Baked Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings With Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce
These baked sticky Chinese chicken wings made with brown sugar and soy sauce are always a hit at my parties. And it truly is the easiest chicken wing recipe you can find!
These easy sticky Chinese chicken wings are one of my go-to recipes for parties when I want an easy-to-make appetizer that everyone loves! (And let’s be honest, when do I not want that?)
They do have to bake for a couple of hours so it generally isn’t a recipe that I serve for weeknight dinners.
But for parties the long baking time is actually a good thing.
There’s no last minute prepping and trying to get something into the oven while people are arriving.
Ingredients
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One of the best things about this recipe is how few ingredients it takes.
- Chicken wings – 3 to 4 pounds of wings with the tips cut off. That works out to about 40 wingettes and drumettes if you are buying them already separated (which is what I like to do so I don’t have to spend time separating them myself).
- sugar – This recipe takes a lot of brown sugar – 2 cups to be exact. But that’s what makes them sticky.
- liquids – 2 Tablespoons white vinegar and 4 Tablespoons soy sauce. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but the brown sugar will melt in the oven so this is all you need.
- garlic – 2 cloves of fresh garlic. If you like your wing sauce extra-garlicky, you can add another clove or two.
Substitutions
- To make the wings work for people who are gluten-free, substitute Coco aminos for the soy sauce.
- I think fresh garlic tastes best but you can substitute 3 teaspoons of jarred minced garlic if want to save some time.
Pots and Utensils
Similarly, you don’t need to use up every pot in your kitchen to make these. Here’s what you need:
- 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish. While you can use a different size of dish, you definitely need one that is at least 2 inches deep (ie. a cookie sheet won’t work). The sticky sauce boils during baking and it will get all over your oven if the sides of your dish are too low.
- mixing bowl and spoon
- tin foil
How to make sticky Chinese chicken wings
This recipe makes about 40 half-wings.
Prep work
Pre-heat the oven to 350℉.
If your wings are not separated, you’ll want to cut them at the joints, and discard the tips if necessary. This makes them easier to eat and you can fit more into the baking dish at one time.
If you are using fresh garlic, mince it.
Spread the wings out in a baking dish. It’s okay if they are touching and they don’t have to be laid out flat.
Since I’m usually making these for a party, I try to get as many wings into the dish as possible. I line up all the drumettes on one side of the dish with the large ends alternating. Then line all the wingettes next to each on the other side of the dish. And then fill in the middle with whatever fits.
Again, make sure to choose a dish with sides that are at least 2 inches high (not a baking sheet).
The sugar mixture will boil in the oven and can bubble over the sides if they are not high enough. Which makes a really big, hard-to-clean mess in your oven and usually creates lots of smoke (ask me how I know!)
Mix the sauce
1. Add ingredients to bowl. 2. Stir to combine.
Making this sticky wing sauce is about as easy it gets.
Simply mix all of the ingredients (except for the wings) in a bowl.
Then pour the mixture over top of the wings in the baking dish.
It doesn’t even matter if all of the wings are covered by the sauce at this point. It will bubble and coat all of the wings while it is baking.
Bake
Cover the dish with foil.
You may want to put a layer of tin foil on the oven rack under the pan, too, since the sauce sometimes boils over.
Bake at 350℉ for an hour.
Then take the foil off and turn the wings over using a pair of tongs or a fork.
Bake for another 45 minutes to an hour uncovered.
Because of the brown sugar, you do need to bake them at a fairly low temperature for a longer period of time. Otherwise the sugar will burn.
But when they come out of the oven they will be the best tasting, fall-off-the-bone, sticky sweet and sour baked chicken wings you’ve ever had!
Can you make them ahead of time?
You can also get this sticky chicken wings recipe ready to go the day before your party.
To do this, separate the wings (if you have whole ones), spread them out in the baking dish, cover with foil and store in the refrigerator.
Then make the sauce in a small bowl and store that in the refrigerator, too.
On the day of the party, pour the sauce over the wings and pop them into the oven.
As an added bonus, these sticky Chinese chicken wings do really well in a chafing dish if you’re serving them on a buffet. Since they are a fall-off-the-bone type of wing (not a super-crispy one) they don’t get all soggy like fried wings can after they’ve been out for a while.
Is there a gluten-free version?
Yes, you can substitute Coco Aminos* for the soy sauce and the wings will still taste great!
What to serve with baked sticky Chinese chicken wings?
