Kung Pao chicken wings are an awesome, delicious alternative to the traditional hot wings or honey bbq wings you see all over the place. The spicy, tangy sauce, oven “fried” chicken wings (I have a fool-proof method that will get you really crispy wings in the oven!), and the easy preparation make for the ultimate fusion food.
If you’re familiar with our traditional Kung Pao Chicken, you’ll find this recipe is a more tangy and slightly sweeter version of the authentic sauce, perfect with wings. You can follow the recipe as-is or tinker with the sauce until it meets your taste preferences. Of course, I’d suggest following the recipe the first time, and then customize the second time (believe you, me, it’s not a “one-time” kind of dish). You will make this one over and over again for dinner, snacks, super bowl parties and friendly gatherings, and you WILL receive kudos!
Okay, so for wings, we have to deep fry them right?
You could do that, but why deal with the mess of deep frying and the added unhealthiness of it all? After the sauce, the next best part about this recipe is the oven-fry method used to crisp up the wings. Every time I use this method, I’m convinced that it’s the only way it should be done.
On with the recipe! The ingredient list is a bit long, but I promise everything has a purpose and adds to the flavor of the dish! Can you tell I’m excited about this one? Go for it!
Kung Pao Chicken Wings: Recipe Instructions
Toss the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl along with the ground Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, and flour. Ensure the wings are evenly coated. Set aside for at least 20 minutes.
I added some notes on making these Kung Pao chicken wings since I got a good question from one of our readers and this is why we love comments! We want to hear how things are going in your kitchen so we can continually improve our current and future recipes,
If you patted your wings dry, then the mixture may be a little dry but during the marinade process, the dry ingredients will be absorbed as the soy sauce will bring some liquid out of the chicken wings. This is especially true if you just thawed your wings from the freezer. The moisture level of the chicken wings when you start the recipe is quite variable, so adjust to get a light coating on your wings!
If the mixture still looks a little dry, then add a dash of wine or water just to moisten the wings.
If they look a little wet, then you could add a touch more flour if you like a crust on your wings, otherwise, just leave the excess liquid behind.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with heavy duty foil for easy clean-up and add a layer of non-stick foil or parchment paper so the wings don’t stick. Lay the wings on the sheet pan spaced 2 inches apart, ensuring that as much of the marinade coating is on the wings as possible.
Bake in the oven for 16 minutes, flipping them halfway through roasting. Both sides of the wings should be crispy. Halfway through this process (i.e. after you’ve flipped the wings), make the sauce.
To make the sauce, add the oil and ginger to a wok or saucepan over low heat. After 15 seconds, add the garlic, dried whole red chili peppers, and crushed red pepper flakes. Toast another 10 seconds and stir in the Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, chicken stock, sugar, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and spicy bean sauce/paste. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the cornstarch slurry until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
Add the scallions. By now, the wings should be done cooking.
Toss them into the Kung Pao sauce.
Serve your Kung Pao Chicken Wings garnished with chopped peanuts and cilantro!
We had these Kung Pao chicken wings without any dipping sauce, but if you’d like to cool off the wings slightly, you can serve with some plain yogurt, mixed with a bit of salt and and chopped cucumber.
Kung Pao Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the marinating the chicken wings:
- 12 chicken wingettes and drumettes (rinsed and pat dry)
- ¼ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon flour
For the Kung Pao sauce:
- 1 teaspoon peanut oil (can substitute vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 10 dried whole red chili peppers
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce/paste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons peanuts (roasted and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Toss the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl along with all the marinade ingredients, ensuring the wings are well coated. Set aside for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with heavy duty foil for easy clean-up and add a layer of non-stick foil or parchment paper so the wings don't stick. Lay the wings on the sheet pan spaced 2 inches apart, ensuring that as much of the marinade coating is on the wings as possible. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes, flipping them halfway through roasting. Both sides of the wings should be crispy. Halfway through this process (i.e. after you've flipped the wings), make the sauce.
- To make the sauce, add the oil and ginger to a wok or saucepan over low heat. After 15 seconds, add the garlic, whole dried chilies, and crushed red pepper flakes. Toast another 10 seconds and stir in the Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, chicken stock, sugar, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and spicy bean paste. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in cornstarch slurry until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the scallions. By now, the wings should be done cooking. Toss them into the sauce and serve, garnished with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serve!
