For those of you who aren’t familiar with Chinese fried chicken, here’s the scoop. It’s not just your run-of-the-mill fried chicken that you would find at a KFC. The outer skin is thin and crisp. The flavors are heavy on garlic, salt, five-spice and, undoubtedly, that old reliable MSG. Whenever you finish eating a fried drumstick, expect to see your fingers covered in grease, a sign that you just ate a decent piece of chicken. I can’t get away with eating that amount of grease anymore. Age does funny things like that. That’s why we’re making baked fried chicken instead. It’s based on Nagi’s Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings, a genius recipe for making crispy wings with significantly less fat than frying. You bake the wings at low heat first, then bump it up to give the wings that nice crunchy exterior. Be ready for the crackle as these babies are baking away in the oven. It’s a beautiful sound. I’m pairing these wings with a simple sweet and tangy honey chili lime sauce that’s truly finger-lickin’ good. Get those towels ready for these cracklin’ chicken wings! You’ll need it.
MASTER MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Turn on Those Kitchen Fans: Maybe it’s the overly sensitive smoke detectors in my house, but I set off all 5 smoke alarms the first time I baked these wings. I suppose burning hot animal fat in the oven can do that. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. The solution to my problem was leaving the windows open and the kitchen fan on when I’m baking the wings at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). You may want to consider doing that, too.Honey Chili Lime Sauce: The sauce is a bit runny when you first make it, which is why I suggest making it when there’s still about 30 minutes left in the cooking process. The sauce thickens as it cools. The recipe below will probably yield more sauce than you actually need for the wings. Save it for your next stir fry!How Long Will the Wings Stay Crispy? These wings are best served warm, soon after they’re out of the oven. Once they cool to room temperature, they’ll lose their initial crisp, but they will still taste great.
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