Since I’m usually serving these wings at a party, my other dishes are also buffet-ready recipes like:
- Crock pot macaroni and cheese
- Oven baked breaded drumsticks
- Grilled asparagus
- Coleslaw
- Crockpot turkey meatballs
Other wing recipes you might like
Baked Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings
Equipment
- 1 9" x 13" baking dish that's at least 2" tall
- measuring cups and spoons
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 spoon
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds chicken wing sections (without tips) about 40 wingettes and drumettes
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- If the wings have not been separated, remove the tips and separate the wings at the joint.
- Arrange the wings in a baking pan.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
- Pour the mixture over the top of the wings in the pan.
- Cover the pan with foil.
- Bake for an hour.
- Remove the foil.
- Turn the wings over.
- Bake, uncovered, for another 45 minutes to an hour.
Notes
- Because of the brown sugar, don’t try to speed up the baking process by raising the temperature. The sugar will burn quite easily.
- For parties, you can do the prep a day ahead of time. Spread the wings out in the baking dish, cover with foil and put in the refrigerator. Then make the sauce and store it in the refrigerator as well. On the day of the party, just pour the sauce over the wings and pop them in the oven.
- Substitute Coco aminos for soy sauce if you want a gluten-free version
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Have comments or questions about our easy baked sticky Chinese chicken wings? Tell us in the section below.
This post was originally published on February 15, 2015 but was updated with new content on April 20, 2022.
How does it become a sauce when there is hardly any liquids. Am I missing something?
Hi Steve…I know it seems like there isn’t much liquid in the sticky wing sauce, but the brown sugar dissolves enough to pour over the top of the wings. Then it melts while it’s cooking to create the sauce. The pictures on the page show you what it looks like before you cook it and after. If you try it, you’ll see 🙂
Omg..delicious wings! I put my wings in marinade in fridge for 4 hrs.then dumped in cookie sheet..(sprayed)..also I added fresh ground ginger in sauce..so good..my buffalo wing loving husband requested them again!! Sticky.fall of the bone goodness❤
Thanks, Beth! Fresh ground ginger sounds like it would be an awesome addition! I’m glad your husband liked them 🙂
This is my favorite wing recipe ever!
I have been looking for this recipe! A neighbor made “Chinese Chicken Wings” for my family years ago. I think it was the 1st homemade Asian food I ever tasted. Back in 1971, LaChoy was all I knew. So, those wings have been haunting me all this time. I’m making your recipe today! I’ll confirm the rating in about 2 1/2 hours!! Oh Boy!!
Glad you found the recipe, Linda 🙂 It’s one of my favorites!
I did this recipe for a fundraiser for our church Youth and it was absolutely amazing!! Have you ever tried it with either boneless skinless breast or thighs?
Thanks, Susan! Glad you liked it. I haven’t tried it with chicken breasts or thighs, but that’s a good idea 🙂 I think it would be good.
I did try it with the boneless skinless chicken breast. The one thing that I would do differently would be to bake the chicken for about 20-30 minutes (without the sauce, (because there’s way more juice in the breast) drain of the juice and then put the sauce on and continue baking the remaining time until the chicken reaches the 165F (flipping and basting ) until the chicken is nice and sticky (coated).
Thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely be trying that.
I am trying to figure out how many pounds of chicken wings I need to buy. Your recipe serves 8 and that’s using 3 lbs. of wings. How many wings is a serving ?
Thank you
Hi Dot…I buy the wings already cut in half (without the tips) and 3 pounds usually ends up being about 40 wings, so about 5 wings per person. But the exact number will depend on how big the wings are.
Hi,
Looks yummy.
Can I use pressure cooker instead of over for this recipe?
Joyce
Hi Joyce…I think it would be fine in the pressure cooker, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. I’d love to know how it turns out if you make it that way 🙂
Wanda, do you recommend a particular vinegar you use?
Hi Beth…I use plain white vinegar (no particular brand).
Wanda this recipe sounds delicious! I’m trying it tomorrow. I was wondering if I can coat them in baking powder before putting them into the pan to get crispy wings?
Hi Linda Maria…I haven’t tried them with baking powder so I’m not sure if that will work (They are kind of submerged in sauce once the brown sugar melts). But I don’t think it would hurt anything to try it. I would love to know how it turns out if you do 🙂
Thanks Wanda for replying. I’ll definitely let you know how it turns out. I want to have the wings crispy in the end, so that was the only way I could think of. But it may not work since they are submerged in the liquid. Unless the last 5-10 minutes I raise the temp and crisp them before burning them😀
I love this recipe, made it exactly as you said. Just perfect!!!! I am making it again today. Thank you!!!!
