🇨🇳 Chinese
Chinese 5-Spice Chicken Wings
⏱ 50 min (10 active)
🍞 ~6g
🍽 4 servings
⭐ 5/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Chinese 5-spice (五香粉, wǔ xiāng fěn) is the warm, slightly licorice-y blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and Sichuan peppercorn. It turns a basic wing into something special — and kids tend to love it because the cinnamon notes feel familiar.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Oven-baked, not fried — no breading carbs, no sketchy fryer oil
- Glaze uses 1 tsp honey total across 4 servings (~1g sugar per kid plate) — nothing like the 15g+ sugar bombs of restaurant wings
- High-fat, high-protein = very gentle blood sugar curve, easy to bolus for
- Naturally gluten-free with tamari (great for kids with co-existing celiac, which often shows up alongside T1D)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes (0g)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (0g)
- 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder (1g)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (1g)
- 1 tsp salt (0g)
- 1/2 tsp white pepper (0g)
- 1 tsp baking powder (helps crisp the skin — game-changer) (1g)
- Glaze:
- 2 tbsp tamari or low-sodium soy sauce (1g)
- 1 tsp honey (6g sugar / ~1.5g per serving)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (0g)
- 1 clove garlic, grated (1g)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (0g)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (0g)
- Garnish: 1 tsp sesame seeds + 2 green onions, sliced (2g)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil + a wire rack on top. Spray rack with oil.
- Pat wings VERY dry with paper towels (this is the crispiness secret).
- In a large bowl, toss wings with oil, 5-spice, garlic powder, salt, white pepper, and baking powder until evenly coated.
- Arrange wings on the wire rack in a single layer, not touching.
- Bake 35-40 min, flipping halfway, until skin is deep golden and crisp.
- While wings bake, simmer glaze ingredients in a small saucepan 2-3 min until syrupy. Remove from heat.
- When wings come out, toss in a bowl with the glaze just to coat (don't drown them — you want a thin shiny layer).
- Top with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve immediately.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Drumettes for younger kids (easier to hold), flats for big kids who like the crispy-skin-to-meat ratio.
- Set out a "bones bowl" — kids feel grown-up having their own plate setup.
- Toss half the wings plain (no glaze) for the kid who hates "wet" chicken — both versions get devoured.