These baked sweet and spicy chicken wings have something a little something different. Harissa, honey, and shishito peppers make the recipe sticky and smoky, and shishito peppers make it a little fancy, too!
This is an easy baked chicken wings recipe with honey that is spicy and sticky. You can make it in the oven, and it works as well for game day as it does for a casual weekend dinner. Best of all, you only need a few ingredients.
This recipe is inspired by a Lunar New Year dinner given by a friend. She sent me home with a boatload of soy-marinated chicken wings, and I humbly decided to try to recreate the flavors of her family recipe and add a few tricks of my own, including some shishito peppers.
I started by marinating and baking the wings, and then finished them with a sauce in the pan. Honey and harissa said, "Hey. Hi there. We could be in the sauce". Both of these ingredients also complement the smokiness of the peppers. Everything together makes for a beautiful salty, sweet, spicy, sticky, smoky moment.
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These sweet and spicy baked chicken wings have some fun, flavorful twists!
- Made with harissa, a North African chili paste that brings smoky flavors as well as spice.
- Ginger and soy add complexity, umami, and heat!
- We'll bake them in the oven, then crisp them up in a cast iron pan in the sticky sweet sauce.
- Shishito peppers add the smoky-sweet finishing touch.
Ingredients for sweet and spicy chicken wings
- Chicken wings: I don't trim the tips off my chicken wings. They become crispy vehicles for sauce, so I leave them. But you can trim them off if you prefer.
- Shishito peppers: If you haven't tried them before, Shishito peppers are sweet and smoky. Okay, but are they hot? No - except for that one that always is. One in ten shishito peppers is spicy. And someone will get that one. It's also fun to say: Shee - shee - toe. Sheesheetoe. At least that's how I say it.
- Kosher salt: You'll need just a bit of salt to season the peppers once they are cooked.
For the marinade:
- Soy sauce: The soy sauce will season the chicken wings so you don't need to salt them and give an underlying umami flavor.
- Ginger and garlic: Grating both of these aromatics ensures even distribution throughout the marinade so that you get all the flavor without any large bits of garlic or ginger that could burn when you crisp up the wings in the skillet.
For the sweet and spicy sauce:
- Honey, harissa, and water: As the water evaporates, the honey and harissa will cling to the chicken wings forming a sticky, spicy, sweet sauce.
How to make sweet and spicy chicken wings
Step 1: Make the marinade and marinate the chicken wings
Mix together soy sauce, garlic and ginger.
Place chicken wings in a 9x13 baking dish or mixing bowl and pour marinade over. Rub marinade into meat, cover and place in the fridge for 45-60 minutes. Flip wings over one time during marinade. (You can use a plastic freezer bag, I just didn't want to waste one for something this quick and simple.)
Step 2: Bake the chicken wings
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
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Arrange chicken wings on a sheet pan.
Bake in oven for 25 minutes.
Step 3: Blister the shishito peppers
While wings are baking, blister the peppers.
In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add peppers, turning until blistered all over. As they finish cooking, remove from the skillet. Place in a bowl, top with a pinch of salt and toss. Set aside.
Step 4: Make the spicy sweet sauce and crisp up the chicken wings in a skillet
Mix together honey, harissa and water.
Remove baked chicken wings from oven and place them in a hot cast iron skillet over medium heat. Let the skin get brown and crispy on both sides.
Add shishito peppers and honey harissa mixture to the skillet. The water will steam off, so stir well until all wings and peppers are coated and sauce has thickened and gotten sticky.
Remove from heat and serve.
Tips for sweet and spicy chicken wings
- Harissa is a spicy chili paste that is used in foods from North Africa to the Middle East. It's spicy and smoky. You can find it at Whole Foods, in international grocery stores and online. If you don't have any, use another type of chili paste or hot sauce.
- You can definitely adjust the ratios of ginger, garlic, and harissa to suit your tastes, adding more or less as you like.
- You MUST blister the shishito peppers in a dry pan. (I like cast iron the best.) You won't get the same blistering affect if you use oil.
More recipes with harissa
Let these spice up your dinner plans!
- Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken Thighs and Potatoes with Arugula, Herbs, and Lemon Yogurt makes an easy weeknight dinner.
- Harissa Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Avocado and Toasted Squash Seeds is a great vegan salad that everyone will love.
Recipe
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings with Shishito Peppers
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken wings
- 6 oz shishito peppers
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon harissa
- 4 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon water
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix together soy sauce, garlic and ginger.
- Place chicken in a container and pour marinade over. Rub marinade into meat, cover and place in the fridge for 45-60 minutes. Flip wings over one time during marinade.
- Arrange chicken wings on a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes.
- While wings are baking, blister the peppers. In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add peppers, turning until blistered all over. As they finish cooking, remove from the skillet. Place in a bowl, top with a pinch of salt and toss. Set aside.
- Mix together honey, harissa and water.
- Remove chicken wings from oven and place them in a hot cast iron skillet, over medium heat. Let the skin get brown and crispy on both sides.
- Add shishito peppers and honey harissa mixture to the skillet. The water will steam off, so stir well until all wings and peppers are coated and sauce has thickened and gotten sticky. Remove from heat and serve.
Notes
- Harissa is a spicy chili paste that is used in foods from North Africa to the Middle East. It's spicy and smoky. You can find it in grocery stores and online. If you don't have any, use another type of chili paste or hot sauce.
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