I have a few weak spots for foods such as donuts, pizza, and steak. Chicken wings are also up there, easily in the top 5. In the past I would stop by KFC to get my dose of guilty pleasure. But since I moved to the US and started to cook more often at home, I feel more and more reluctant to get my meals from a fast food chain.
Why Homemade Oven Baked Chicken Wings?
Two reasons: (1) The food is TOO freakin’ salty. I’m pretty heavy-handed on salt when cooking because my primary goal is always taste. In fact, my mom still criticizes my dishes for being too salty. But every time I eat food from a fast food chain (and 60% of the time at restaurants in general), I’m stunned by the insane amount of salt added to the food. (Maybe it’s my hallucination, but I also feel that the KFC wings in China taste slightly less salty.) (2) Both my husband and I often feel terrible after a fast food meal. Probably due to the low quality of the meat, the tons of added salt and chemical flavorings, and all the grease. This might sound like an exaggeration, but we always have a pretty bad food coma after a fast food meal. I get a bad headache and feel extremely bloated and heavy, and don’t want to do anything except sleep after my meal.
For those reasons, I tend to develop easy recipes so I can satisfy my immediate food cravings with the healthiest options possible. Plus, you have to admit, homemade food always tastes better if it’s done right. Homemade dishes like Thai sweet chili chicken, beef chow fun, and Mapo tofu are winners, simply because of the fresh ingredients they use. Not only does the food taste better, but you also take in way less sodium, artificial additives, and oil. Win-win. I’ve shared plenty of Asian-style chicken wing recipes in the past, and this is one of my favorites in that collection. Not only is it super easy to prepare, but it also yields juicy crispy wings that are bursting with aroma. The marinade has a super concentrated umami from the wings, fresh ginger and garlic, and a touch of five spice. I glaze the wings with honey before baking, and it forms a sticky crispy crust that tastes heavenly.
My husband and I love this recipe so much that we usually end up devouring 3 pounds of wings in one sitting. But you know what? We never feel like we’re in a food coma, even after we overeat. That’s because homemade baked chicken wings are way better and healthier 🙂
More delicious chicken wings recipes
Fried Chicken Wings in Asian Hot Sauce (Crispy Even When Chilled!) Oven Fried Chicken Wings with Korean BBQ Sauce Chinese Lemon Chicken Wings Braised Coca-Cola Chicken Wings
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. The post was originally published on Aug 24, 2013, and updated on Apr 4, 2018.
