Today, we are making Five-spice roasted chicken wings. This is like the classic Chinese wing recipe and it is so easy to make. Let’s get right into it.

We will make a dry rub seasoning first. In a bowl, mix the following ingredients and set it aside.

• 1 tbsp of Cornstarch: this will create a thin and light crust to make sure your wings come out crispy.
• 1 tbsp of baking powder, there are lots of recipes that say it will raise the PH of the chicken wings but that is not true because baking powder is basically a mixture of baking soda, acid, and cornstarch. When it contacts moisture or is heated; the baking powder will release a lot of carbon dioxide which brings in tons of lightness and fluffiness so your chicken will turn out even more crispy.
• 2 tsp of 5 spice powder, you can buy it in any Asian grocery store or make it at home, I do have a demo video. I will link that right here. You can check it out later.
• 1.5 tsp of Paprika
• 2 tsp of salt or to taste.

Use paper towels to absorb the moisture from the chicken wings. Then marinade with the following ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine: the dry rub we made mainly contains cornstarch so you do want a tiny bit of liquid seasoning to lubricate the wings, otherwise they will come out powdery at the end.
• 1.5 tsp of sugar: it will caramelize while baking and give you a nice color.
• 1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce: this is also for the color so the final result will look amazing. 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/2 inch of ginger, grated.

Mix thoroughly and add in the dry rub. Toss again until you don’t see any powder seasoning left.

Wrap a baking pan with tin foil and place a rack on top of that. Put the chicken on the rack. Leave some space between each other. This will go into a fridge uncovered overnight. We want the chicken skin to be completely dry which is the key to get a crispy result. If you don’t have space in your fridge, you can just place the chicken wings right under a fan for 4-5 hours. Don’t worry, this will not dry out the meat inside, it only dehydrates the skin.

The next day, preheat the oven to 425°F. Take the wings out of the fridge and stick them right in the oven. Let it bake for 35-45 minutes. Every oven is different, so be sure to keep an eye on it for the very last 10 minutes so you don’t burn it.

These wings are so delicious that you can just eat them on their own but I love buffalo sauce so I decided to make this a “west meets east” recipe. The wings are Chinese style but coated with buffalo sauce. How exciting!

In a saucepot, add 1/3 cup of hot sauce. I am using frank’s red-hot sauce. Then, go in with 1.5 tbsp of honey. 1 clove of grated garlic. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of five-spice powder to add some Chinese influence.

Turn the heat to medium and bring this to a simmer. Turn off the heat and throw in 1/4 cup of cold butter. We’re going to use the rest of the heat to melt it. If you keep heating it, the temperature will climb up. If it passes 120°C, the butter will start breaking. You will end up with a clear separation where the oil is floating on the top and the sauce is sinking at the bottom.

Coat the sauce with the wings and enjoy!