Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings is one of my favorite Chinese restaurant orders—and one I thought was best left to the pros. But then I tried making it at home, and now I'm totally hooked. This version leans into the heat with Sichuan peppercorns, fresh chiles, and a pile of garlic that gets tossed in hot oil until it’s deeply caramelized in the best way. It's messy in all the right ways and way too easy to eat standing over the stove before the wings ever even make it to a plate.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Affiliate Disclosure.

These Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are crispy, crunchy, and spicy. The flavors are explosive—a gingery, garlicky marinade, crispy fried chicken wings, and a topping of stir-fried chiles and garlic.

The final touch is a seasoning mix that combines Szechuan peppercorns with kosher salt and a dash of ground white pepper. It is truly tongue tingling. The Sichuan peppercorns have a slight mouth-numbing effect that is especially appealing when combined with the sharp heat of chile peppers and white pepper.

This is seriously good food. Like, insanely good, you-should-drop-everything-and-make-it-right-now good. I also love Salt and Pepper Shrimp—same thing but with a seafood bent. And if you want a lighter, vegetarian version, try Salt and Pepper Tofu in the air fryer.

Is it really that hard to deep fry chicken at home?

I usually avoid frying food in my kitchen, but every time I make this dish, I’m reminded that it’s not actually that hard! Or even that messy!

I do more of a shallow fry than a deep fry—a wok is the perfect pan to use, but a large cast-iron skillet is good, too. Fill the pan with just about 2 inches of oil. That keeps the splatter to a minimum and also minimizes the quantity of oil you need to use.

Can you make air fryer salt and pepper chicken?

Yes, you definitely can! I have a great recipe for making Air Fryer Salt and Pepper Chicken. It is a bit easier, and it saves on mess and calories, too. But the taste is just as explosively delicious!

What ingredients do you need to make chinese salt and pepper chicken wings?

Most of the ingredients for this dish are things you’ll find at your regular supermarket, otherwise, I offer easy substitutions.

• Shaoxing wine. If you don't have it, you can substitute sake, dry sherry, dry white wine, or even beer. You can buy Shaoxing wine at Asian markets or online.
• Ginger and garlic to give the meat flavor. I always recommend using fresh.
• Chicken wings, or substitute boneless, skinless chicken thigh cut into cubes.
• Potato starch, or substitute cornstarch.
• Oil for frying. Use any neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil like avocado, safflower, sunflower, peanut, corn, canola, or vegetable oil.
• Red or green chile peppers. You can use serrano, fresno, jalapeno, or other chilis. If you don’t want the dish to be spicy, use green or red bell pepper instead of hot chilis.
• Ground white pepper, or substitute ground black pepper.
• Sichuan pepper and salt. You can make your own Szechuan Pepper Salt or you can buy Szechuan pepper-salt online or in an Asian grocery store.. You can also skip this and just use kosher salt and ground white pepper or ground black pepper.
• Optional: Green onions or scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish.

How do you make it?

Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are much easier to make than you might think. Here are the basic steps:

1. Marinate the chicken to give it lots of flavor.
2. Coat the chicken pieces in starch (you can use potato starch or cornstarch).
3. Fry in oil in a large skillet or wok, turning once, until golden brown all over.
4. While the chicken is frying, you can prep the topping. Slice chiles and garlic and quickly stir fry them in butter or oil.
5. Toss the fried chicken pieces with the stir-fried chile-and-garlic topping and then season with Sichuan Pepper-Salt and white pepper.
6. Devour, ideally with an ice-cold Chinese beer to quench the fire.

Tips for success

• You only need to marinate the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes. But if you have time, marinate it overnight for even more flavor.
• What is the secret to getting crispy chicken? There are actually a few secrets. The first is using potato starch or corn starch to dredge the chicken. This will give you a crispier shell than flour. Also, be sure your oil is hot enough before you put the chicken in, and don't crowd the pan.
• Use chicken wings, drumsticks, or boneless, skinless thighs that have been cut into chunks. You can use breast meat if you like, but I prefer using dark meat because it is more tender and more flavorful.
• Choose your chiles based on how spicy you want the dish to be. I like a lot of spice, so I used serrano peppers. Jalapenos are milder than serranos, and fresno chiles are even milder. If you don’t want that kick of heat, use red and/or green bell peppers instead.
• For Taiwanese Salt and Pepper Chicken, leave out the chile peppers and use fresh basil leaves instead. Quickly stir fry the basil leaves with the garlic before tossing with the fried chicken.

