Baked Chicken Wings With Tamarind-Ginger Glaze
Crispy-skinned chicken wings coated in a complex glaze of toasted Kashmiri chiles, tamarind paste, fresh Thai chiles, and ginger, then baked until sticky and tender. The paste is reduced on the stovetop before coating and baking, creating deep savory-sour-spicy flavors. Served with cooling raitha.
Ingredients
- 18 dried whole Kashmiri red chilesguajillo or ancho chiles1:1dried chile
similar fruity heat profile
- 6 tablespoon tamarind pastetamarind concentratereduce water by halfacidic
concentrate is more potent; adjust quantity
Full guide → - 6 fresh Thai red chilesserrano chiles1:1fresh chile
slightly less heat, similar flavor
- 4 inch ginger, sliced
- ¼ cup palm sugar or light brown sugar, grated
- 4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ½ pound chicken wings
- raitha(optional)yogurt-cucumber sauce or sour creamany ratiocooling condimentadds dairy
serve with same cooling effect
- ½ cup hot water
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in lower-middle position. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat in oven.
- 2
Remove stems and seeds from dried chiles. Toast whole chiles in dry pan over medium heat until fragrant and pliable.
- 3
Combine toasted chiles, tamarind paste, fresh Thai chiles, ginger, palm sugar, kosher salt, and hot water in blender. Let steep about 5 minutes until chiles soften.
- 4
Blend mixture until smooth.
- 5
Transfer purée to pan used for toasting. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until thick and paste leaves a streak when dragged across bottom, about 8 minutes.
- 6
Toss chicken wings with chile paste in large bowl to coat.
- 7
Spray preheated baking sheet with nonstick spray or brush with oil. Spread wings on sheet and top each with some chile paste.
- 8
Bake until sticky and tender, about 45 minutes.
- 9
Serve immediately with raitha.
Tips
Toast dried chiles until pliable to bloom flavors before blending.
Reduce paste on stovetop to proper consistency before coating wings; this concentrates flavors and ensures proper glaze texture.
Use lower-middle oven rack position so wings cook evenly without browning too fast.
Good to Know
Leftovers refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight container. Reheat gently in 300°F oven to avoid drying.
Prepare paste up to 2 days ahead. Coat wings and refrigerate up to 8 hours before baking; add 2-3 minutes to bake time if cold.
Serve immediately with raitha for cooling contrast. Pairs with steamed rice or flatbread.
Common Mistakes
Skip toasting dried chiles to avoid flat, one-dimensional flavor in glaze.
Under-reduce paste to avoid watery coating that slides off wings during baking.
Overcrowd baking sheet to avoid steaming instead of baking wings.
Substitutions
serve with same cooling effect
concentrate is more potent; adjust quantity
Full guide →slightly less heat, similar flavor
similar fruity heat profile