Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings

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Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings are coated in Filipino grill spice and a secret ingredient before air frying. After cooking, they are tossed in a sambal butter sauce giving them a spicy kick.

This Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings post is sponsored by Serious Foodie but all opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that support A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures.

 

I am totally in love with my air fryer. Of course, it’s not just an air fryer. It’s one of those 8 or 9 in one appliances. Which makes it super versatile. That means it’s stays on the counter, and I use it at least once a week. That’s how much I love it. Sometimes two or three times a week depending on the menu.

 

What is an air fryer?

 

It’s a countertop appliance that heats food up really hot really fast using air. So, technically it’s not “frying” the food. Let’s just get that off the table. But it does mimic frying to some degree. Especially if you know how to use it and have a few tricks up your sleeve.

 

 

An air fryer is different than cooking things in the oven, even a convection oven. It takes a short amount of time to get to temperature. This means food takes less time to cook because there’s no preheating needed.

 

Air fryers are smaller which puts them closer to the heat source. This means they get food crispier faster than an oven or a convection oven. That’s how these Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings are super crispy.  Even compared to the countertop convection oven I used to have. Of course, that one rocked rotisserie chicken. It had a spit which was the selling point for that countertop appliance.

 

 

Is an air fryer healthier?

 

The jury is still hung on this one. Some say yes. Some say no. I just like that I don’t have to pour a ton of oil into a pan to fry things. I can put them in the air fryer, spritz them with some cooking oil or brush them with some olive oil and pop them into the airy fryer.

 

Also, they don’t sit in the oil and absorb it. Of course, some say that if the oil is the right temperature and you cook it properly, it doesn’t actually absorb that much oil. I haven’t done the test on that. I think Alton Brown did once. You can probably find it on YouTube or something like that.

 

 

For me, for wings like these Sambal Air Fryer Wings it’s a no brainer. I am more addicted to air fryer wings that those deep-fried ones you get in the store. Seriously. The way my wings cook in the air fryer is super crispy and delicious. They’re packed with flavor and you don’t miss that flour coating.

 

How do you make Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings?

 

When I started my current job, I had a conversation with a coworker about air fryer wings. She turned me onto a secret trick to getting that extra crispy wing exterior that most crave. I was like, “Whaaaaaaat? Seriously?” Yup. She swore by it. Of course, I tried it once and then never went back to it.

 

 

Until now. I decided now was the time to try that simple little trick again for these Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings. And make these wings super crispy, spicy, and delicious. What’s the secret ingredient you ask? Baking powder. Yup. I said baking powder. Some use baking soda. I tried that but didn’t like the flavor. They tasted like baking soda.

 

So, this time I tried baking powder. And a little flour. And you know what? They were super crispy on the outside! More so than any other wings I’ve made before. You know what my new method will be going forward. A little toss in some flour, baking powder, and seasonings like these Serious Foodie rubs.

 

 

How does baking powder make wings crispy?

 

Baking powder is a combination of cream of tartar, sodium bicarbonate, and cornstarch. Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, lowers the pH level of the chicken skin. According to Bon Appetit, it breaks down the peptide bonds allowing the chicken skin to brown faster. They say you should use baking soda, but I didn’t like the flavor of the baking soda. So, I used baking powder instead.

 

The cornstarch in the baking powder helps to absorb the excess moisture from the skin. This also aids in the crisp factor for these wings. Because we all know that moisture and crispy wings do not get along at all.  That being said, I don’t anticipate there being leftovers, but if there are pop them back in the air fryer for a bit to heat them up.  DO NOT put them in the microwave.  It will kill the crisp factor.

 

 

What is sambal?

 

Basically, it’s a chile pepper sauce. Sambal is as integral to Indonesia cuisine as masala is to food in India. There are over 200 different kinds of sambal in Indonesia. They all start with chiles. Then they add ingredients like shrimp paste, shallots, ginger, garlic, palm sugar, and lime juice to the chile pepper sauce. Finally, other ingredients like mango or tamarind go into the sauce for added flavor.

 

Sambal originated from Java. Chile peppers are not native to Indonesia. So it wasn’t until the Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought the cayenne and birds eye chiles to Java in the 16th century that sambal as we know it now came into being.

 

 

There was a pepper prior to the cayenne and bird’s eye chile peppers used to make a spicy sauce. Prior to introducing these spicy peppers to Indonesian recipes, they used a cabya pepper. This pepper is the Javanese or Balinese long pepper. While spicy in its own right, it wasn’t as spicy as the cayenne and other capsicum-based pepper varieties.

 

To illustrate the popularity of the capsicum sambals, a 12-volume manuscript of Javanese tales and teachings published in the 1800s noted 16 variations of the sauce. In 1967 a cookbook written and published by an Indonesian statesman and nationalist had 63 different recipes for sambal. Fast forward to 2017 where a food researcher identified 212 different variations of the popular sauce. And could be as many as 255 but he could not determine the origin of 43 of the sauces.

 

 

What do Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings taste like?

 

Well, first and foremost they are crunchy! They have the Filipino grill spice rub combined with the crispy outer coating for added flavor. It has slight curry undertones that make them taste so good. Then I tossed the wings with the sambal butter sauce for added spice and flavor on the outside. It’s just the perfect combination of flavors and spice for these Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings. Not to worry! This is not a super spicy sambal sauce.

 

And because we like to dip our wings in sauce, I combined the sambal with some homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. It’s such a great dipping sauce for these Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings. And it hammers home that spicy and delicious sambal flavor in these crispy wings. I know it sounds weird, but the two sauces really do combine and make a delicious dipping sauce.

 

If you want to make these Crispy Sambal Air Fryer Wings at home, head to the Serious Foodie site and grab your own Indonesian Sambal and Filipino grill spice rub.  Then get some wings, an air fryer, and cook them up for your family and friends for game day or tailgating!  Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more delicious products and recipe ideas!