This Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings recipe features crispy and crackly chicken wings coated in a sweet and sticky Chinese glaze. And, let me tell you, these wings are crispy - like, really crispy! We air dry them in the refrigerator for 8 hours to remove all their moisture, and they come out of the fryer shatteringly crisp.
Can't get enough of chicken wings? Try my Salted Egg Chicken Wings and Honey Butter Chicken Wings next!
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🔥 Why this recipe is the best
To be honest, I think every sweet and sour chicken wing recipe on the internet gets it completely wrong. And it usually boils down to how the sauce is made. Each recipe calls for a large amount of liquid when making its sauce, which is then thickened with cornstarch.
The resulting sauce is watery and has a gloopy texture. In my opinion, the ideal sauce texture should be sticky and glaze-like, similar to the consistency of honey or maple syrup. When a sauce contains too much moisture, the chicken wing loses its crispiness fast because it's absorbed into the wing quickly.
My sauce is made without cornstarch and involves simmering the sauce to reduce its moisture content. The resulting sauce is densely packed with flavor and has the consistency of a sticky glaze - perfecting for crispy chicken wings. The wings stay nice and crispy for the entire meal.
🧂 Ingredients
- Chicken wings - You can use the entire wing or divide it into wingettes and drummettes. This recipe can also be made with drumsticks. When I make this, I use the entire wing.
- Salt - Added to the chicken before refrigeration to season them and make them juicier.
- Baking Powder - Create tiny air bubbles on the chicken skin, which become crispy when fried.
- Vinegar - This recipe was made using white vinegar. I prefer using white vinegar as the main acidity when making sweet and sour sauces because it has a neutral flavor and is inexpensive. Personality is added to the sauce through other ingredients in smaller amounts.
- Brown sugar - Adds a nice color and complexity.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - Provides a fruity flavor and acidity
- Pineapple juice - Adds a fruity flavor.
- Raspberry or Strawberry Jam - Gives the sauce a reddish-hue and sweet berry flavor.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1. Refrigerate wings
Toss chicken wings with baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly and evenly coated.
Refrigerate on a wire rack over a baking sheet for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours. After 8 hours, the skin will have turned a reddish-hue color and be dry to the touch. Rotate the pan every 8 hours to ensure even drying.
Step 2. Fry chicken wings
Heat 1 inch of oil in a wok, Dutch oven, or heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Fry the chicken wings in batches, stirring and turning occasionally to ensure even cooking, for about 4-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Transfer cooked wings to a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry. Allow them to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3. Make sauce
Combine white vinegar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, and jam in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil and cook for about 8-9 minutes until it reduces by about half. Set aside and allow it to cool. The sauce will thicken into a glaze as the mixture cools.
Note: The specks in the sauce are from the seeds in the raspberry jam.
Step 4. Fry again
Heat the oil to 400°F and re-fry the chicken wings in batches for 1 minute each, until they're super crispy. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Step 5. Toss & Serve
Gently reheat the sweet and sour sauce over low heat until the sauce is warm but still thick, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Toss in the chicken wings until evenly coated. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.
💭 Top Tips
- Rotate the pan of chicken wings every 8 hours during the air-drying process to ensure even drying. This compensates for any cool or dry spots in your refrigerator.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature of the chicken wings. When they reach 165℉, they're ready to take out of the oil. On the second fry, it's not necessary to check the temperature; they should just be cooked for 1-2 minutes until they're crispy and reheated.
- Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick at first. It thickens as the sauce cools down.
👩🏻🍳 Substitutions
- Brown sugar - substitute it with white sugar or rock sugar.
- Pineapple juice - Technically, you could use any fruity liquid in place of this. I often experiment with different options, and I've found that the leftover liquid from canned fruit works really well.
👨🏻🍳 Variations
- Baked - Bake at 450℉ on the upper-middle rack for 35-50 minutes, flipping once in between.
- Air-fried - Place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer, leaving enough space between each one for proper air circulation. You may need to cook in several batches. Air fry for 25-30 minutes at 400℉ (or the highest temperature your air fryer can go), depending on how crispy you like them.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Allow the Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings to reach room temperature. Then, either place them in an airtight container or tightly wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the wings for up to three days.
Reheating: You can bake or air fry your leftover chicken wings when ready to eat them. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the wings on a baking sheet or in an oven-safe dish and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Heat them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until they're warmed through. Alternatively, if you have an air fryer, cook them for 4-6 minutes at 350°F.
Freezing: Wings can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. When you're ready to eat, defrost them in the fridge, then follow the reheating instructions above.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Oils with a high smoke point, such as vegetable, corn, canola, peanut, or sunflower oil, are ideal for frying chicken. These oils can withstand high temperatures without breaking down or imparting undesirable flavors.
There are many reasons why your wings are soggy. In general, you either didn't air dry the wings long enough, the oil was not hot enough, or the sauce was not reduced sufficiently.
Sogginess is caused by excess moisture. When we air dry the wings, the air circulation in the fridge removes moisture, allowing the skin to crisp up better in the fryer.
If your oil isn't hot enough, it'll be absorbed into the wing, making it soggy or greasy. Aim for a temperature around 325-350°F for the initial fry and 375-400°F for the second fry.
If the sauce is not reduced sufficiently, the moisture will quickly be absorbed into the chicken wing.
For this recipe, it's not necessary since the air drying removes the moisture from the skin. The skin gets crispy without the need to add any dredge.
🍽 More chicken recipes you'll love
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📋 Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings
Equipment
- 1 deep fryer, dutch oven, wok, or high-walled pot
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken wings
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (use half the amount if you're using table salt)
Sweet and sour sauce
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam (or raspberry jam)
Instructions
- Toss chicken wings with baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly and evenly coated. Refrigerate wings on a wire rack over a baking sheet for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.
- Heat 1 inch of oil in a wok, Dutch oven, or heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Fry the chicken wings in batches, stirring and turning occasionally to ensure even cooking, for about 4-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Transfer cooked wings to a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry. Allow them to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Combine white vinegar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, and jam in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 8-9 minutes until it reduces by about half. Set aside and allow it to cool. The sauce will thicken into a glaze as the mixture cools.
- Heat the oil to 400°F and re-fry the chicken wings in batches for 1 minute each, until they're super crispy. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Gently reheat the sweet and sour sauce over low heat until the sauce is warm but still thick, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Toss in the chicken wings until evenly coated. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.
Notes
- Rotate the pan of chicken wings every 8 hours during the air-drying process to ensure even drying. This compensates for any cool or dry spots in your refrigerator.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature of the chicken wings. When they reach 165℉, they're ready to take out of the oil. On the second fry, it's not necessary to check the temperature; they should just be cooked for 1-2 minutes until they're crispy and reheated.
- Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick at first. It thickens as the sauce cools down.
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