Recreate a popular Chinese takeaway starter in your air fryer with this crispy chicken wings recipe – perfect as they are, covered in sauce or finished salt and chilli style.
If you’re a fan of chicken wings, you’ll know that Chinese takeaways and restaurants offer up some of the juiciest wings with the most ridiculously crispy coating. The breading has enough about it to stand up to sweet and sour sauce, Chinese bbq sauce or more, and of course the salt & chilli finish is just waiting to be applied to batch after batch of crispy wings.
Whilst you can fully replicate your local takeaway chef’s techniques by deep frying chicken wings, this air fryer recipe offers an alternative using less oil. The finished wings are deliciously crispy and are a great way to make use of your air fryer.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Wings
These delicious crispy chicken wings are full of flavour inside and out! Jointed chicken wings are seasoned with Chinese-5 spice, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, MSG, black pepper, white pepper and rice wine. The marinated wings are pressed into a plain flour coating, brushed with oil and air fried until crispy and golden.
- Chicken Wings
- Chinese 5-Spice
- Garlic Powder
- Smoked Paprika
- Sea Salt
- MSG
- Black Pepper
- White Pepper
- Rice Wine
- Plain Flour
- Sunflower Oil
How To Make Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Wings
Making these air fryer chicken wings is easy! First, jointed chicken wings are seasoned with Chinese 5-spice, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, MSG, black pepper, white pepper and rice wine. Next, they’re coated with plain flour, before finally being brushed with oil and air fried until golden and crispy.
Step 1: Season
Joint the chicken wings using a sharp knife to separate the drumettes and wingettes. Put the wing pieces in a large bowl and add the rice wine, Chinese 5-spice, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, MSG, black pepper and white pepper. Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
2: Coat
Put 250 grams plain flour in a large bowl. Working in batches, press some of the chicken wings into the plain flour, mixing well and pressing down hard until the wings are fully coated. Arrange the coated wings on a rack in an air fryer drawer, making sure there’s a little space between each wing (the wings will cook better without overcrowding, so cook in batches if necessary). Brush each wing gently with a little oil.
Step 3: Air Fry
Air fry at 200C for 15 minutes. Turn the wings, brush with a touch more oil and air fry for another 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy.
Recipe Tips For Air Fryer Chinese Takeaway Style Crispy Chicken Wings
Air Frying: These wings air fry best with a little space between them on a rack in the air fryer. If you have a double drawer air fryer you can cook two batches at once – alternatively, cook one batch after another until all of the wings are cooked. The cooked wings can be reheated together in the oven or air fryer and will stay crispy, but for the initial cook it’s best to cook in small batches for crispy results.
Make Ahead: These crispy chicken wings keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month so you can get the cooking out of the way and air fry up a big batch (you could even double or triple the recipe). Defrost the wings if frozen and fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes, or heat in the oven or air-fryer at 180C for 10 minutes until piping hot. This makes things like salt and chilli wings so easy for a midweek dinner – pop the cooked wings in a hot oven or air fryer for 10 minutes, finish with salt & chilli ingredients in the wok and dinner is ready!
I hope you’ll try this air fryer crispy chicken wings recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Wings (Chinese Takeaway Style)
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken wings
- 1 teaspoon rice wine
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon MSG
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 250 grams plain flour
- 2 tablespoons sunflower Oil
Instructions
- Joint 1 kg chicken wings using a sharp knife to separate the drumettes and wingettes. Put wing pieces in a large bowl and add 1 teaspoon rice wine, 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, Pinch smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper. Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Put 250 grams plain flour in a large bowl. Working in batches, press some of the chicken wings into the plain flour, mixing well and pressing down hard until the wings are fully coated. Arrange the coated wings on a rack in an air fryer drawer, making sure there's a little space between each wing (the wings will cook better without overcrowding, so cook in batches if necessary). Brush each wing gently with a little oil.
- Air fry at 200C for 15 minutes. Turn the wings, brush with a touch more oil and air fry for another 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
Do you like this air fryer Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken wings recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make Glasgow takeaway style salt & chilli chicken, prawn toast, chicken satay skewers, chow mein and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
