Crispy, crunchy wings with an explosion of flavour, these Chinese style salt and pepper chicken wings are even better than takeout!

Salt and pepper chicken wings on a plate

I don't know about you but whenever I order a Chinese takeout, no matter what I order, I just can't resist getting a side of chicken wings.

They're completely addictive.

Well now you don't even need to order takeout to enjoy these gorgeous crunchy spicy chicken wings at home - you can make them yourself.

And you know what? They're even better than you can order in.

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Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients for these amazing wings.

Whole chicken wings - including the drumette and wingette/flat. You will need to cut them into pieces, or buy them pre-cut.
Salt & Pepper - this is the whole point of the dish, don't scrimp on the seasoning.
Baking powder - this is going to help draw out the moisture and make the wings extra crisp. Make sure you use baking powder, not baking soda / bicarbonate of soda.
Oil - use something flavourless that can be heated to a high heat, like vegetable oil, canola oil or peanut oil.
Garlic
Sesame oil
Spring onions - also known as green onions or shallots
Red Chilli Pepper - if you can handle the heat, you could also use a birdseye chilli.

Preparing the chicken wings

First things first, you need to get the chicken wings ready for roasting.

Start by cutting them up. You want to divide the whole wing into three pieces: the drumette, the wingette/flat and the wing tip as you can see in the picture below.

Cutting up chicken wings for salt and pepper wings

To do this easily you need a good sharp knife. Use your fingers to feel for the knuckle - it is much easier to cut along the joint than through the bone. If you have a sharp knife and cut at the knuckle, it should be relatively easy to cut.

Now discard the wing tip and you will be left with 10 x drumettes and 10 x flats.

Lay them out on some paper towels and dry them thoroughly and then transfer wings to a large bowl.

raw chicken wings on a large bowl seasoned with salt and pepper

Season generously with the salt & pepper and mix to cover them well. Next sprinkle over the baking powder and mix to coat well.

raw chicken wings sprinkled with baking powder

And finally lay them on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil or baking paper. Give them plenty of room - use two baking sheets if possible.

Cooking the chicken wings

First you are going to roast the chicken wings to get them nice and crispy and golden brown. This takes around 30-40 minutes in a hot oven. Turn them after 20 minutes.

(I know a lot of Chinese restaurants probably use a deep fryer for this, but trust me these are going to be just as good).

Ingredients ready for making salt and pepper chicken wings

While they are cooking you can get the rest of the seasoning ready by finely chopping the garlic, spring onions and fresh chilli.

TIP: This dish works best with CHOPPED garlic. Don't be tempted to use a garlic crusher.

tossing garlic in a pan with wooden spoon

Once the wings come out of the oven, heat up the oil in a wok and toss in the garlic. Cook it over a high heat until the garlic starts to brown.

Then stir in the sesame oil, followed by half the spring onion and half the chilli. And finally throw in the crispy chicken wings and stir to coat in the garlic mixture.

Tossing wings in garlic, spring onions and chilli

This last stage all happens pretty quickly. You don't really want the spring onions and chilli to cook too much - just mix them into the oil then toss in the chicken wings and stir.

Transfer them to a serving dish and garnish with the remaining spring onion and chilli.