Crispy Teryaki Chicken Wings

 

Crispy Teriyaki chicken wings at a party or a casual get together with friends are always delicious served as finger food.  Or cook them for your family and serve with some rice or noodles and stir fried vegetables, and they will love you for serving up a real treat. It's now officially November and here in sunny Queensland the weather is warming up. It's the season for BBQ's and outdoor eating, not to mention that Christmas and all the festivities associated with that are only 4 weeks away.  

Many Christmas parties and get togethers start here in December. I was planning to make another batch of my annual Christmas Homemade Mango Chutney with some frozen mango which I still had in the freezer from last year, when I found this wings recipe from many years ago.  So I'm reposting it as we start to think about casual dining here in the Tropics. I used to cook these wings  sometimes as a special meal when the children were younger and lived at home, and as an easy meal with rice and a salad they also stretch the budget.  The high cost of living is a topic that is on everyone's minds right now, particularly with the festive season on the horizon.  Sometimes I can buy chicken wings on special for as little as $2.00 a kilo.  Rather than pay the mark ups for chicken wings already marinated you can easily do it yourself, and freeze them for future parties. It is also easy to cut the wings into joints yourself as well. * (please see below.) These wings freeze very well 3 months ahead, but it's safe to freeze marinated chicken wings for up to 6 months as long as the chicken hasn't already been frozen.

Just take my word for it, these are finger lickin' good and so simple to make and won't break the budget. It's my timeless family recipe and can be prepared a day in advance. 

Ingredients:

2 kg chicken Wings (Approximately 21-24 wings) Or 24 if you want to count out exactly 24 wings
3/4 cup (180 ml) Teryaki sauce
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 crushed cloves of garlic
1 red cayenne chilli,  deseeded, and very finely chopped,
1 tablespoons brown sugar 
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Cooking Notes:

I substituted ground ginger for fresh ginger because we had recently dehydrated a lot of our home grown fresh ginger and it is amazingly fragrant and flavoursome

*Preparation of the Wings:

Cut the chicken wings into three pieces at the joints. I thought this would be more onerous than it was. It only took me about 10 minutes all up. I removed all of the wing tips first, and then with a twist of both parts of the wing, it was easy to locate the soft part in the middle between the bones and slice through.
 

Reserve the frozen wing tips for another use such as making soups from scratch. I've frozen mine in small zip lock bags to use in my next batch of chicken stock.

Let's cook:

In a large bowl, combine the Teryaki sauce, peanut oil, ginger, garlic, chilli, sugar, sesame oil, and Chinese five spice powder. Add the chicken and toss with the marinade to coat all of the wing pieces.
Cover and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. 



Preheat your oven to moderately hot, 180 degrees C.

Drain the marinade from the wings and discard. Place the wings on an oiled cake cooling rack over a baking dish. I used an Alfoil lined baking dish to save washing up because of the amount of cooking I was doing. Or you can cook them directly in a foil lined baking dish, but they might not be as crispy.

Roast the chicken wings uncovered in the oven for about 40 minutes until cooked through and brown. Turn them once after 20 minutes if possible to prevent burning.

These are attractive to serve sprinkled with a few sesame seeds and a green garnish.

 I think these wings might be part of my Christmas Eve menu this year, after all they are easy party food. Have you started any Christmas preparations yet? I need to get started on my Christmas cake and pudding soon as well.

Thanks for visiting,

Best wishes,

Pauline