frozen water bottle with your Asian chicken wings to keep them at a safe temperature.

Substitutions For Asian Chicken Wings

Asian chicken wings are one of the rare recipes I really don’t have substitutions for.  If you don’t have the ingredients you should try a different wing recipe like our Anchor Bar Hot Wings.  This recipe is such an unusual grouping of ingredients that when put together makes a really special taste.  I think eliminating any of the ingredients would harm the outcome.

You can safely keep chicken wings at room temperature for about 2 hours (less if it’s really hot outside).  If you won’t be eating the wings within that time, then pack a reusable ice pack or frozen water bottle with your Asian chicken wings to keep them at a safe temperature.

How Long Will The Asian Chicken Wings Last?

Well at my house only a few minutes, these wings fly off the plate if I have all 3 boys home or friends over to watch a ball game.  But if you have any leftovers you can cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.  Asian chicken wings should be refrigerated after a couple of hours for food safety sake.

If you ever have questions regarding food safety try foodsafety.gov.  They lean on the conservative side, but better safe than sorry.