What do you serve with this Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken recipe?

I love to serve this Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings with ice cold beer. It’s a great party appetizer or game day snack. For a full finger food spread, add some Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers, Jalapeño Popper Bites, Air Fryer Spring Rolls, Pork and Shrimp Wontons, or Air Fryer Empanadas.

If you want to serve it as a meal, start with Wonton Soup or serve it with stir-fried vegetables and steamed rice. Or try this Chicken Fried Rice on a Blackstone Griddle.

MORE CRUNCHY FRIED snack RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

If you love these crunchy fried chicken bites, try my Samosa, Onion Samosas, Air Fryer Korean Fried Chicken, Air Fryer Sesame Chicken, Paneer Pakora, and Chicken Pakora.

Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

Robin Donovan

Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken is a restaurant takeout favorite and it’s easy to make at home. I love this spicy version with Szechuan peppercorns and stir-fried hot chile peppers and garlic.

4.86 from 74 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Additional Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Appetizer Recipes

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 6 servings

Calories 641 kcal

Cook Mode(keep your screen awake)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ For the chicken
• ▢ ¾ cup Shaoxing wine see note for substitutions
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 ½ pounds chicken wings
• ▢ 1 cup potato starch see note for substitutions
• ▢ Oil for frying 2 to 3 cups
• ▢ For the chile topping
• ▢ 4 to 6 chiles like serrano, red or green or a combination, thinly sliced
• ▢ 3 to 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon Szechuan pepper-salt see note

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine the wine, ginger, minced garlic, and salt and stir to mix. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight (cover and refrigerate if more than 20 minutes).
• In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil until it shimmers (about 350°F).
• Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and toss it with the potato starch, coating well.
• Shake excess potato starch off of the chicken pieces and drop them into the hot oil. You can do 5 to 7 pieces of chicken at a time, but don’t crowd the skillet. Plan to cook the chicken in 2 or 3 batches. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the bottoms of the chicken pieces are golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook for about 5 minutes more, until golden brown on the second side. Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Cook the remaining chicken pieces in the same manner.
• Once all of the chicken has been fried, heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and let it melt. Once it is sizzling and begins to foam, add the chiles and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the chiles begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Put the fried chicken on a serving platter and then dump the fried chiles and garlic over the top. Sprinkle with the white pepper and the pepper-salt and serve immediately.
  
  

Notes

1. If you don’t have Shiaoxing wine, you can substitute sake, dry sherry, dry white wine, or even beer.

2. You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into chunks instead of chicken wings. You’ll want to cook it for a shorter time, just until the outside of each piece is golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3. I like to use potato starch for my fried chicken as I think it is what is most commonly used Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cooks. You can substitute cornstarch, which is more widely available in US supermarkets. You can also use sweet potato starch, which you’ll find in Asian markets.

4. If you don’t have Szechuan Pepper-Salt, you can substitute kosher salt and ground black pepper.

5. Use chicken wings, drumsticks, or boneless, skinless thighs that have been cut into chunks. You can use breast meat if you like, but I prefer using dark meat because it is more tender and more flavorful.

6. You can use any neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil for frying. Some good options are safflower, sunflower seed, peanut, canola, corn, vegetable, or grapeseed oil.

7. Choose your chiles based on how spicy you want the dish to be. You can use very spicy Thai chiles, spicy serrano chiles, milder Jalapenos, or even milder fresnos. If you don’t want any heat at all from the chiles, use red and/or green bell peppers instead.

8. You can make Szechuan pepper-salt yourself or buy it in an Asian market or online. If you don’t have it, you can also just substitute kosher salt and white or black pepper.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 641kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 29gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 930mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!