Soy Garlic Chicken Wings

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This soy garlic chicken wings recipe needs to be the next chicken wings recipe you make. They’re sweet, savory, sticky, and so flavorful! They’re always a crowd-pleaser and the perfect party food. Baked until golden perfection and tossed in the tasty soy garlic sauce, these wings will disappear fast.

Coated in potato (or corn) starch, baked until ultra crispy, then coated in a delicious sticky sauce, these soy garlic chicken wings are a guaranteed hit! They’re the perfect combination of sweet and salty, savory and garlicky, and crispy and saucy. You’ll be hooked after you take your first bite.

Overhead view of a platter of soy garlic chicken wings with a small bowl of dip.

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Wings Recipe

They are SO flavorful. When someone says something is finger-licking good? This recipe is what they’re referring to.
These soy garlic chicken wings are easy to make! You won’t want to buy bottled sauces to drizzle on your wings after this. It comes together so easily on the stovetop!
The ingredients needed to make these delicious chicken wings are probably already in your pantry! I love recipes that lean on pantry staples since it means I don’t have to run out to the store.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make soy garlic chicken wings.

potato starch — I like to use potato starch, but you can also use cornstarch to coat the chicken wings.
seasoning — you’ll need garlic powder and onion powder.
baking powder — adding baking powder to the chicken wings help them become more brown and crisp when baked. Do not swap for baking soda.
chicken wings — you can use a mixture of wingettes and drumettes or just one. It’s up to you.
brown sugar — I like using dark brown sugar for the soy garlic sauce. You can use light brown sugar if you prefer.
soy sauce — I recommend using low sodium soy sauce.
mirin — if you don’t have mirin, you can use rice vinegar and an extra pinch of sugar.
garlic — this recipe uses garlic powder and minced garlic. You can use just garlic powder if you’d like, but I like the extra garlic flavor as well as a bit of minced garlic in the sauce.
oil spray

How to Make Soy Garlic Chicken Wings

Set of two photos showing starch in a bowl with chicken wings added.

Heat the oven to 450F.
Pat dry the chicken wings with a paper towel if they are moist.
Mix together the potato starch, baking powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Set of two photos showing chicken coated with starch and placed on a sheet pan.

Toss to coat the chicken wings.
Place the chicken wings in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan and spray the tops of the chicken with some cooking oil.
Decrease the oven temperature to 425F and bake the chicken wings for 20 minutes.

Set of two photos showing sauce cooked in a bowl and wings flipped on a sheet pan.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, garlic powder, and minced garlic along with ¼ cup of water. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and allow it to cook down until it’s thickened to your liking. Make sure to stir continuously. I simmer it for around 5 to 8 minutes. Keep the sauce on low heat so it doesn’t cool while your wings cook.
After 20 minutes, flip the chicken wings, spray more oil onto the wings, and bake for another 20 minutes.

Set of two photos showing wings in a bowl getting coated in sauce.

Once the wings are done, transfer them to a bowl and toss to coat with the soy garlic sauce. You can also do this on the sheet pan, but I prefer doing it in a bowl so any sauce on the bottom can be scooped back up to coat any missed wings.
Serve immediately.

A hand holding up a soy garlic chicken wing.

Recipe Tips and Notes

I like to garnish my wings with some sesame seeds and green onions, but it’s not required.
Want to fry these wings in oil instead of baking them? Check out my Korean Fried Chicken recipe to learn how.
If you want to air fryer the chicken wings instead of baking them, check out my air fryer korean chicken wings recipe.
If you have time, you can place the chicken wings on their own beforehand, uncovered, in the fridge for a couple of hours. This will help dry out the wings, allowing them to bake up even crisper.

My Recommendation

This is my go-to meat thermometer for making sure that the internal temperature of my meat is good to go. It’s also magnetic so I have it on my fridge door to save drawer space!

Get it Now!

Chicken wings are done when they’ve reached an internal temperature of 165F/74C. I recommend using an instant read meat thermometer.
In the past, I’ve baked my chicken wings on a wire rack. However, I found that my wings are just as crispy without one, as long as I flip the wings. This will save you the effort of scrubbing clean a wire rack.
To be honest, I cannot remember why I was taught to preheat the oven to 450°F before lowering it to 425°F to bake the wings. I’ve been making wings this way for years, and it’s one of those “because I told you so” from my family haha. I believe the initial blast of hot air helps make the wings crispier!

Angled view of a platter of soy garlic chicken wings.

Storage Tips

Storage: These chicken wings keep up to 4 days in the fridge. Make sure to use an airtight container.
Reheat: I highly recommend reheating these wings in the oven or air fryer so they stay crispy.

What is the difference between drumettes and wingettes?

Whole chicken wings are made up of three parts: drumettes, wingettes/flats, and tips.

The drumette is the part that is attached to the main part of the chicken and resembles a chicken drumstick. One end is rounded and meaty as it tapers off to the bottom.

The wingette/flat is the part between the drumette and the tip. It’s my favorite part as it has the most skin-to-meat ratio. There are two bones running horizontally with the meat in the middle. This piece tends to come out more crispy since there’s less meat on it.

The tip is…the tip! It’s tiny and pointy with next to no meat on them.