Chili Crisp Chicken Wings
The savory, umami, spicy and garlicky magic of chili oil chicken wings is fantastic. If you’re a fan of chicken wings AND chili oil or any type of chili garlic crunch, these wings are for you. We share with you three different ways to make chili crisp chicken wings and best of all, a homemade chili oil recipe if you want to make it from scratch.
What is Chili Crisp, Chili Oil or Chili Crunch?
There’s so many different terms being used for this universally loved condiment. What started as a simple Chinese restaurant table condiment has exploded into a beloved topping for so many different foods beyond Chinese food. We started with our homemade recipe for chili crisp or chili oil and have tried it on so many different foods. We put this addicting chili crunch on eggs, popcorn, deviled eggs and our favorite…… chili crisp chicken wings.
Video: Chili Crisp Chicken Wings (3 ways)
Homemade Chili Crisp For Chili Crisp Chicken Wings
We love making it homemade because we can customize the flavors to our liking. Most importantly, we can adjust our personal level of spice. We’re not fire breathing eaters so like our homemade batch a little more on the medium spicy. But we’ll have a different jar handy for friends or family that like it extra spicy. If you want to make it even more simple, buy a bottle of pre-made chili oil or chili garlic crunch. We share our favorite prepared and store bought jars below.
Best Prepared Brands of Chili Crunch or Chili oil?
We love making this homemade because you can customize all your favorite flavors. But a quick way to enjoy this condiment is to buy it and there’s plenty of great pre-made bottles. It’s available at speciality grocer stores, Asian supermarkets or in the International aisle of your regular markets. Over the last years a new generation of brands have come into the chili crunch crisp market. From more traditional brands to new brands of chili oil with unique spices, there’s something for everyone.
Different Ways to Cook Chicken Wings (3 ways)
This recipe is really simple. Choose your method of cooking the wings, then drizzle some homemade chili crisp oil on the cooked wings. We’ll talk about our 3 methods of how we cook our wings: baked, air fried or deep fried. All three methods are great. It just depends on what technique works best for you and how you like to cook.
Baked Chicken Wings
Baking wings is the easiest way to make a big batch for parties. A big sheet pan tray can easily cook 2 pounds of chicken wings at one time. Best of all, if you want to make them less greasy you don’t have to add any oil to the baked wings. The wings cook great without any extra spray of oil. But if you want to make the wings a little crispier, just coat the with a little corn starch, spray them with some oil, then bake them. All our steps for baking chicken wings are in the recipe box below.
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Air frying chicken wings is our favorite way to get the wings the crispiest without any breading or coating. The hot circulating air on the table top air fryers are amazing. The smaller compartment of table top air fryers keeps the heat close to the wings and cooks them through quickly and makes them super crispy. But the downside to air frying is that you can’t cook a big batch at once. Check out our tips for cooking chicken wings in the air fryer in the recipe box below.
Deep Fried Chili Crisp Chicken Wings
Now this is the most high calorie way to cook the wings. BUT, they are super delicious. Light crispy batter, juicy wings with a slightly spicy & garlic crunchy chili crisp. Crazy good!!! Our technique uses a light wet batter, which cooks them like tempura. So it’s like a tempura chicken wing. Then douse the wings with the chili crunch and they are mind-blowing amazing. If you’re willing to take the time to try our deep fried method and don’t care about calories, then your mind and bellies will be in for a huge treat. The recipe box below shows you our technique.
Chili Crisp Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Wings
- 2 pounds (15 ml) chicken wings with some of the oil
- (5 ml) salt , to season wings
- black pepper , to season wings
For the Fried Chicken Wing Batter
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
- 1 cup (240 ml) cold water
- Oil for frying
For Homemade Chili Crisp (makes about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) oil
- 6 cloves fresh garlic , minced or sliced
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) red chili flakes
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) dried minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) dried chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sugar , or to taste
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) toasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt , if using table salt, use a little less
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cayenne (optional to taste)
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) soy sauce
Instructions
- Season the chicken wings generously with salt & pepper. Cook the wings using your preferred method below.
For Baked Chicken Wings
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Spread chicken wings out into an even layer on baking sheet pan (we don't coat our wings with oil before baking, but you can if you want).
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) for about 40-50 minutes until golden brown, flipping the wings after the first 30 minutes. Toss or brush the cooked chicken wings with your desired amount of chili crisp.
For Fried Chicken Wings
- If making battered wings, make the flour coating. In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Slowly add the cold water and whisk to combine. Break up any clumps of flour so that the mixture is smooth. The batter should be fairly runny but still nicely coat the back a spoon. Whisk in a touch more water if needed.
- Fill the a large skillet or Dutch oven with oil about 1-inch (2.5cm) deep. Heat the oil to 350-375°F (175-190°C).
- Dip the chicken wings into the batter (if using). Allow excess to drip off.
- Gently place the chicken in the hot oil. Cook in batches and don't crowd the chicken wings in the pan. If making the battered wings, place them so there is a little space between each wing so they won't stick together. After the batter starts to set, wiggle apart any that are touching.
- Fry the wings on both sides until crispy and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Continue cooking in batches until all the wings are all cooked.
- Toss or brush the cooked chicken wings with your desired amount of chili crisp.
For Air Fried Chicken Wings
- Put the wings in the air fryer in an even layer. Don't overfill the basket/tray or they won't cook evenly. Cook in batches if needed.
- Air Fry at 400°F (205°C) for 20 minutes, then flip the wings.
- Continue to Air Fry at 400°F (205°C) for another 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Toss or brush the air fried wings with your desired amount of chili crisp.
Homemade Chili Crisp Instructions
- Mince or slice the garlic to your preferred size (it doesn't really matter how big or small it is, just how much of a garlic bite you want).
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute or until lightly golden.
- Immediately remove from heat (the garlic will continue to cook a little in the pan. You want it to be just a light golden brown. Don't let the garlic burn or else it will become bitter).
- Stir in rest of the ingredients (red chili flakes, dried minced garlic, dried chopped onion, sugar, sesame seeds, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, and soy sauce).
- Taste for flavor and adjust to your liking. Cool completely. After cooled, store in a mason jar or similar. Stir well before using.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
How to Store Leftover Chili Crisp Chicken Wings?
Seriously, you shouldn’t have any leftover! It’s hard to not devour them in one sitting. But if you did indulge a little too much and are staring at a few leftover chili crisp chicken wings, then store them in the fridge. Try to eat them within 3 days. And if you STILL have some leftover, then sure you can freeze them. But make sure to allow them to thaw completely before re-heating.
I’m such a big fan of your homemade chili oil so when I saw this recipe, I just had to try it out. The crispy chicken wings is perfect for my Super Bowl party.