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Wuxi Chicken Wings
Glossy, sticky, awesomely delicious chicken wings that are finger-licking good. This serves 4, but seriously, you'll probably need a double batch for that!
If you love a good chicken wing dish that is finger-licking good, and coated with a sauce that is fully bursting with flavors, and also a Chinese food lover, then you simply must give this Wuxi chicken wings a try.
These chicken wings are easy to prepare, and you will need extra rice to go with it. There’s only me and the hubby eating the whole batch, and the leftover bones are all super clean! And if you are having people coming over, make a triple batch! You will need it.
What is Wuxi sauce and what goes into the sauce?
Wuxi is a city in China about 2 hours drive from Shanghai. It was an important city historically, especially for its silk production, though nowadays is totally eclipsed by Shanghai. But since this is a food blog, let’s talk a bit about Wuxi sauce instead.
Wuxi sauce is the sauce used in one of Wuxi city’s most popular dishes, Wuxi spareribs/pork ribs. Dishes glazed with this Wuxi sauce has a signature glossy reddish hue, bursting with flavors of spices and rice wine.
A Wuxi sauce dish will commonly include the following ingredients: ginger, scallions, star anise, cinnamon, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil, and rock sugar.
Marinate and sear the chicken wings
The first thing we will need to do is to marinate the chicken wings overnight and then sear them.
1. Marinate chicken wings.
Clean and pat dry chicken wings, then marinate with light soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Rest for 2 hours and up to one night.
2. Sear chicken wings.
Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken wings until golden brown, and set aside.
Cooking Wuxi chicken wings
Once the chicken wings are seared, we can proceed with turning them into Wuxi chicken wings.
1. Fry aromatics.
Discard some of the oil from the wok and leave only about 2 tablespoon worth, sauté scallions and ginger until fragrant.
2. Cook wings with Wuxi sauce.
Return chicken wings to the wok, add water (or chicken stock), and all the Wuxi sauce seasonings ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken wings.
3. Add black vinegar.
Add Chinese black vinegar and mix well.
Serving, storing, and reheating
It is best to serve the chicken wings immediately with plenty of steamed white rice. Though if you want to serve these wings as appetizer as is, they are great for that as well.
Any leftover can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The wings should keep well for up to 1 week.
To reheat, simply transfer the wings to a microwave-proof plate/bowl and reheat for 30 seconds.
Next, make some Wuxi spare ribs!
As I mentioned earlier, this sauce is most famously used with pork spare ribs, or pork ribs.
So, if you are up for it, simply switch the chicken wings and use the same exact recipe to prepare the pork version.
The recipe is good for 1 kilogram (2.2. lbs) of pork spare ribs.
Wuxi Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 16 pieces of middle join chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 4 tablespoon oil
- 1 scallion, cut into 1 inch sections
- 1 inch ginger, cut into 5 slices
- 1/3 cup water (or chicken stock)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Chinese dark/black vinegar
- Wuxi sauce seasonings
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 80 gram rock sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 whole star anise
Instructions
- Marinate chicken wings. Clean and pat dry chicken wings, then marinate with light soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Rest for 2 hours and up to one night.
- Sear chicken wings. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken wings until golden brown, and set aside.
- Fry aromatics. Discard some of the oil from the wok and leave only about 2 tablespoon worth, sauté scallions and ginger until fragrant.
- Cook wings with Wuxi sauce. Return chicken wings to the wok, add water (or chicken stock), and all the Wuxi sauce seasonings ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken wings.
- Add black vinegar. Add Chinese black vinegar and mix well.
- Serve. Serve the chicken wings immediately with steamed white rice.
Comments
This really looks so goooood! My children would love them.
Yup, these are sweet and sticky, just what the kiddies like ;)
This were finger-licking fantastic! You weren't wrong about making triple for guests!
Oh my gosh - these are just finger licking good! There were zero leftovers at my house tonight. Great flavors.
We eat chicken wings a lot, so I am always looking for new ways to enjoy them.
Love the flavors in this recipe. Something new and so delicious.
This looks so damn good. I would definitely prepare these wings if I was hosting a dinner party.
My hubby and I loved these - thank you! Full of flavor.
This sauce looks absolutely amazing, and I am so intrigued by the combo of flavors! I can imagine these are completely addicting!
We made these wings last night and they were honestly the best I've ever had! We will definitely be making them again soon!
Oh wow - these wings sound so sticky and delicious. My mouth is watering at the thought of them.
Oh my! These look amazing! My husband may just love me a little bit more when I make these for him. 😁
Oh my, these chicken wings look spectacular! I can only imagine how great these taste. Bookmarking!
Hi Anita, can I use Chicken drumsticks and n rice cooking wine (mi chiu)since that’s what I have now? Pls advise. Thanks.
Hi Kayla, yes to both. You can use drumsticks and mi jiu. 16 middle joint chicken wings should roughly weigh 800-900 gram, so please you about the same total weight of drumsticks.
Wonderful over rice. Sauce is so good. Fixed in clay pot. Added a few salt fermented black beans too.
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