These Chinese Style Baked Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings are the perfect Chinese takeaway side dish that you can make at home! Marinated in salt, pepper and ginger then garnished with chilli, garlic and spring onion, these oven baked wings are deliciously crispy & surprisingly gluten free!
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Who doesn’t love a Chinese takeaway? I think it would be the top of my takeaway list, however it can be challenging when dealing with food allergies as a lot of Chinese dishes contain gluten and sesame.
These Chinese style baked salt and pepper chicken wings are gluten and sesame free!! They get their gorgeous crispiness from …. Cornflour!! Despite its name, cornflour is naturally gluten free as it is made from grinding corn kernels into a fine powder.
I have decided to oven bake the wings in this recipe so they are a bit healthier but just as delicious! They are the perfect fakeaway dinner! The wings can also be made by frying them in oil too. Read on to find out how.
If you are in the mood to cook up a Chinese feast, why not pair these chicken wings with my simple “no egg” fried rice with prawns, Chinese Crispy Chilli Chicken or kids chicken noodle stir fry with broccoli.
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How Do You Cut A Chicken Wing?
Unless buying from a butcher where you can ask them to cut them up for you, generally chicken wings are sold “whole”.
You can leave them like this, however I prefer to cut them into pieces.
To do this you will need a really sharp knife & a chopping board.
There are three parts to a chicken wing, the wing tip (the pointy bit at the end), the wingette (in the middle) and the drumette (the meaty bit at the other end).
Lay the chicken wing flat on the chopping board, so the underside is pointing up facing you. You will be able to see the joints easier this way up.
First, cut off the wing tip. To do this make a sharp cut on the joint between the wing tip and the wingette. I haven’t used the wing tips in this recipe, but you can set them aside and use them to make a flavoursome chicken stock. You can freeze the wing tips in a freezer bag until you are ready to make the stock.
Next, you need to separate the wingette & drumette. To do this, place the knife on the joint between the two pieces and push down with force. If you are struggling to get the knife through try wiggling it as you push down.
You will now have your chicken pieces ready to make the salt and pepper wings!
Ingredients
- Chicken Wings - You can either prepare them as I have detailed above or leave them whole. If leaving whole you may need to increase the cooking time by 10-15 minutes.
- Cornflour - Used to coat the chicken wings, this is what gives them the delicious crunchy golden brown finish.
- Salt - I have used Cornish Sea Salt. I wouldn’t recommend using table salt in this recipe.
- Pepper - You can either use black or Szechuan crushed peppercorns.
- Mirin - Traditionally Shaoxing Rice Wine is used, however this contains gluten so I have used Mirin instead. You can also use a dry sherry. Read on to the substitutions section below to find an alcohol free version.
- Garlic
- Ginger - Either use some fresh ginger and chop very finely or I always have this Very Lazy ginger in the fridge which is really handy.
- Spring Onion
- Red Chilli
- Dairy Free Butter - Used to fry off the spring onion and red chilli. I have used Flora plant butter.
Scroll to recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Chinese Style Baked Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings
First, chop the chicken wings into wingettes and drumettes using the instructions above if you are not leaving the wings whole.
Next, prep the ingredients for the marinade. You will need to mince the garlic cloves & ginger with a garlic press or chop very finely. Put these in a large mixing bowl along with the chicken wings, salt, pepper and mirin and stir well.
Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but ideally overnight to really allow the flavours to seep into the chicken.
When you are ready to cook, remove the wings from the fridge and coat the chicken in cornflour, mix well until the cornflour has evenly coated the chicken wings.
Place the wings on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper in a single layer (you may need to use two trays) and bake them in a pre-heated oven until golden and crispy, turning half way through.
Use a meat thermometer to check the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature of the chicken should be at least 165˚F / 75˚C.
Chop the chilli, spring onion and garlic into thin slices and fry these in a non stick frying pan in some dairy free butter on a low/medium heat for a couple of minutes. You don’t want to cook them fully, just until they start to cook a little bit.
Put the chicken wings into the frying pan with the garnishing and mix through well.
Then simply serve on a platter and all tuck in!
Hint: Put aside a few pieces of the spring onion and chilli and use these to sprinkle over the wings when serving.
Substitutions
- Mirin - If you want to make this dish alcohol free (although most of the alcohol is burned off during cooking) you can substitute the mirin for a couple of tablespoons of made up chicken stock. I like to use the Knorr chicken stock pots as they are gluten and dairy free. (Please double check packaging as ingredients can change)
- Chilli - If you are not a fan of spice, replace the chilli with chopped red bell pepper.
Equipment
Storage
These Chinese style baked salt & pepper chicken wings are best served immediately after cooking. However you can make ahead the raw chicken and marinade mixture and leave this in the fridge overnight.
If you do want to store them in the fridge, they will keep for up to two days. To re-heat simply pop in the oven at 180˚C for 10-15 mins until piping hot. Alternatively you can re-heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes, although they will lose their crispiness this way.
You can freeze the wings for up to 3 months in a freezer zip lock bag. Defrost in the fridge overnight and then re-heat as above.
FAQ's
No, don’t wash raw chicken. This can cause any bacteria in the chicken to splash around and contaminate your kitchen surfaces. The bacteria will be destroyed once the chicken has been cooked safely to at least 165˚F.
Yes!
You can use a deep fat fryer or heat around 2 inches of oil (mild oils like sunflower, vegetable or canola work best) in a high sided saucepan. Heat the oil until it reaches 350˚F then add the chicken.
You will need to cook the chicken in batches (around 6-8 pieces at a time) for 5 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook for a further 5 minutes or until cooked through. The chicken should be at least 165˚C on a meat thermometer or ensure the juices run clear and there is no pink meat.
Once cooked, leave to drain on kitchen roll/paper towel to let the excess oil soak off.
If you love this recipe, please let me know by leaving a 5 star rating below!
📖 Recipe
Chinese Style Baked Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 900 g chicken wings
Marinade
Garnish
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 2 red chilli thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 10 g dairy free butter I used Flora plant butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200˚C fan / 220˚C electric / gas mark 7.
- Chop the chicken wings into wingettes and drumettes if you are not leaving the wings whole. (See the recipe post above to see how to do this)
- Prep the ingredients for the marinade - mince the garlic cloves & ginger with a garlic press or chop very finely. Put these in a large mixing bowl along with the chicken wings, salt, pepper and mirin (or chicken stock) and stir well.
- Put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but ideally overnight.
- When you are ready to cook, remove the wings from the fridge and coat the chicken in cornflour, mix well until the cornflour has evenly coated the chicken wings.
- Place the wings on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper in a single layer (you may need to use two trays) and bake them in a hot oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and crispy, turning half way through.
- Chop the chilli, spring onion and garlic into thin slices and fry these in a non stick frying pan in the dairy free butter on a low/medium heat for a couple of minutes. You don’t want to cook them fully, just until they start to cook a little bit.
- Put the chicken wings into the frying pan with the garnishing and mix through well.Serve immediately.
Let me know what you think of this recipe!