Chili Mango Lassi Wings
These crispy chicken wings are smothered in a spicy and sweet sauce inspired by mango lassi and loaded with hot chili! Spicy and sweet are the best flavors to go on wings so you know this is good! Fruits like mango always pair great with a little chili flake too!
The inspiration for this recipe
There is a Thai takeout place near me that has a “mango chicken” appetizer that is basically chicken nuggets with a mango dipping sauce. I think the sauce has a yogurt base to it because it was giving me a mango lassi vibe while I was eating it. I decided to take this idea to the next level by making a spicy mango lassi and using it as the base for a sauce for some chicken wings.
Prepare the mango lassi sauce
Mango, yogurt, chili flake, vinegar, and honey in the blender. Blend until completely smooth.
Bake the wings
I have been baking wings lately. It’s so much easier and it really makes the meat inside more tender. I just coat them with a little cornstarch and usually have really good results. I have also heard baking powder helps them get crispy. Here is a recipe if you want to try it that way.
Pour the chili mango sauce on the wings
Pour the sauce from the blender right over the crispy wings and toss them up good!
Make sure they are all evenly coated. Baking the wings this way keeps them crunchy in the sauce.
Serving the chili mango lassi wings
Pile them up and top with extra chili flakes and cilantro. Love these!
The crispy wings tasted so good smothered in that creamy spicy sweet chili mango lassi sauce! The yogurt flavor was unexpected for wings and actually was a great addition.
Twists on this dish
You could use a vegan yogurt if you do not want dairy in the dish and it will come out just about the same. I have had some great vegan yogurts! You could also dial down the heat a little with less chili flakes. I found it to be pretty balanced with the yogurt, but its good to play on the safe side.
Frying the wings would also be great of course, or cooking them whatever way you normally make wings, and then using this sauce.
If you love unique takes on wings, check out my negroni wings, thai larb wings, or these fesenjoon wings!
Chili Mango Lassi Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 chicken wing segments
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 pinch cardamom
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes I used Korean style
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to convection at 300
- Season the wings with salt and pepper and toss with the cornstarch. Put on a baking sheet on a rack if possible.
- Cook at 300 for about 45 minutes.
- Switch oven to convection at 500 and cook the wings an additional 30 minutes, flipping once during cooking, until browned and crisp.
- Mix the yogurt, mango, cardamom, chili, honey, and vinegar in the blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the wings to a large bowl and toss them with the sauce. Stir to coat.
- Serve and top with the cilantro and more of the chili flakes.
Loved this recipe! Super tender, super crispy, and super flavorful chicken – YUM! I made some small tweaks based on my ingredient availability and personal taste, but kept the integrity of the dish – I hope!
The cooking method was on point. I don’t have a setting in my oven to change to convection, but still did the low temp/high temp method. If you don’t have a wire rack that fits on a baking sheet, use your broiling pan & rack. There will be plenty of drippings to trap.
I subbed potato flour for cornstarch and it worked just fine! I had drinkable cashew/coconut yogurt on hand so I used that instead of Greek yogurt and added 1/2 of a jalapeño. I was really pleased with the added heat and flavor from the jalepeno.
I can’t wait to make this again and use the cooking method forever and always I to the future. I think the sauce would also go really well in grilled or crispy shrimp…it’s so creamy, sweet and well rounded.
Great job and thanks for sharing your recipe!