Our Baked Thai Chili Sesame Chicken Wings are flat-out hard to stop eating when sweet and spicy sauce clings to every crispy bite.
I’m not sure if it is the texture of the wing or the flavor of the sauce I love more or the symbiotic sensation of their perfect union, but love them I do.
Based on the sheer number of chicken wing recipes and numerous wing places with a cult following, it is safe to assume I am not alone in this.
It’s the Homemade Thai Chili Sesame Sauce too
This particular recipe left me a bit embarrassed by the pile of bones that quickly replaced the garlic and chili studded wingettes on my plate, while my husband was only halfway through his.
I set a plate in front of our daughter mentioning the sauce was not her favorite Mae Ploy, it was my new homemade Thai chili sesame sauce.
Skeptical, she muttered something about me leaving well enough alone … then all I heard was finger licking sounds, followed by, “Okay, this one’s a keeper.” In short order, she too sat with a pile of bones.
HOMEMADE THAI CHILI SESAME SAUCE
Buy whole chicken wings instead of party wings
Party wings are wing parts already separated into wingettes and drumettes, without the wing tips. This is definitely the quick and easy route if you’re making several trays of wings for a party. However, fresh whole wings are simple to separate and can be prepped and frozen well in advance of when you need them.
Three reasons to prep your own party wings:
- Wing tips make great stock! I keep a bag in my freezer of chicken backs, wing tips, and bones for making homemade stock. Using those wing tips helps add the collagen I’m looking for in stock. Bonus.
- Whole wings will have more of the breast meat at the top of the drummette since they aren’t trimmed as closely.
- Spend less! Make those two joint cuts yourself and save up to a dollar per pound.
No special coatings or fussy technique required for great wings
Roasted chicken skin needs little help to be delicious. Baked in the oven with freshly ground sea salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika is all it takes—you don’t even have to be neat about it, they don’t care.
ADDED BONUS => Baked chicken wings are better-for-you wings because there’s no need for added oil.
While the wings bake, there is plenty of time to make the chili sauce and prep a plate of fresh vegetables. The sauce can also be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Then, right before you sink your teeth into the crisp, sweetly-spiced Thai Chili Sesame Chicken Wings shower them with freshly squeezed lime for a heavenly finish. The lime finish is truly is a step you do not want to miss!
Try the sauce on Grilled Shrimp too!
Thai Chili Sesame Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 12 whole chicken wings , or 24 party wings, drumettes & wingettes separated
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons organic cornstarch , or arrowroot, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds , plus more for sprinkling
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat convection oven to 350°F or regular bake to 400°F.
- Spread chicken wing pieces out on a cutting board or baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika on both sides. Transfer wings to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, being sure to leave space between each piece and not overcrowd the pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes and turn over. Continue to bake 20-30 more minutes, or until wings are well browned on both sides (this will depend on size of wings and oven).
- While wings are baking, mix the honey, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sherry, chili sauce, and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce and concentrate the sauce.
- Stir in cornstarch mixture and continue to simmer on low a couple of minutes until sauce thickens. Stir in 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.
- Remove from heat and set aside until chicken is done. The seasoning can be adjusted at this point--adding more chili sauce for spice or more honey for sweetness.
- Once the wings are golden and crispy, remove from oven. Using tongs, dip each wing into the sauce and transfer to a clean parchment-lined pan until all the wings have been well coated with the sauce.
- Sprinkle each wing with sesame seeds and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve wings with extra sauce for dipping and lime wedges to squeeze over the wings just before eating.
Notes
- Recipe makes enough sauce for the wings and extra to pass at the table.
- Sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Convection bake will allow for more even browning and less turning during the baking process, but either baking method works fine.
Nutrition
More Thai Style Recipes:
Grilled Thai Chili Sesame Shrimp
Pad Thai with Beef Recipe and Red Boat Fish Sauce
Pad Thai with Shrimp: Easy Weeknight Recipe
Spicy Thai-Style Pineapple Wraps
Thai Peanut Sauce
Thai Cocktail Sauce for Seafood
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Laura Duffy says
Wow, this sauce sounds amazing! I’m going to take your advice and try it on shrimp!
Catherine Baez Sholl says
I love me some wings, and these look like a must-have!
Katie says
The combination of flavors here sounds SO good!! Can’t wait to try them!
Hope says
These look so good! I love dishes with an asian flare added, they sound nice and easy to make too 🙂
Anne Lawton says
These wings look so good! And thank for the detailed instructions.
Megan Stevens says
These look so delicious!! Such fun party food!
Kathryn says
Just in time for the Super Bowl! I love the flavors you’ve put together here! Such a healthy way to eat buffalo wings!
ChihYu says
Love baked chicken wings. Perfect for game day!
Carol Little R.H. @studiobotanica says
LOVE wings! This recipe does look fabulous!
Can you recommend a good quality good ingredients Fish Sauce?
I clicked on the link in recipe.. but there are many choices there..
I have never bought as have never found one with good ingredients.
Any help appreciated. and Thanks for the recipe!!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Carol! Yes, I recommend Red Boat Fish Sauce, it has only 2 ingredients – fresh-caught wild black anchovies and sea salt. And the flavor is great too, it’s the one I use myself. 🙂
paleoglutenfreeguy says
These look so sticky and sweet. Can’t wait to try them!
mjskitchen says
Oh my…this is perfect for Super Bowl Sunday! Love spicy finger food especially when it’s fingerlicking good!!!
Renee D Kohley says
Ooo that is a super fun sauce! My husband makes chicken wings every other weekend-ish – he loves them! I’ll send this along to him to try!
Raia Todd says
Those are soooo gorgeous! I’m drooling.
Cheryl Malik says
These look amazing!!
Joni Gomes says
So much good info here!! This recipe looks bomb and I cannot wait to make it!
Adrienne says
Wow – what an amazing recipe! I can just taste it now–your photos are so fantastic. Thanks–can’t wait to serve this for my family!
Jessica M. says
I realize this recipe is a few years old, but we just made it last night and it was incredible! I just had to come on here and leave a 5-star review! We were actually running late to a get-together with friends, so my husband took over for me so I could get ready and we followed the recipe exactly as written. We only had chicken drumsticks. We brought them with us to the get-together, and then realized that our friends are vegetarians! Guess what? They both had a couple drumsticks! First time eating chicken in a very long time, and they thought they were delicious.
Awesome recipe, we’ll be making this again for sure!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Jessica, Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how much you enjoyed this recipe! This sauce is fabulous on any part of the bird, so I’m not surprised the legs went over so well with your friends! Your comment made my day!
Christina says
Your embarrassment at finishing before your husband, leaving a pile of bones, says something about the recipe. While it did make you come out of your shell a bit more than anticipated, at least you enjoyed the meal.
Heena says
Excellent recipe!!! Easy to make and sooooo delicious! Just how they look in the pictures! Love so much they have become a weekly regular! Thank u so much!!! Have shared with all my friends x
Judy Purcell says
Hi Heena, thank you so much for letting me know how much you liked the recipe and for sharing with your friends — that is the greatest compliment. 🙂
Stephen says
I made this tonight! Amazingly tasty sauce that’s super-simple. My roommate told me they were the best wings in New York. In addition to the written recipe, I browned the wings using coconut oil on the stovetop before I threw them in the oven to bake.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Stephen, thanks so much for taking time to let me know how much you enjoyed the wings — best in New York is a real compliment! It is pretty amazing how easy it is to have great wings at home without a lot of fuss. Hope you stop by again soon. 🙂
Gourmantine says
Great recipe and even better that they are oven baked vs fried; and all looks absolutely delicious in photos, I usually go for drumettes, but I’d have everything here!
[email protected] says
Great dish! I love wings, but I really prefer the oven baked rather than the fried. These look fabulous! The sauce looks terrific. I’d have a pile of bones in front of me in no time, I’m embarrassed to say. But I’d be full and happy. 😉 Good stuff – thanks.
Judy Purcell says
Yes, John, you would be full and happy! Thanks for the nice comment. 🙂
ATasteOfMadness says
I have so much sesame in my kitchen, I don’t know what to do with it. But you have shown me the perfect solution. Will be making this soon, thank you!
thedrivencook says
I have never made wings at home but this flavor is so tempting- I will have to try them soon!
David says
WOW! Made the wings with Thai Pineapple Fried Rice. The wings were FLYING off the plate! lol My family loved them, as well as the rice. We like it spicier, so I added about 3-4 TBS of Sambal Olek red pepper paste/sauce and spiced it up a bit. Rice was a great compliment to the wings.
Have a pic but no clue how to post it!
Great Recipe! Will be making this again soon.
Judy says
David, thanks so much for letting me know you loved the wings, it means so much to get feedback. 🙂 I like your idea of serving it with the pineapple fried rice!
I would love to see your pic, you can post it on Savoring Today’s Face Book page https://www.facebook.com/SavoringToday or send it to me at [email protected]. Again, thanks for commenting!
Eric says
Very Good!!! Made 9 lbs and nothing was left. Friends raved about them. Did not change anything while making them. Came out with just the right spicy flavor. Not to hot and not too sweet. Thanks for sharing with us.
MonieLove says
I made these last week and let’s just say my Bae ate them all. They were absolutely delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Judy says
MonieLove, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and let me know how you like them! That just makes my day when I hear that. 🙂
Colleen says
These look so scrumptious and sticky. My mouth is watering. Makes it so much better that these are baked in the oven. A lot easier (and healthier) than frying them up!
Alea Milham says
Oh my, these look mouthwateringly delicious! Seriously good eats!
Raymund says
This is literally what I call finger licking good!
Greg says
Definitely a wing guy. These look awesome!
Geni says
Drooooling on my computer. Not a good idea. These look so sticky and sensational! What a fantastic recipe!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I had similar wings while on our road trip in Charleston that had been smoked…these sound great.
Hotly Spiced says
Oh wow! Those look so delicious. It certainly would be hard to stop at just one.
sportsglutton says
I’m all about the drumettes and Liz prefers the wingettes…that’s why our marriage works. 🙂
Fantastic sounding sauce!
ChgoJohn says
Always on the look out for good wings recipes, especially ones that don’t require deep frying. This one looks like a good one. Thanks