These Thai chicken wings are coated and served with a spicy peanut sauce for a delicious appetizer that's a real crowd pleaser. These baked wings are easy to make and are a tasty alternative to your buffalo wings.
Liberally salt and pepper the chicken. Combine the yogurt and chopped jalapeno pepper in a large bowl or zipper-style plastic bag. Add the chicken and mix well - being sure to coat all chicken pieces. Refrigerate, covered, up to 24 hours.
For the Thai Peanut Sauce:
Whisk together water, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, molasses, vinegar, chili sauce, lemongrass paste, garlic, red pepper flakes and cilantro; set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
For Cooking the Chicken:
Remove the chicken 20-30 minutes before ready to cook.
Heat oven to 425°F and adjust oven rack to middle position. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray a metal baking rack with nonstick spray. Set the rack in/over the baking sheet.
Remove Peanut Sauce from the fridge and reserve half for serving alongside the chicken. If the sauce has thickened while refrigerated, thin with 1-2 tablespoons of water until desired thickness.
Transfer chicken to the prepared baking rack/pan (shake off excess yogurt marinade as you work). Leave space between chicken pieces to facilitate even baking.
Bake the chicken at 425°F for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven.
Use tongs to dip each piece of chicken in the peanut sauce (again shaking off extra sauce), and return the chicken to the baking rack/sheet the opposite-side-up.
Sprinkle the chicken with toasted sesame seeds.
Reduce heat to 400°F and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is tender throughout and the sauce has caramelized.
Serve with the reserved sauce.
Enjoy!
Notes
Note: ¼-½ cup Hoisin Sauce can be substituted for the soy sauce, sesame oil, molasses, vinegar, sweet chili sauce and lemongrass paste.