Thanks, Valerie! It’s one of my favorites, too 🙂
Before moving to Florida my favorite Chinse restaurant owner took me aside and showed me how he made then. Almost the same as you but the only take half an hour or less. What most Chinese restaurants do it deep fry the wings. Or I know most markets sell already fried wings that are plane in the deli these days. Then what he said was to simply mix half soy sauce and half brown sugar in a sauté pan. So say, one cup soy and one cup brown sugar. Turn it to low to medium heat then when it starts to bubble add the wings and slowly cover them. The sauce is thick and sweet, very sticky Like everyone loves them. Easy Peasy!
Thanks for the suggestion, Doreen! I don’t do a lot of deep frying (so it’s probably not something I would do) but it could be helpful for someone else 🙂
I just made these and they were a success! I did add 1/4 honey terriaki sauce and I turned the heat up to 425 for the last 10 min to get them crunchy
Thanks, Amy! The honey teriyaki sauce addition sounds good 🙂
I did them today and they were really good. I suggest adding 1/2tbsp of thick soy sauce for colour and marinating it for a few hours. Also to those crispy chicken skin lovers out there, leave the tip on ❤️
Thanks for the suggestions, Archanna!
Have made this recipe thrice now and I’d say this yields the best baked chicken wings ✨ Added 2tsps of dried chilli flakes for some added flavour ❤️
Thanks, Archanna…adding chili flakes is a good idea!
Great recipe. I added some fresh ground ginger as in a previous comment and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a touch of heat. Yummy!
Thanks, Carolyn! The ginger and cayenne pepper additions sound good!
Two hours to cook little tiny chicken wings seems like so long. Everyone has raved about the recipe but that still spooks me. I cooked wings tonight for one hour and they were over done.
Hi Eva…the long cook time is because of the low oven temperature and the sauce. Normally, wings are baked dry at 400F or 425F, in which case 2 hours would be way too long.
Looking at the picture itself has made me water my mouth and that is what is exciting me to try making it out. Thank you so much for posting the steps and guide for this recipe it is really of great help.
I’ve been searching for this recipe for years!!! Tastes just like I remember and pairs amazing with oven fried rice. Thank you for posting!!!
You’re welcome, Cory…enjoy!
Can I do these in an air fryer?
Hi Maureen…I don’t have an air fryer so I haven’t tried making them that way. Sorry I’m not much help!
I’m doing this recipe right now but I’m using chicken drumsticks instead
That sounds good, Byron! I haven’t tried it with drumsticks so I hope they turned out well 🙂
They look so delicious! So instead of the vinegar I used pineapple juice and a few pineapple chunks just because I love pineapple.
Thanks, Rose! Pineapple juice sounds like it would be pretty tasty, too.
Can you half the recipe? Its just me. Have anyone used any dip with this recipe (like blue cheese). Thanks.
Hi Sheryl…yes, you can half the recipe. Just bake in a smaller dish so the wings will still be coated with the sauce. And I love these wings with blue cheese dip.
OMG this may be my new favorite recipe! I had a 3lb bag of wings, already cut – I had nowhere near how many your recipe calls for, so after an hour in the oven it was way too soupy….I removed most of the liquid and put back in uncovered for another 45min. Almost perfect….I ended with a 3 min Broil to carmelize the marinade oooh the stuff dreams are made of! I used some of the marinade to top white rice. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Dawn! It is one of my favorite wing recipes, too 🙂
What do I do with the extra sauce? There is so much and it’s not really thickening too much. I would love for these wings to be a bit more crispier and saucier. They are almost coming out “boiled”, the flavors are amazing, I am just trying to figure out how to reduce it, so it crisps up a bit.
Hi Kristina…I usually just throw out the extra sauce (I haven’t tried thickening it but you could probably pour it into a saucepan with a little cornstarch and simmer for a few minutes). If you want to get the wings crispier, you can put them back in the oven at 400F for a few minutes after you have removed the liquid.
Hello! I made this and it was AMAZING. Which brown sugar did you use? I made it the first time with light and am doing dark for my second batch.
Thanks, Lynn! I have used both light and dark at different times, and I think they both taste great 🙂
Says to leave in for hour then take foil off, flip it and leave in for another hour. Does still apply for boneless chicken?
Hi Ginny…yes, I would still flip boneless chicken so that both sides have a chance to soak up the sauce which gives them more flavor.
A little to sweet for my taste and not enough soy sauce.