Secret Ingredient: General Tso Chicken Wings

America’s favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings!  No extra breading, frying or fuss! Give these General Tso Chicken Wings a try.

America's favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings! No extra breading, frying or fuss! Come on in and give these General Tso Chicken Wings a try.

General Tso’s Chicken is a very popular Chinese dish all over America, while I know it isn’t an authentic Chinese dish, I’m okay with that. It’s a Chinese-American dish created here in the states. General Tso’s Chicken is my husband’s absolute favorite dish when we have Chinese food. His second foodie love is chicken wings. Today, our two worlds collide in one sweet and tangy dish that is sweet and sour but still packs a little bit of heat – Secret Ingredient: General Tso Chicken Wings.

America's favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings! No extra breading, frying or fuss! Come on in and give these General Tso Chicken Wings a try.

The basic ingredients of the sauce for these General Tso Chicken Wings includes soy sauce, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, dried red chili peppers (whole or crushed), and garlic. You probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients already in your pantry. However, if you prefer not to make the sauce yourself, this Iron Chef General Tso’s Sauce [paid link] contains no preservatives and had a “better” ingredient list than its competitors. I found this bottle at my grocery store in the Asian food section of the market.

America's favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings! No extra breading, frying or fuss! Come on in and give these General Tso Chicken Wings a try.

But what is the secret ingredient that makes these General Tso Chicken Wings so crispy? Baking soda.  You cannot taste it, but it draws out the excess moisture from the wings and makes them crisp up nice and crunchy – in the oven! I know – I was surprised, too, when I first read about it here.  

Need some other quick appetizers? Check these out:

America's favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings! No extra breading, frying or fuss! Come on in and give these General Tso Chicken Wings a try.

General Tso Chicken Wings

Ronda Eagle | Kitchen Dreaming
America's favorite sweet and spicy, General Tso’s sauce smothering crispy, baked chicken wings!  No extra breading, frying, or fuss!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine asain
Servings 4 servings
Calories 384 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 large cloves garlic , minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated [ see note 1]
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 small dried red chilies , seeded and broken into pieces [See Note 2]

For the Chicken:

  • lb chicken wings , split
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • salt and ground pepper , to taste
  • Cooking Oil spray

Optional Garnishes:

  • 3 green onions , sliced
  • toasted white sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.
  • Preheat oven to 250°F.
  • Line a baking pan with foil, then place a rack (like a cooling rack [paid link]) on the foil. Spray the rack with cooking oil spray. This makes for quick clean up.
  • Place wings in a large bowl or in a zip top bag. Add the baking powder and salt, then toss to coat evenly. I find a zip top is easiest for this with less mess.
  • Place the wings on the baking tray in a single layer with the skin side up. They will fit snugly.
  • Place wings on the lower middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Move wings up to the upper middle rack and increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
  • Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
  • Remove baking pan from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine the first 7 sauce ingredients (through cornstarch) and stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved.
  • Heat the tablespoon of oil in a wok or large heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the garlic, ginger and red chilies for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the sauce and simmer until thickened.
  • Pour over the baked wings just before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Notes

  1. You will need about a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger or you can buy a prepared grated ginger in the produce section of the grocery store.
  2. If you are unable to find dried red chilis substitute crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp depending on heat level you prefer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/4 of the wings and sauce)Calories: 384kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 25gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 860mgPotassium: 876mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 270IUVitamin C: 3mgVitamin D: 1µgVitamin E: 1mgVitamin K: 21µgCalcium: 287mgFolate: 13µgIron: 2mgZinc: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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