Are you looking for a new and delicious twist on chicken wings? Look no further than this oven-baked Kung Pao Chicken Wings recipe! With its tasty combination of bold and spicy flavors, these wings have a unique and unforgettable taste that will have everyone coming back for seconds. Featuring crispy baked wings tossed in a savory, sour, and spicy sauce with crushed peanuts and green onion. It is a great change-up from the typical buffalo wings you’d enjoy on game day!
Football season is back in full swing. And like many fans, I’ve been stuffing my face with plenty of game-day appetizers. Especially my beloved buffalo wings. However, this year I wanted to switch things up a little and make wings with different sauce variations. And while most of these sauce variations have largely been forgetful, one has become a new favorite way to prepare wings. I’m talking about kung pao chicken wings.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Can you fry the wings?: Yes of course! If you know how to properly fry wings and prefer to make them that way then go for it. I just prefer to bake my wings as it tends to be less messy, and I like it that way.
- What’s the key to extra crispy wings?: One of the most important qualities of a great chicken wing is a nice and crispy skin. However, if you’ve ever made wings before then you’re probably well aware that as soon as you toss your wings in a sauce the skin will start to soak it in. And eventually, those chicken skins are going to get flabby and soggy, which nobody wants. So what’s the solution? Well, this is going to sound like a lame answer but the best way to ensure you have extra crispy wings is to simply cook them for longer. Honestly, I’ve baked a lot of wings in my life, and that’s the solution. So when you’re baking your wings and you feel like the skin has become perfectly crisp, just put them back in the oven and cook them for an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
- Adjusting the heat: Kung pao chicken is typically meant to have a nice spicy kick that isn’t too overpowering. That being said you can easily adjust the spiciness of the sauce to your own spice preference. It all just comes down to how many chilies de arbol you use. So if you want it mild, use 1 or even none. If you want it super spicy use 10 or 12. And if you want somewhere in the middle use 5 or 6. It’s really that simple. And if you want to increase the chili flavor without so much of the spicy kick you can always remove the seeds from the chilies. To do this cut each chili in half with some scissors, then squeeze and roll them so that the seeds fall out the open ends. But that step is entirely optional so I’ll leave that decision up to you.
- How to break up the peanut?: In traditional kung pao chicken the peanuts are left whole, and you can still leave them that way for this recipe. However, I find that they stick to the wings better if they are crushed up into smaller pieces. And the easiest way to do this is to place them all in a plastic bag and crush them with something heavy and solid. This can be a rolling pin, a large bowl, or even a hardcover book.
- Prep the kung pao sauce early: While it’s not necessary I like to mix together the liquid ingredients and sugar for the kung pao sauce in a bowl ahead of time. This way I can ensure that the sugar is fully dissolved in the liquid, and have it all ready to ready to go when I need it.
Some Other Great Appetizers You Might Enjoy
Kung Pao Chicken Wings Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1Lb of chicken wings
Spray oil (like PAM), or 2 tablespoons of regular oil
For kung pao sauce:
1 Tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil
1 Tablespoon of Szechuan peppercorns (optional)
2 Teaspoons of ginger, minced
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 to 10 Chilies de arbol (depends on how spicy you like it 2 = mild, 10 = spicy)
¼ Cup of water
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 Teaspoon of cornstarch
½ to 1 Teaspoon of dark soy sauce (optional, mainly for adding color)
For the rest of the dish:
¼ Cup of roasted unsalted peanuts, finely chopped
2 to 3 Green onions, finely diced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425℉/218℃.
- Cook the chicken wings: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it generously with oil. If you don’t have spray oil then just brush 1 tablespoon of regular oil down on the aluminum foil. Arrange the chicken wings on this sheet and spray them with more oil or simply drizzle 1 additional tablespoon of regular oil over the top of them.
Place this in your heated oven to bake. Let the wings bake anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour making sure to flip each wing over every 10 minutes. You will know the wings are done when their internal temperature is 165℉/74℃ and they have nice crispy skins.
- Make the kung pao sauce: As soon as your wings are almost done, you’ll want to start making the kung pao sauce. Get out either a wok or a large walled pan and pour the tablespoon of oil into it. Place this over medium-high heat and toss in the Szechuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and chilies de arbol.
Sautee these ingredients for 30 seconds then add the remaining ingredients for the kung pao sauce. Stir everything together and let this simmer for a couple of minutes or until it has thickened up into a viscous sauce.
Take the wok/pan off the heat and set it aside.
- Toss the wings in the sauce: Add the cooked wings along with the crushed peanuts and green onion to the wok/pan with the kung pao sauce. Then toss these ingredients until the wings are coated in the sauce.
- Transfer the kung pao chicken wings to a large plate and serve immediately, enjoy!
Kung Pao Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Lb of chicken wings
- Spray oil like PAM, or 2 tablespoons of regular oil
For kung pao sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil
- 1 Tablespoon of Szechuan peppercorns optional
- 2 Teaspoons of ginger minced
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 2 to 10 Chilies de arbol depends on how spicy you like it 2 = mild, 10 = spicy
- ¼ Cup of water
- 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar
- 1 Teaspoon of cornstarch
- ½ to 1 Teaspoon of dark soy sauce optional, mainly for adding color
For the rest of the dish:
- ¼ Cup of roasted unsalted peanuts finely chopped
- 2 to 3 Green onions finely diced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425℉/218℃.
- Cook the chicken wings: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it generously with oil. If you don’t have spray oil then just brush 1 tablespoon of regular oil down on the aluminum foil. Arrange the chicken wings on this sheet and spray them with more oil or simply drizzle 1 additional tablespoon of regular oil over the top of them. Place this in your heated oven to bake. Let the wings bake anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour making sure to flip each wing over every 10 minutes. You will know the wings are done when their internal temperature is 165℉/74℃ and they have nice crispy skins.
- Make the kung pao sauce: As soon as your wings are almost done, you’ll want to start making the kung pao sauce. Get out either a wok or a large walled pan and pour the tablespoon of oil into it. Place this over medium-high heat and toss in the Szechuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and chilies de arbol. Sautee these ingredients for 30 seconds then add the remaining ingredients for the kung pao sauce. Stir everything together and let this simmer for a couple of minutes or until it has thickened up into a viscous sauce. Take the wok/pan off the heat and set it aside.
- Toss the wings in the sauce: Add the cooked wings along with the crushed peanuts and green onion to the wok/pan with the kung pao sauce. Then toss these ingredients until the wings are coated in the sauce.
- Transfer the kung pao chicken wings to a large plate and serve immediately, enjoy!