- Note: We had these chicken wings without any dipping sauce, but if you'd like to cool off the wings slightly, you can serve with some plain yogurt, mixed with a bit of salt and and chopped cucumber.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
Great recipe. I have to agree with “Eric”. I ended up baking them for 48-50 minutes instead of the specified 16 minutes. Perhaps it’s because I took my chicken wings straight of the refrigerator.
Thanks Michael, cold wings do take much longer indeed, but a preheated oven at 475 degrees F is a very hot oven. It takes 16 minutes in our electric double wall oven (which takes 30 minutes to preheat to 475 deg f). Also, using a steel sheet pan versus glass or aluminum makes a big difference. The steel sheet pan heats up quickly and “fries” the undersides of the wing. Hope that explains things.
Best chicken wings I’ve ever eaten. Whole family enjoyed it!
Lovely! Please say Hi to everyone :-)
Best Kung Pao sauce I’ve ever made, and I’ve probably tried 15 different recipes. Might be the best I’ve ever eaten. I cut the sugar in 1/2, and used 1/2 rice wine vinegar, 1/2 black vinegar because (fill in some lame excuse here). Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it Stuart, and you’re quite welcome!
whats the nutrients?
Hi jason, we have not gotten to adding nutritional information for our recipes, but safe to say these are not diet wings lol!
why not?
Hi Jason, it’s a huge project to update all of our recipes with nutritional information. It’s on our To-do list.
Well, Jason. Why don’t you just go to a website and put in each ingredient yourself and get the data? You’ll enjoy the laboriousness of it, no doubt. Aren’t you just happy that someone has provided you with great recipes FOR FREE?
Hi Annie and Jason, I am happy to report that we have actually gone through our entire archive of recipes and added nutritional info. Now that is love and appreciation for our readers if I do say so myself lol :)
5/5 STARS: Best Kung Pao I ever made by far – truly a delicious dish. I cooked the wings for 48 minutes, turning them three times. I didn’t use the cilantro, it’s not universally loved. Otherwise, no modifications. No, I lie, used regular bean sauce because I didn’t have the spicy kind.
Excellent to hear you enjoyed them Eric!
HI.
Is there any substitute for the spicy bean sauce / paste? I have an allergic reaction to this.
Or can I use huy fung Sambal oelek ?
Or can I leave it out of the recipe .
Hi David, The spicy bean sauce has its own flavor, but if you are allergic to it, then sambal oelek could be a good substitute. Happy cooking!
Because I have a vegan student I’m always looking for recipes I can adapt. I made a double batch of the sauce and followed the method for chicken wings with strips of tofu that I had pressed and air dried all day in the fridge. I also cut up 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs into wing sized strips, since I wanted chicken. I added a bit more oil to the tofu marinade and then baked both in the oven as directed. Once the sauce was thick and bubbly I took some out to another bowl that I added my chicken thighs and put the nicely cripsed tofu strips to the wok with the remainder of the sauce. I also added about a half cup of dry roasted peanuts for extra protein. My student loved his vegan version and I loved my chicken version. There was enough sauce to have over rice. Sorry for having altered it so much. I’m sure it would be fabulous on wings, but this was a a lot less fatty and just as tasty. Yum.
Hi Mary, Nice adaptation and thanks for sharing your experience!
How would this recipe work (with some tinkering) on chicken kabobs on sticks
Hi Robert,
I have not tried it with chicken kabobs, but I bet if you use the sauce to baste the chicken after you’ve initially browned it, it would turn out delicious!
Made for the first time last night and was blown away, I was not expecting the sauce to taste as good as it did, Kung pao from take away’s here in the UK are bland compared to that and I thought it had real depth, I took my neighbour some to try and thought the same.
Wings were superb, lovely and moist with a crisp skin.
Many thanks
Hi Aidy, You’re welcome––and such a nice neighbor! Glad you enjoyed these wings!
Hubby loves loves loves these – more than his beloved Buffalo Wings!!! He keeps asking me to make them for him, and for his friends when they come to visit.
Bill – yes I just added more wine as you said.
Hi Janis, wow, nice compliment from your hubby! I do love a good buffalo wing but sometimes a changeup is in order – enjoy!