Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

With only a few ingredients, these Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings are big on flavor, like you get from an expensive Chinese restaurant!

Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

These seriously taste deep fried, I am not kidding. As you may or may not know, it is tradition for the hubs and I to order a nice dinner from our favorite Chinese Restaurant for Christmas. It’s a Jewish thing. 🙂  Since moving back to California, we cannot find a really good Chinese restaurant in our area. We keep trying different ones.

What we have noticed, however, is that Salt & Pepper Pork Chops are really popular and we have had them from several restaurants. We finally found a Chinese restaurant that we like, well, good enough, anyway. The  last time we ordered, I asked the manager what the ingredients to the Salt & Pepper Pork Chops. I figured I could use my Air Fryer and make them myself.

Cast of Ingredients for Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

Surprisingly, there are very few ingredients. Salt, pepper and Jalapeño peppers. Well, duh! Since Friday is Wing Night in my house and because I am having so much fun creating new flavors of Chicken Wings in my Air Fryer, I decided to make Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings instead of Pork Chops.

I have to tell you, I am not a Jalapeño fan, but since Salt & Pepper Pork Chops are so popular here, I had to try them anyway. Oh my gosh, so good in this recipe. The stir frying of them, give them a mild and really delicious taste. Even my husband, who first pushed them aside, tasted them (after I pleaded with him) and then kept eating them.

Because of the secret ingredient I use in my Air Fryer Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, I already knew how to make crispy wings. However, these Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings needed something else…… something to make them puff. I thought about it and remembered how much I love the coating on my Bang Bang Shrimp recipe and it was smooth sailing from there on out……

Whisk the Egg White Until Frothy

In a medium bowl, add the egg white, salt and pepper and Whisk until very frothy. As usual, my Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk gets the job done, in no time flat! See what I did?

Add Chicken Wings to Egg White and Coat Thoroughly

Dry the Chicken Wing parts and add them to the Egg White mixture. Let the wings marinate for at least 20 minutes. You might as well prepare the vegetables while they are relaxing in their Egg White bath.

Slice the Jalapeños and the Scallions

Trim the Jalapeños and thinly slice them. I am a big wuss, so I removed most of the seeds. If you want a spicier dish, leave in some of the seeds. Slice and chop the Scallions. Some people call them Green Onions. I’ve always called them Scallions.

Set aside the veggies for now. When your wings are on the homestretch, you will quickly Stir Fry them and then add in the Chicken Wings. Believe it or not, once the Jalapeños are Stir Fried, they really aren’t all that spicy at all. In fact, they are rather delicious.

Dredge the Wings in Potato Starch

Transfer the Chicken Wings from the bowl with the Egg White mixture to a large mixing bowl. Pour in the Potato Starch and make sure the Wings are coated very well.

Coat all the Chicken Wings Thoroughly

Use Silicone Tongs, not your fingers to handle the wings. You want to make sure that the Potato Starch does not gunk up and get sticky. You also don’t want to scratch your Air Fryer. If your Tongs get gunked up, make sure to wash the gunk off and dry them well before continuing.

Properly Seasoned Air Fryer Basket

Please see my article on How to Prepare and Properly Season Your Air Fryer Basket. Using this method will help to prevent your Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings from sticking to the basket.

Make sure never to use Pam when you season your Air Fryer Basket. It will leave behind a coating, that is impossible to remove. Coconut Oil, Crisco, Canola Oil, all work well.

Shake off Excess Potato Starch

Shake off any excess Potato Starch and place the Chicken Wings in your prepared and seasoned Air Fryer Basket. You can see that my basket is glistening from the light coat of oil. This will help prevent the coating from getting stuck to the Air Fryer Basket.

Lightly Spray the Wings with Oil

I don’t normally spray my Chicken Wings with Oil, since the skin has enough oil to crisp up the wings. For this recipe, however, I did spray the Chicken Wings very lightly with Avocado Oil. My Oil Mister of preference is the Glass. It is a bit pricey, but it works really well.

Place the Air Fryer Drawer and Basket into the Air Fryer and cook for 25 minutes. Shake the Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings every 5 minutes. Shaking often will also help to prevent sticking.

Raise the Temperature at the 25 Minute Mark

After 25 minutes, your Chicken Wings will look like the above photo. Turn up the temp for 5 more minutes. While the Wings are getting their final cook, it is time to Stir Fry the topping.

Stir Fry the Jalapeño and Scallions

This will go fast, so, before you turn up the temperature on your Air Fryer, preheat your Wok or Cast Iron Skillet. You want it screaming hot. Add a couple of Tablespoons of Canola or Peanut Oil, the prepared Jalapeños and Scallions and some more salt and pepper. Using a Spatula, Stir Fry the veggies for about a minute.

When the Air Fryer beeps, carefully remove the hot Chicken Wings and place them in the Wok or Cast Iron Skillet and coat with the Jalapeños and Scallions. Most of the oil will absorb into the Jalapeños and Scallions, so your Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings will not be greasy.

Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

When I served these to my husband, he took a bite and looked at me and said, “they taste just like the ones we get from the restaurant.” I mean they are Chicken Wings, not the Salt & Pepper Pork, but, you know what I mean. If you like these, try my Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Pork Chops, which are fabulous.

These Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings pair nicely with my Pressure Cooker Chinese Orange Pepper Chicken and Thai Triple Coconut Rice.

Enjoy.

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Ultrean 8.5 Quart Air Fryer
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk
• Cilio Olivewood Spatula
• Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
• Corelle Mixing/Serving Bowls
• Potato Starch
• Silicone Tongs
• Glass Oil Mister
• Cast Iron Skillet

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Here is your handy printable recipe:

Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings

4.72 from 7 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Calories:

Author: Jill Selkowitz

Ingredients

• ▢ 14-20 Chicken Wing Pieces
• ▢ 1 Egg White
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ▢ 3/4 cup Potato Starch
• ▢ 1 Oil Mister

Stir Fry

• ▢ 2 Jalapeño Pepper stems removed
• ▢ 2 Scallions (Green Onions) trimmed
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil (or Peanut)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ▢ Cast Iron Chicken Fryer

Instructions

• Coat Air Fryer Basket with a thin coat of Oil. (See my article on How to Prepare and Season Air Fryer Basket.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white, salt and pepper until foamy.  Pat dry chicken wings and add to egg white mixture.  Coat thoroughly.  Marinate for at least 20 minutes.
• Transfer chicken wings into a large bowl and add Potato Starch.  Dredge the wings through the Potato Starch thoroughly.  Shake off wings and place them into prepared Air Fryer Basket.  Lightly spray wings with Oil.
• Cook at 380 degrees for 25 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.  Cook an additional 5 minutes at 400 degrees, or until chicken wings are nice and brown.

Stir Fry

• Slice Jalapeños thin and remove seeds.  Chop scallions.  Place in bowl and set aside.
• Heat wok or skillet until screaming hot.  Add oil, jalapeño peppers, scallions, salt and pepper and stir fry for about a minute.  Add air fried chicken wings to the wok or skillet and toss with the jalapeños and scallions, to coat.  Stir Fry for another minute.

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Air Fryer Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings