The other day I woke up from a recurring nightmare that I have that’s somewhat based on reality. In my dream, it’s minutes before a big party with all of my friends and family. Chicken wings are on the menu – there’s a reason I keep seeing chicken wings labelled as party wings after all. I put the wings in the oven at 3:00 and set the timer. All of a sudden there’s smoke pouring out the the oven and the timer’s flashing 13:00. I’m worried about smoke inhalation, the house burning down and whether or not the chicken wings will be salvageable.
I must’ve been pretty deep into it because Mike shook me awake and asked if I was having a nightmare. I was whimpering in my sleep. Sounds absurd, I know. And the thing is I haven’t even burnt chicken wings before. What has happened to me, and still makes me cringe at my stupidity is my flimsy understanding of the 24 hour clock.
I must have been daydreaming when we covered that section in grade 2 math because I had a serious epic fail while I was in university. It was during finals. I checked my exam schedule and saw that it was set for 3 pm. I showed up 15 minutes early (because I’m conscientious like that!) and paid a visit to the restroom. Inside I saw one of my fellow classmates washing their hands.
Girl: Hey Steph, you finished the test pretty quick, as usual. What’d you think?
Me: Fast? Huh, what do you mean what did I think?
Girl: Of the exam?
Me (it starts on dawn on me that something is terribly, terribly wrong): But it’s at 3!!
Girl (with a look of EXTREME pity): The test was scheduled at 13:00. You know, 1 pm?
Seriously, my stomach dropped. I felt like a complete and utter idiot. Long story short, I read the exam schedule wrong. I’m a horrible Asian. I don’t have a special relationship with numbers. Math and, heck, even clocks, are my mortal enemies. Luckily my prof took pity on me and let me take the exam. My crazy face, complete with crying, must’ve convinced her I was telling the truth. I took the text, still feeling like an idiot. But, I did get an A!
If you’ve had a nightmare, about chicken wings or math, these crispy oven baked wings will make you feel better. As much as I LOVE deep fried chicken wings, sometimes I don’t want to break out the oil. The answer: the oven. You can make crispy wings in less than an hour, most of it hands off. The crunch is not as extreme as it is when you deep fry, but the wings are still delightfully, deliciously light and crispy. And the glaze: who doesn’t love honey, garlic and soy? Sticky, sweet, garlicky and GOOD. You are six ingredients away from deliciousness.
Crispy Honey Garlic Soy Baked Chicken Wing Recipe
serves 2
- 1 lb chicken wing sections
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- pepper to taste
If you have the foresight, lay your chicken wing sections to dry out the skin. If you are in need of chicken wings RIGHT NOW, pat your wings as dry as you can with paper towels and let them dry out while you’re preheating the oven to 400°F. Set a wire rack inside a lined rimmed baking sheet.
Toss the chicken wings in the potato starch and shake off the excess. Lay out the chicken on your prepared rack, leaving plenty of space between wings. Bake for 45 minutes, until cooked through and crispy, flipping once.
When there’s 2-5 minutes left on your timer, heat up the honey, soy and garlic over medium heat until bubbly and thick. Remove the wings from the rack, place in a bowl and toss with the honey soy sauce. Enjoy immediately.
Would cornstarch or tapioca starch work as a substitute? The wings look fabulous by the way, and as someone who is hesitant about deep-frying, this recipe looks like the perfect solution!
I would choose tapioca over corn starch. Keep in mind, they won’t get as crispy as deep-fried. Think more of a light, shattering crispy as opposed to a battered, crunchy crispy :)
I love your photos, especially the honey bear one!!
These look and sound amazing. I love that they’re baked too because as much as I love fried chicken I don’t love smelling like it for the rest of the day! Definitely making these soon!!
As good as these sound as is… a tsp (or 2) of Sambal Olek (or Sriracha) would satisfy Chileheads like me.
I made these wings last week. I salted and peppered the wings before I tossed them in the potato starch as I have tasted chicken that hasn’t been salted before cooking and it has no taste. I had to up the temperature to 450 at the half-way point because there wasn’t much crisping or browning going on. I also added about 1/8 t. of harissa powder to the sauce as I thought it was too sweet and could use a little heat. This worked well. The wings turned out very tasty, but next time I will put some non-stick spray on the rack (the wings stuck to the rack and were hard to turn) and cook at 425 for 45 minutes.
These wings look so tasty as do the rest of your recipes!! I plan on making these wings this week, but I don’t have potato starch. Could I use corn starch instead? And if so, would it be the same amount?
yes, cornstarch would work as well!
What if I don’t have a baking rack, what should I do.
Hi Shanna,
You could try it directly on foil or parchment paper, but my thoughts are that they would stick. I think spraying foil with non-stick cooking spray might help. But the reason for the rack is so that the wings get crispy on all sides – the rack lifts gives them more surface area for the hot air to circulate.
This looks like a great dish! and my family loves chicken. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi! Can you post a link to the wire rack you use? (And maybe give a brief review – is it sturdy? Does it clean up easily?) I’ve been wanting one for a while and just haven’t settled on anything yet. Thanks!
hey mia,
this particular rack is from macy’s, the martha collection. (here’s the link.) i’d say that it’s fairly sturdy, but it does need a good scrub after use. i have put it in the dish washer though and it comes out clean and hasn’t had any issues with rusting. hope that helps!