Make these takeout-style Chinese Chicken Wings for your next wing Wednesday! I love this recipe because it comes together in one hour, and the wings come out super crispy. Optional, but I recommend doing a double-fry for the crispiest wings!
Looking for more easy Chinese recipes? Try my honey garlic chicken or honey walnut shrimp next!
These wings are inspired by a takeout place my family used to eat at growing up. In my opinion, they had the best wings out of any Chinese place in the city. They were flavorful and juicy, and the crispy coating was to die for. Unlike American-style chicken wings, Chinese chicken wings have a much thinner and crispier coating. It took me a really long time to figure out how to make them that way.
I recently read that Thomas Keller adds a little bit of oil to his deep-frying batters. Apparently, the oil doesn't emulsify with the batter, so when the batter is deep-fried, the oil leaks out and leaves behind tiny holes, which make the crust more crispy.
In terms of seasoning, Chinese chicken wings are never wet/saucy. They are always dry. The marinade is already very flavorful so I do not seaosn them after frying them.
Baking powder in chicken wings
One important ingredient is baking powder. I always add about ¼ teaspoon per pound of chicken wings. Baking powder helps make the crust more crispy by producing tiny bubbles during frying.
Double-frying for a super crunch
After the first fry, you want to rest the chicken wings for at least 15 minutes. During this time, the moisture from the meat will move to the crust. You want to wait for this moisture to come out, then deep-fry again to evaporate it (i.e., make it crispy again).
For the second fry, you do not want to fry them too long. Just long enough to re-crisp the crust but not long enough to heat up the meat again. If you heat up the meat again, it will cause more moisture to squeeze out of them.
Chinese Chicken Wings (Takeout style)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings (seperated into drums and flats; tips removed)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken wings, egg, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, white pepper, and oil. Mix to thoroughly coat the wings. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Add this to the wings and toss to evenly coat.
- Heat about 1 ½ inches of oil to 350°F. Deep-fry the wings in batches for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the wings to a wire rack to drain excess oil.
- If desired, allow the wings to rest for 10 minutes, then double-fry at 400°F for extra crispiness.
Becky
I put it in my electric fryer, exactly as instructed, using batches of about 8 flats, followed by 8 drumettes until the whole tray was fried once. Then after about 20 minutes, I returned to the initial batch, and gave them a second deep fry. Even though the oil temperature was exactly set at chicken frying, it didn't turn out exactly as crispy as expected. I even pat dry the wing sections before adding the marinade, so there was only a minimal amount of liquid in the prep bowl before I added the flour/cornstarch mixture. I decided to add a tsp of turmeric to give it the golden color that my local takeout serves (not enough to change the taste profile). Maybe next time I'll add a bit more cornstarch, or maybe even rice flour to crisp it up even more. The chicken was moist inside, slightly crispy outside, but definitely needed more salt. I'll try it again next time and double the dry ingredients. Maybe I'll even add some gochugaru for coloring and kick.
Cristina
My family and I loved them great recipe!
Sandra Banville
Thank you for putting this recipe up. Family absolutely Loved them!
Very crispy, perfectly moist on the inside, simply delicious!
Definitely will make again. 🙂