Gordon Ramsay’s chicken wings are sticky, spicy and coated in a tamarind marinade with palm sugar, fish sauce and chilli, ready in about 35 minutes. The sugar caramelises as they roast, so the skin turns glossy and crisp without any deep frying. Six ingredients, one tray, done.
This recipe comes from his Ultimate Home Cooking cookbook, where he describes them as “roasted to sticky perfection” in a spicy Asian marinade. He cooks them on camera with his son Jack too, calling them “a very cheap and cheerful chicken wing” that anyone can transform at home. There’s also a fancier restaurant version in his Bread Street Kitchen book that’s deep fried in a honey-tamarind sauce, but the home one is the winner.
The technique that makes these work is the overnight marinade. Tamarind is naturally acidic, so it softens the connective tissue in the wings and lets the palm sugar soak right into the meat. Once they hit the oven, that sugar caramelises and builds the sticky glaze you’re after.
Gordon Ramsay Sticky Spiced Chicken Wings
Course: DinnerCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes30
minutes380
kcal45
minutesFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking, these tamarind and chilli marinated wings need just 30 minutes in the oven. Ramsay demonstrates the recipe in a video with his son Jack, serving them alongside stir-fried green beans and Thai green curry rice as his go-to Southeast Asian dinner.
Ingredients
- For the Marinade:
5 tbsp (75ml) tamarind paste
2 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
2 tbsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli powder or chilli flakes
- For the Wings:
16–20 chicken wings, wing tips removed
4 spring onions (scallions), sliced diagonally
Directions
- Dissolve the tamarind: If using a block, place it in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of hot water and break it apart with a fork. Remove any seeds. If using paste from a jar, skip this step.
- Build the marinade: Put the tamarind paste in a large bowl with the oil, palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic and chilli. Mix until the sugar starts to dissolve.
- Coat the wings: Add the wings and get your hands in there, tossing until every wing is properly coated. Cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge overnight, or for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven: Set to 180°C (350°F) / Gas 4.
- Line and arrange: Line a roasting tin with foil, which makes cleaning up much easier. Lay the wings in a single layer and scoop any extra marinade over the top.
- Roast: Cook for 25 to 35 minutes until cooked through and the marinade has turned into a dark, sticky glaze. You want the skin golden and slightly charred at the edges.
- Garnish and serve: Move them to a platter and scatter the spring onions over the top. Serve warm while the glaze is still tacky.
Notes
- Ramsay also has a deep-fried version in the Bread Street Kitchen cookbook using an egg-and-spice marinade and a tamarind sauce simmered for nearly two hours with honey and Worcestershire sauce.
FAQs
How long should you marinate these chicken wings?
Overnight is best, but one hour is the minimum if you’re pressed for time. Ramsay says it in the video with Jack: “the longer the better.”
The tamarind’s acidity tenderises the meat while the sugar works its way into every crevice. Just don’t push past 24 hours because the acid starts turning the texture mushy.
Can you make these wings in an air fryer?
They actually come out crispier in the air fryer than the oven. Toss the marinated wings in the basket at 200°C (400°F) for 20 to 22 minutes, flipping them halfway.
Don’t crowd the basket though, because the wings steam instead of crisping. Two batches is worth the wait. The circulating heat renders the fat faster, so you get crisp skin while the tamarind glaze still caramelises.
Can you deep fry these wings like the restaurant version?
Yes, and this is actually how the Bread Street Kitchen version works. That recipe uses an egg-and-spice marinade, a flour coating, then deep fries at 180°C (350°F) for about 10 minutes per batch.
The BSK tamarind sauce is a bigger project too, simmered nearly two hours with honey, Worcestershire sauce and toasted whole spices. He also grills wings in his Around the World series, piercing them first so the heat reaches the bone, then glazing with cassareep and a fresh mango salsa. Three Ramsay wing methods, all verified.
What does Gordon Ramsay serve with his chicken wings?
In both the cookbook and the video, he pairs them with stir-fried green beans in a chilli peanut dressing and Thai green curry rice. He calls the combo his “ultimate Southeast Asian dinner.”
His green bean salad works as a lighter side if you want to skip the rice, and a quick coleslaw gives you that cool crunch against the heat. For something more American, brush them with his BBQ sauce in the last five minutes of roasting.
How do you make Gordon Ramsay’s hot wings?
Ramsay has a completely different wing recipe in his Hot Ones inspired video. He seasons with garlic powder, salt and smoked paprika, pan-sears in butter until properly caramelised, then finishes in the oven at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes.
The glaze is dead simple: hot sauce whisked into melted butter. As they cook the flesh slides down the bone into a lollipop shape, which makes them easy to pick up. Serve with his blue cheese sauce for dipping and you’ve got a proper wing night.
Do leftover chicken wings reheat well?
Being honest, they’re best eaten fresh. The sticky glaze softens in the fridge and the skin loses that crispness you worked for.
If you do have leftovers, keep them covered for up to two days and reheat in a hot oven at 200°C (400°F) for 8 to 10 minutes. Skip the microwave, it’ll turn the skin rubbery. If you want a chicken dish that actually reheats well midweek, his chicken cacciatore is a much better bet.
