Thai Chili Wings - Sweet, salty, spicy, sticky chicken wings. The spicy Thai sauce is to die for!!

Chicken wings tossed in a spicy thai chili sauce on a white plate with a blue rim, garnished with cilantro

I first tasted Thai sticky chicken wings in this spicy sauce a couple of years ago at a friend's house. She made these from the book Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu. It was love at first bite. The sauce was just plain simple, BRILLIANT, and totally AMAZING!

You might think the recipe is for the chicken wings, but for once, it's all about the sauce here. I promise that once you make this sauce, you will drizzle it over your eggs, dress your meat, and dip your fries.

Have you ever air-fried chicken wings? Don't look skeptical; this is a real thing. You can get crispy, succulent, juicy wings by air frying them instead of deep frying them wings. Here are our favorite air fryer BBQ chicken wings with homemade BBQ sauce recipe which we make almost weekly. Here is a recipe for cooking frozen chicken wings in the air fryer.

There is something about Thai food that's just irresistible. I am not big on soup, but give me a good tom kha gai any day! And don't even get me started on Pad Thai. There isn't a Thai dish that I have not loved.

Ingredients for Thai Chili Chicken Wings

Here are the ingredients needed to make the Thai chili wings.

Ingredients for spicy thai chicken wings- garlic, chilies, chicken wings, rice four, cilantro, oil, brown sugar, white sugar, fish sauce and tamarind extract

Cilantro Stems and Roots

Coriander roots and stems, more often than not, go into the dustbin. But they pack in so much flavor.

They pack an intense coriander flavor that sings through despite the sauce being high in other strong elements like fish sauce and tamarind. They add so much freshness and crunch to salads or dishes as a garnish. If you can't find roots, stems will also do.

Red Chilies

The original recipe calls for bird-eye chilies. If you have them on hand, use them but be mindful of the heat.Bird eye chilies are one of the spiciest chilies, and if you can't eat spicy food, use other milder red chilies and peppers.

Instead of the ten bird-eye chilies listed here, you can also use the more commonly available four large red chilies. Other good alternatives are chili pastes like sambal olek, chili sauce, gochujang, and chili flakes.

How to make Crisp Chicken Wings

Step 1: Marinate

Marinate the chicken wings in oyster and soy sauce for at least 15 minutes. Doing this will salt the chicken wings from the inside and also make a sticky surface for the rice flour to stick to.

Chicken wings in a white bowl with fish sauce and oyster sauce

Step 2: Dredge & Rest

Spread the rice flour on a plate. Toss the marinated wings in the flour.

Keep aside while you prepare the sauce and heat the oil. This will help the flour stick to the chicken wings better, which will, in turn, make the wings crispy.

Cilantro roots, stems , shallots, garlic and bird eye chilies in a food processor.

Coarse paste of Cilantro roots, stems , shallots, garlic and bird eye chilies in a food processor.

Step 3: Make the sauce

While the chicken is resting, make the sauce. In a food processor, mortar-pestle, or blender, make a rough paste of the coriander roots, garlic, shallots, and chilies.

Heat one tablespoon of oil in the pan and saute the paste for 20-30 seconds.Add the palm sugar, white sugar, fish sauce, tamarind and water. Whisk to dissolve completely.

Bring to a boil and simmer till the sauce thickens and is reduced to a loose, jammy consistency. This will take about 10-15 minutes on medium-low flame.

The sauce is ready!

Sauteing paste made of chili, cilantro, garlic and shallots in a stainless steel pan

Making the spicy chili sauce by adding the tamarind paste, sugar and fish sauce to sauted coriander and chili

Simmering the sauce till its thick and sticky.

Spiyc thai sauce made with bird eye chilies, cilantro, fish sauce, sugar and tamarind in a steel pan along with a steel spatula

Step 4: Deep Fry or Air fry

Deep fry- Heat the oil on medium flame in a heavy-bottomed pan. Bring the temperature to 350F.
Drop a small bit of the flour mixture sticking to the wings to test. If it starts to bubble and rise, the oil is ready.

Slowly drop the chicken wings one at a time in the oil. Fry till they turn golden.
The internal temperature of the chicken should register 165 C. Or you can cut one chicken wing open to see if it's cooked.

Air fry - Preheat the air fryer to 400F / 200 C. Spary and coat the flour-dredged chicken wings with oil.
Brush the air fryer basket with oil. Place the wings in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 12-15 minutes.

Step 5: Toss the wings in the sauce

When the chicken wings are out, toss them in the prepared sauce. Serve immediately.

Variations Chicken wings

Teriyaki Chicken Wings - Soy sauce and honey chicken wings.

Homemade BBQ sauce- This is a quick and simple sauce that I make at least once a week. 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon chili paste or chili flakes, and salt to taste. Adjust the sauce as per taste. I like to keep it strong.

Hot Honey Chicken Wings- The hot honey sauce comes together in less than 5 minutes, and it is made from pantry ingredients.It will definitely leave you wanting for more.

Serving Chicken Wings

You can tell chicken wings are close to our hearts. If you make spicy wings, serve them with a cold dip that contrasts them. My picks are this 5-minute yogurt garlic dip, my healthier caramelized onion dip, and or this creamy green onion dip.

If you enjoyed these Thai chili chicken wings, check out the recipes below, too.