These wings have a spicy, sweet, and sticky glaze with smoky and vinegary flavours. Spicy Balsamic Glazed Chicken Wings elevate wings to grown up status!
Just look at that glossy glaze! Doesn’t it just make your mouth water? Are you not craving these delicious wings right now? So simple – so fast – so easy! This is one of those baked chicken wing recipes that doesn’t require any fuss at all, but the results are amazing!
I tend to gravitate toward foods that are covered in sauce. Sauces are a weakness for me and I think it stems from my mother. She loved to cook and bake and she loved to cook with sauces. She was the queen of sweet and sour sauce. I try my best to replicate it and I get very close, but it’s still not quite there. I’ll keep working on it.
In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for sauces like this one. There is so much complex flavour in this chicken wing sauce. First and foremost, there’s that balsamic vinegar. Since balsamic vinegar is complex in it’s natural state anyway, it makes sense to use this type of vinegar to this sauce. Could you use other vinegar? Yes, but you will miss out on the tart, fruity, sweetness provided by the balsamic.
Confession time – I actually hate balsamic vinegar. I know it’s quite a common ingredient and often used in salad dressings, but I cannot eat it without adding many other ingredients to it. I find it to be very powerful, but I think it’s the smell of balsamic that gets to me the most. I have begun to get used to it, but there was a time that I would refuse to use it at all. It’s the same thing with malt vinegar. I’d rather die than use that in any of my recipes!
The next ingredient that brings this sauce to life is the chili sauce. Chili sauce can be hot or sweet or a combination of both. The chili sauce that I used most often tends to be more sweet than hot. I used the Thai Kitchen brand, which you can find in almost any grocer, but if you have a favourite chili sauce that you use, then go right ahead and use that.
If you favour spicier or hotter chili sauces, you might want to consider decreasing the amount by half – unless you love hot and spicy food, in which case, just go for it! I’m somewhere in the middle, which is why I prefer a sweeter chili sauce. Because, you know, I’m weak!
Now, imagine the bright, bold flavours of fresh lime juice, the freshness and heat from the ginger and the garlic, the saltiness and sweetness from the soy sauce and sugar, and then that burst of the undeniably, recognizable flavours of curry powder! All together, these ingredients form a sauce that is completely unforgettable! It’s complex, it’s delicious, and it’s spicy, sticky, and sweet!!
As straight forward and easy as this recipe is, there is one step in the instructions that is a must and cannot be skipped or completed in a rushed manner. It is imperative that you dry the wings before baking them. When I dry the wings, I will place each wing – one by one -onto a sheet of paper towel and press it into the palm of my hand to remove as much water as possible.
Making sure the wings are dry helps to ensure a crispier and browner skin during the baking time. These wings don’t get extra crispy, but the drying method does ensure that the skin on the wings is firm and browned. Skipping this step might result in a soft skin on the wings, which let’s face it, nobody wants!
When all is said and done, you’re left with a plate of wings that are going to be one of your new favourite wing recipes. Spicy Balsamic Glazed Chicken Wings are going to warm your taste buds and fill your belly!
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Spicy Balsamic Glazed Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 16 chicken wings
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish - optional
- 1 whole green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish - optional
- 2 whole red chilies, thinly sliced, for garnish - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Wash wings in cold water and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
- Lay wings onto parchment paper, leaving at least an inch of space between each. Sprinkle over half the salt.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Flip wings over. Sprinkle over remaining salt, and bake for 20 more minutes.
- In the meantime, add the following ingredients to a skillet - water, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and lime juice.
- Over medium-high heat, whisk the ingredients together and allow them to come to a low boil until sauce has thickened.
- By this time, the wings will be ready. Remove from oven and add to the skillet with the sauce.
- Toss together, cooking over medium-high heat until the wings have absorbed all of the sauce and the wings start to char.
- Remove wings from skillet and onto a serving plate. Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions, and red chilies.
Nutrition
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