Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
Make these Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with 10 minutes prep! Super flavorful & tender honey garlic chicken wings are great for dinners, parties, picnics, or BBQ.
Make these Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with 10 minutes prep! Super flavorful & tender honey garlic chicken wings are great for dinners, parties, picnics, or BBQ.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken wings
- 4 cloves garlic (roughly minced)
- 1/2 shallot ( roughly minced)
- 1-2 star anise
- 1 tablespoon ginger (sliced)
- 1/2 cup water (warm)
- Carbohydrate 8.14387861890281 g
- Cholesterol 261.949593675 mg
- Fat 61.0931093263932 g
- Fiber 0.138294404909408 g
- Protein 63.7111570532956 g
- Saturated Fat 16.3831595685649 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -4 serving (386g)
- Sodium 1518.0599931784 mg
- Sugar 8.0055842139934 g
- Trans Fat 6.28760875428125 g
- Calories 859 calories
Step-by-step
- Make the Marinade by mixing together light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and salt. Marinate the chicken wings with the Chicken Wing Marinade for 20 minutes.
- Heat up the Instant Pot by pressing Sauté button and click the adjust button to go to Sauté More function. Wait until the indicator says "hot".
- Add the 1 tablespoon of peanut oil into the pot. Ensure to coat the oil over the whole bottom of the pot. Add the marinated chicken wings into the pot (do not discard the chicken wing marinade). Then, brown the chicken wings for roughly 30 seconds on each side. Flip a few times as you brown them as the soy sauce and sugar can be burnt easily. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium by pressing Cancel button, then press Sauté button. Add the minced shallot, star anise and sliced ginger, then stir for roughly a minute.
- Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant (roughly 30 seconds).
- Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1/2 cup of warm water, then add it into the pot and deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Place all the chicken wings with all the meat juice and the leftover chicken wing marinade into the pot. Close lid and pressure cook on Manual at High Pressure for 5 minutes. When time is up fully Natural Release (roughly 10 minutes).
- Open the lid carefully and taste one of the honey soy chicken wings and the honey soy sauce. Season with more salt or honey if desired.
- Remove all the chicken wings from the pot and set aside. Press Sauté button. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold running tap water. Keep mixing and add it into the honey soy sauce one third at a time until desired thickness.
- Turn off the heat and add the chicken wings back into the pot. Coat well with the honey soy sauce and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Deep mahogany skin clings tightly to tender poultry, releasing an aromatic wave of fermented soy, toasted star anise, and caramelized honey the moment the pressure valve releases. This modern preparation bridges traditional red-cooked Chinese braising methods with the speed of electric pressure cookers, rendering connective tissue soft while building a concentrated glaze in a fraction of traditional stovetop times. Understanding how each component interacts within the sealed environment allows for flexible adjustments without compromising the final texture.
Navigating Ingredient Substitutions
Adapting the flavor profile requires attention to moisture levels and sugar content, both of which dictate how the final sauce reduces. Shaoxing rice wine provides a distinct depth of nutty acidity; dry sherry or pale dry vermouth serves as a direct one-to-one replacement without altering the fermentation notes significantly. Dark soy sauce contributes primarily color and a thicker, less salty profile than light soy sauce. Substituting it entirely with light soy will reduce the rich visual hue and require a pinch of brown sugar to compensate for lost molasses depth. Peanut oil handles high heat well during the initial browning phase, but refined avocado oil or canola oil works equally well when searing at high temperatures.
- If the sauce fails to thicken after adding the cornstarch slurry, ensure the liquid is actively simmering on the sauté setting before pouring in the starch, as heat is required to activate the thickening agents.
- Prevent burning during the initial 30-second sear by keeping the pressure cooker on a moderate heat setting, constantly monitoring the sugar content in the soy marinade.
- Adjust the sweetness gradually at the end of the pressure cycle, tasting the sauce before adding extra honey to avoid overpowering the savory umami notes of the garlic and ginger.
