#ewew cooks the Crispiest Baked Chicken Wings

It's the year of the Fire Rooster 2017.....so, what better way to usher in the new year in honour of the rooster than with a chicken dish! ^_~

Who doesn't like to eat fried chicken, right?  I'm in the same boat with the majority and I do like some fried chicken every now and then but I loathe deep-frying chicken at home simply for two reasons, one...the mess it makes in the kitchen and two...possibly getting myself splattered with hot oil in the process! >.<

So, the other day, while hunting for some recipes on the internet, I stumbled upon this recipe on "How to bake chicken wings that are sooo crispy!".  I said to myself, "Hmmm, I like the words bake and so crispy in the same sentence!"  That's it, this is a recipe I must try.

I made some adjustments to the recipe adapted from thecookful.com.  I used 6 chicken wings (instead of 10) cut into wingettes and drummettes (discard the wing tips), 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (instead of 1 tbsp) and seasoning of 1/2 a tsp of salt (which I maintained as I felt 1/2 tsp salt for 10 chicken wings was way too little) and a 1/4 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper (which I added).

First of all, after washing your chicken wings, make sure they're thoroughly dried by draining on a paper towel (I actually did this twice by transferring the chicken wings onto another paper towel) as dry chicken is key to making it crisp.

Once the chicken wings are nicely dried, season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Add baking powder (not baking soda!) and mix evenly (with your hands) to ensure the pieces are nicely coated.

Place the wings on a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with aluminium foil (to catch the drippings and for easier cleaning).

Bake at 120°C for 30 minutes.  This was how they looked after 30 minutes.  It's not quite ready to eat.....yet!

Crank up the oven to 220°C and bake for a further 40 - 50 minutes (according to the recipe).  But I checked my wings at the 20 minutes interval and found them to be browning nicely.  I gave it an extra 5 minutes (just to be sure) and they were beautifully browned.  Note: I've noticed that my microwave/convection oven always tend to use shorter times (of given temperatures) when it comes to baking recipes, so make your own adjustments according to your oven's temperature.

I have to say that the Baked Crispy Chicken Wings were extra crispy alright....woot woot!  Eat it while it's still warm for best results! ^o^

The meat was still moist and tender (not sure if it'll be as moist if I were to bake it for 40 - 50 minutes though)....with just the right amount of saltiness (I think you can still bump up the saltiness a bit if you really like it savoury).  Once cooled, the meat may dry out just a little but still remain fragrant and crisp.

They say baking powder raises the pH level in the chicken thus allowing the skin to get better browning and make them crispier (but let's not dwell into the science of it)...but just know that it's the secret ingredient! ;)

This was a test batch to see if the secret ingredient works...looks like it did! ^_*  And the best part is...you don't even need to flip your chicken.  Standing it on a wire rack allowed the air to circulate around the chicken pieces and let the fat drip away to get them evenly crisped and browned.

Don't just eat these wings on their own....though I won't blame you if you do.  Make yourself a nice salad to go with the chicken...and you can have yourself a "carb less" meal.

Or add some stir-fried greens to make it a Chinese-type meal with some steamed rice if you can't go without carbs.

I've never been more excited to ask you to try...but you've gotta try this one, for sure.  It's the best chicken wings ever!  Not only is this a healthier version of fried chicken, you don't get this oily feel like when you bite into deep-fried chicken.

I don't think I'll ever need to get those greasy deep-fried chicken from fast food joints or fried chicken stalls any more now that I've found the secret weapon to make 'Sooo Crispy' chicken! ;P

It's the Year of the Rooster, people.....so let's get some Sooo Crispy Baked Chicken Wings on...oh yeah! ^.^