Spicy Lacquered Chicken Wings Recipe (2024)

I have made these wings three times. My usual method for cooking chicken wings is to pat them dry, toss them in a bowl with a small amount of oil, salt, and pepper and cook them in the oven on a sheet tray at 450. They render the fat and get very crispy. I took all of the ingredients for the lacquer, and cooked it in a small pot on the stove top. When the wings were done, I tossed them into a bowl with the thickened sauce and they were amazing with the cucumber salsa and sliced oranges.

why dirty a food processor for the peanuts and waste the electricity when all you have to do is whack them (i.e. crush) with you meat tenderizer.

Made yesterday for the SuperBowl - turned out perfectly. I reduced heat to 350 and cooked for 45 mins, basting every 10 mins and turning chicken pieces over halfway through. Like other reviewers I did not add any water to the glaze. The final dish came out with a nice lacquered look, although it was golden brown, not red/orange. Suggest you do not skip the relish. Its spice and crunch nicely balances the sweetness of the glaze

I couldn't get "lacquered" either. The marinade simply isn't thick enough. Flavor was excellent however. I made this recipe with boneless chicken thighs and served over rice. Good flavors.

No probs with this keeper; scrumptious results as written. But in the "duhh" dept, for less-experienced cooks:
•why specify "crushed" peanuts when "finely chopped" (by pulsing in a mini-food processor) will do?
•why use "slivered" scallions (which might be mistaken for cut lengthwise) when "thinly sliced on the diagonal" is what's meant from the accompanying photo?
•speaking of which, why not add "peeled and" to the navel oranges?

Delicious! Ours cooked through in about 25 minutes though, so keep an eye on them as you are basting.

A keeper! Delicately flavored, but don't expect a thick BBQ-type sauce. Used dark soy sauce for a stickier marinade/glaze. At the 2nd basting/15-20 minutes, the chicken seemed to be cooking too quickly, so lowered to 350°F, moved the pan to the bottom shelf, and cooked for 15 min longer/1h. No need to add water: at the 3rd basting/25-30 min, the chicken had begun rendering its juice, which I drained back into the marinade, and turned the wings over for the remaining time.

Nice flavor but not sticky or "lacquered". Too much liquid. Def did not need to add water. Maybe lower heat and longer cooking would have allowed more evaporation and thickened it up.

agree w Ed. Cut the liquids down a bit, let the wings cook another 10-15 minutes. They won't be overcooked and the lacquer will factor

Asians would typically do this in a wok or pot. Few ovens.

Given the ingredients, I don't see how the wings turn out with the red hue shows in the photo. Mine turned out brown. Any thoughts?

there's no way that photo was from wings prepared from this recipe. the wings don't turn out "lacquered" but rather dull brown and tasteless. did he really ever make these or maybe just wrote the recipe off the top of his head with a bunch standard asian ingredients? don't waste your time with this.

I used chicken thighs and had to increase the time accordingly. I used home-made garam masala instead of five-spice and less garlic and more ginger, and also less soy sauce (too salty). Let it sit in the marinade overnight in the fridge. Add a tablespoon or so of honey; you will get a nicer glaze. It won't be red if you don't add food coloring (which I don't). If you add paprika, add it at the near end, when it won't burn.

Instad of making the relish and putting it on the chicken at the end, I made a salad of the ingredients (including chunks of orange and did not crush the peanuts, but left them whole. Put a dressing of sesame oil and rice vinegar on it. Worked as a great counterpoint to the chicken

the salt will pull the water from the Cucumber, making them less crunchy and making the peanuts a little soggy, also less crunchy. You lose some of the mouthfeel for little advantage, given that this is a garnish. You want bright fresh flavors and crunch to contrast it with the sweet, hot, chew from the meat.

Make this in a quarter sheet pan. Oven temp closer to 400 degrees. Excellent.

Made these and they are a huge hit!

I've made this recipe at least 10 times. I'm not sure why rinsing is necessary. I usually jublot them and air-dry on a rack in the fridge for at least a few hours. I marinate them overnight and then roast on a rack in a sheet pan lined with foil. I have roasted the salted and peppered wings, then coated them. Either way, they are wonderful, and the effort is minimal.

Made with a little extra brown sugar and orange zest and juice. Wonderful on long cooked wings

Use this recipe for thighs and rice, with extra garnish.

I made this and it was great although not lacquered, I did add about 1 tbspn on dark soy sauce, which helped it get a bit darker. Did not have peanuts for the topping so used a bit of sesame paste and it was so good! Worth making.

Add gelatin to marinade the lacquer is unbelievable opted for 1/4 cup each of soy sherry and brown sugar xtra Chinese five spice garlic & ginger - instead of dried chilli - gouchujang Served over fluffy rice w mustard and tatsoi leaves; orange and grapefruit segments in the salad along with cucumber, cilantro, shiso (red&green), basil, mint, shallots, avocado squeeze of lime drizzle of sesame oil and sushi seasoning topped with roasted peanuts served with wasabi, kewpie mayo and picked ginger

We're you supposed to put the marinade in the pan with the chicken? It doesn't say so, but you're sure not going to get a glaze with the couple of tbs of it left on the chicken after transfering it to the cooking pan.

The wings didn’t get crispy and no lacquered effect. The flavor was good but it was disappointing.

Excellent recipe. I marinated the wings in a zip-lock bag.

I think these are great. I followed one suggestion and reduced the marinade after I put the wings in the oven. This is what I used to brush on the wings during cooking. There wasn’t a lot of marinade, but it was sufficient without water to make a nicely lacquered wing. I’m just about to make them for the fourth time, they are always gone by the end of the meal.

I followed the recipe mostly, but added some rice wine vinegar to control sweetness and didn't bother with the garnishes. I think they would make a nice presentation if these were being made for guests. I basted with marinade, then pan drippings, and then pan drippings thinned with a bit of marinade. They developed a nice lacquer. If you want a spicier wing, add more cayenne. Very tasty and will definitely make again.

This was just OK and not lacquer like. If I make it again, I may follow the advice of JG. Good authentic chinese flavor but otherwise unremarkable.

After marinating the wings for 24 hours, poured the liquid into a microwave proof container and reduce it in half. Added a tsp of dark soy sauce and dribble of honey to the marinade which thickened and darkened it. The finished wings didn't turn red (I think the red color was due to a camera color filter) but were a lovely darker brown color. I served the dish with a bowl of rice and steamed bok choy and the family left "no prisoners".

Good. Tad too much 5 spice powder? Reduced marinade to baste with. Add a couple of spoons of fat that came off chicken as it cooked. Cooked 1 hr and basted every 15min. Turned over after 30min and drained all fat/liquid that was rendered. Last 15 min added some honey to basting glaze which helped to darken and "lacquer" the chicken.Next time cook on a rack?Chopped couple of oranges and small cuc with the cilantro and jalapeno. Tossed with sesame oil to sit added nuts at end served on side