Baked Chicken Wings with Peanut Sauce

• servings: Yield: 24 servings
• active time: 15 mins
• total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark, packed)

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)

2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)

4 teaspoons spicy chili paste (such as sambal)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic (finely minced)

3 pounds chicken wings

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons hot sauce (such as Frank's or Texas Pete)

Optional: chopped roasted peanuts

Directions

Steps to Make It

Cut the wing tips off and discard. Cut the wings at the joint.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, water, rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, and garlic. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat the oven to 400 F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with foil.

In a large bowl, toss the chicken wings with the vegetable oil and hot sauce.

Arrange the wings on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the wings for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. With tongs, turn all of the wing pieces over. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until nicely browned and cooked. Juices should be clear, not pink when the wings are ready.

Transfer the cooked wings to a large bowl and add about half of the peanut sauce. Gently toss the wings to coat with the sauce. Serve the remaining peanut sauce along with the wings. If the sauce is very thick, thin it with a small amount of water.

Garnish the sauce and the chicken wings with chopped peanuts, if desired.

A pound of chicken wings yields approximately 6 whole wings or 12 separate pieces. The recipe makes about 4 dozen pieces.