Tea-Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe

These wok-smoked wings are sweet, smoky, crispy, and juicy.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated September 25, 2019
20190916-wok-skills-Tea-Smoke-40
Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Using a wok to smoke the chicken wings briefly imparts a faint smoky flavor.
  • Broiling the wings cooks them through and gives them an appealing char.

These chicken wings are smoked in a wok briefly, using green tea and spices as the material that provides the smoke, which gives them a faint but distinctive flavor that is as mysterious as it is appealing. Once smoked, they're finished off in the broiler and tossed in a sweet-savory glaze before serving.

Recipe Details

Tea-Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

  • 1/2 cup honey, divided

  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced on a microplane (about 4 teaspoons)

  • 24 chicken wing pieces

  • 6 scallion greens, sliced fine

  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup green tea leaves

  • 2 cloves star anise

  • 12 coriander seeds

  • 1/4 cup white rice

Directions

  1. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, 1/4 cup honey, ginger, and garlic in small bowl and whisk to combine. Place chicken wings in medium bowl and add 1/4 cup of soy sauce mixture. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add remaining honey, scallions, and red pepper flakes to small bowl with remaining soy mixture. Stir to combine and set aside.

  2. Remove chicken wings from marinade and carefully pat dry. Line inside of wok (see accompanying slideshow) with heavy duty aluminum foil, allowing foil to extend 5 inches over each end. Add sugar, tea leaves, star anise, coriander seed, and white rice to foil in wok. Stir to combine.

  3. Set wok over medium-high heat and cook until mixture begins to release smoke, about 5 minutes. Set cooling rack over wok and add chicken wings, making sure to keep them within the perimeter of the wok. Tent wings with second large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Lift ends of bottom piece of foil over the edges of rack and crimp together with top foil to form an air tight seal. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to continue cooking for 20 minutes off heat.

  4. Open foil and remove chicken wings. Discard foil and smoking mixture.

  5. Preheat broiler to high. Place wings on foil-lined broiler pan and cook under broiler about 4 inches from element until deep burnished mahogany color is achieved. Flip wings and cook second side. In medium bowl, toss wings with remaining soy sauce/honey mixture. Serve immediately.

Special equipment

Wok, wire cooling rack

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
342Calories
19gFat
13gCarbs
28gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories342
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g25%
Saturated Fat 6g28%
Cholesterol 161mg54%
Sodium 333mg14%
Total Carbohydrate 13g5%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 28g
Vitamin C 1mg5%
Calcium 28mg2%
Iron 1mg7%
Potassium 292mg6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes