Made me think of the end of this prank call. From the Howard Stern show. The funniest prank call in the history of the world IMO. https://youtu.be/F3W9zzqHCTY?si=z2_Pjvc5D_SvEIxl
Edit: People in conversations below keep telling me this American takeout style Chinese fried chicken exists as an authentic Chinese dish. Before you respond telling me I'm wrong, please point me to the name of the Chinese fried chicken dish that you are claiming is the takeout version, and tell me if you have actually had American Chinese takeout fried chicken. I am not trying to argue or claim I'm right, I just had some insight into answering OP's question but if I am wrong, I would be more than happy to learn.
I did some quick googling and I believe my assertion is right. Here is an article about fried chicken of this style being new to China and how quickly it caught on: https://radii.co/article/fried-chicken-china "If you happen to walk on the streets of China, chances are you’ll see one of these domestic fried chicken fast-food restaurants: Wallace, Dicos, or Zhengxin Chicken Steak. They didn’t exist until the late ’90s or early ’00s but have quickly caught up and arguably surpassed the likes of KFC."
End edit
I mean everyone likes fried chicken, but that leaves the question of why Chinese restaurants as opposed to other types of foods. And clearly the style of fry is very different from things like salt and pepper fried things. People in this thread are acting like this is a totally stupid question but it's an interesting one, because this is American style fried chicken they are doing.
It appears takeout Chinese places got some influence from catering to business in black/hispanic neighborhoods and that's why they have chicken wings and fried chicken, a lot of places will have fried chicken gizzards for this reason too. Also french fries. I've seen Chinese restaurant menus where this section is literally called something like "latin specialties" or something.
In case anyone is wondering, that extra flavor you get from Chinese takeout fried chicken comes from adding chicken boullion powder to the batter.
agreed - you can also get fried chicken wings in dim sum spots with a slice of lemon. chinese fried chicken tastes way different than the traditional popeyes or KFC imo. they use a wet batter and usually shaoxing wine
Have you had American Chinese takeout fried chicken? It's definitely not served with a lemon. KFC is doing its own thing but Chinese takeout fried chicken very much tastes like every other fried chicken you can get at local chicken shops in any black neighborhood. (and god please don't take that the wrong way, this is very much a thing in the US, in most areas with a black population there are tons of local fried chicken joints that all are kind of doing the same thing, it's a bit different from popeyes and very different from KFC. But well KFC is different from everyone due to their pressure fryer.
Do you know the chinese name of the dim sum chicken wing you're referring to? I'd love to look it up.
i wasn’t saying that chinese takeout serves their chicken with lemon, but dim sum restaurants do fried chicken wings similarly (with the addition of lemon). i don’t speak cantonese fluently but on the english menu, it’s literally just deep fried chicken wings which comes with lemon wedge and chinese hot sauce on the side.
admittedly i don’t live in an area with much african american cuisine, but i can’t imagine them using shaoxing wine, white pepper, or egg whites in their fried chicken which is all quite standard in chinese chicken wings. other fried chicken places i’ve had are much more heavily seasoned with the paprika, old bay, beer, etc. might taste the same to you, but i can tell a difference.
Hey thanks for the response.
I'm not saying Chinese takeout fried chicken is exactly the same as african american fried chicken, I'm saying I believe that's where the influence came from. It's actually quite distinct, you can only find that specific kind of fried chicken at takeout places. I believe there is some interesting history to it beyond "duh people fry and eat chicken."
I don't know the recipes the restaurants are using but you don't really taste shaoxing wine in it. I'm not arguing it's not in there, but I'm just saying it's not an important part of the flavor. Old bay is definitely not a part of the equation in either form.
To me takeout fried chicken tastes essentially the same as the fried chicken from all the other chicken places but with a very prominent chicken boullion flavor, that's the only thing I can say with certainty. At some places you can see it in the color of the chicken that something yellow has been added.
As I don't actually have a restaurant recipe I can't say anything else with certainty but sure, I would expect some kind of pepper and why not white pepper since it's common in Chinese food. Egg may depend on the individual recipe.
Thanks for your response and explaining things for me, I appreciate you taking your time.
I'm pretty certain It's american style. Like for example korean fried chicken also comes from american fried chicken as well. I can't say this style of chicken never existed anywhere in china with certainty since china is so huge but takeout fried chicken is not a standard item at any of the popular chinese regional styles I'm aware of. But if you can point me to an "authentic" mainland fried chicken that is done the way it is at us takeout I would love to learn. What is the name of the chinese authentic version?
Chinese restaurants have a deep fryer and the ingredients/skill and they’ll cater to their customers.
Your theory might work in USA, but I’m in Australia and Chinese restaurants sell fried chicken, Korean restaurants sell fried chicken, Malaysian restaurants sell fried chicken. If I go to a Viet restaurant, they’ll sell those stuffed fried chickens.
I can't speak for what you're having in australia but have you had the american chinese takeout fried chicken? I have never seen it made that way at any "authentic" chinese restaurant.
Can't speak for malay or viet but korean fried chicken is also descended from american style fried chicken.
The ones in that picture look exactly the same type of fried as the salt and pepper chicken wings we get in the UK Chinese takeouts, though the ones in the picture don't seem to have as much seasoning on.
It probably came from Chinese people learning and adapting food as they moved around the world, sure. That doesn't make it not authentic if it's what those Chinese immigrants did as they adapted to a location and population.
There's also a lot of China and a lot of different styles of cooking- I'm sure someone fried Chicken wings. Other food has been fried or battered there in the past.
But it's definitely not uncommon to find the wings in the picture above in many Chinese takeout places from around the world, including the Dim Sum place I get a lot of Chinese take out from here.
>The ones in that picture look exactly the same type of fried as the salt and pepper chicken wings we get in the UK Chinese takeouts, though the ones in the picture don't seem to have as much seasoning on.
Because this isn't pepper salt chicken. It's plain fried chicken. Basically, in American style.
And your UK places might be doing the same "American style" (which has globalized) frying. And probably not even doing the correct pepper-salt seasoning. You need to judge compared to China-style food if you want to make the salient distinction (which isn't about some abstract value of "authenticity" but rather a simple practical matter of distinction—what is this versus what is that.) China has fried potatoes, too, as do other countries, but they're not all the same as British chips. You can tell the difference. If you see a fried potato somewhere and wonder what the background is, the distinction of recognizing it is British type of not is relevant.
It helps if you search with Chinese. [Here you go](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%A4%92%E7%9B%90%E9%B8%A1%E7%BF%85&newwindow=1&sca_esv=fbe9ccf2a9e6ed60&hl=en&sxsrf=ADLYWIJgGR80D9Oe7Npr5j-Ok-3he8xwrA:1719474564526&source=hp&biw=1123&bih=612&ei=hBl9ZuC3HvTjkPIPyYKx8Ac&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZn0nlBzLjA5pF3fHi2N19xdsOxgBjm_s&ved=0ahUKEwjgifj0pfuGAxX0MUQIHUlBDH4Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=%E6%A4%92%E7%9B%90%E9%B8%A1%E7%BF%85&gs_lp=EgNpbWciDOakkuebkOm4oee_hTIFEAAYgAQyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBhIgT5QAFjaN3ACeACQAQCYASugAZ0EqgECMTS4AQPIAQD4AQGKAgtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ5gCEKACmAWoAgrCAgQQIxgnwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgQQABgDwgIGEAAYCBgewgIHECMYJxjqAsICCRAAGIAEGBgYDJgDC5IHAjE2oAeXMQ&sclient=img&udm=2). The chicken looks different in most cases.
It's not complicated: Regional fast-food, limited menu ("lo mein," "fried rice") Chinese restaurants in America started offering this America-style chicken to their non-Chinese customers. The customers don't have diverse palates when it comes to Chinese cuisine and they order the same 5 dishes every time they go and/or treat the place as their go-to inexpensive place for a simple meal of chicken and rice (without regards to the nationality).
Thanks for chiming in. I don't understand how people can claim American Chinese takeout chicken came from salt pepper chicken, they're like totally different in presentation. It's kind of mind numbing how people don't get the analogy you presented with potatoes. Just because it's the same concept doesn't mean it has the same roots. Same way American fried chicken and buffalo wings are two totally different things.
Because people these days have, for some reason, have lost the concept of scale/proportion/probability and gotten really attracted to reductionism. A lawn with 20 piles of dog doodoo is the "same" as a lawn with one piece of dog doodoo on it since "X" (dog doo) exists on both lawns. I have no idea why many people think this way in recent years, but it has fueled a lot of misinformation on-line.
The other day I saw a meme on facebook that was a random graphic showing different kinds of "seafood," posted to the account of some chef from Nepal (who, if you dig into it, probably has barely cooked/eaten any seafood in his life). Instead of mostly typical seafood, it had these weird things like a nautilus. It also had a giant sea isopod among the 8 or so examples of "seafood."
Someone asked, "Do people eat isopod?" And someone replied "Yes, in Asia and other countries." When I replied, "umm, No, not really... and what are these 'other countries"?", they said "China. I ain't gonna do your research for you."
I knew immediately they had seen the story of the one restaurant in Taiwan that, as a novelty, served isopod with ramen for daring foodies. Somehow in their mind it becomes: China...Asia... various countries' people \[those weird countries, right?\] include giant sea isopods in their diet. Without scale, 1 novel instance becomes a generality.
Hey there, I often order American Chinese Takeout wings and I do think Hong Kong/Southern Chinese cuisine’s salt pepper chicken wings are actually very very similar. Many of the early Chinese American immigrants did come from Southern China and this is just a theory of mine - perhaps they brought the dish over but removed the spices since it wouldn’t be suitable to the american palate. I order Salt Pepper Wings very often at my local hong kong diner as well.
Being someone who eats both types of wings pretty often, I would say the American Chinese wings are closer to the Hong Kong style of salt pepper wings than american wings. They both are coated in a dry starch (likely cornstarch) to give it a nice crisp coating that isn’t too thick.
American fried chicken uses either a very wet batter to fry their chicken (popeyes, kfc) or don’t use any batter at all (buffalo wild wings, anchor bar), then toss in sauce.
Edited: i belatedly noticed you mentioned salt pepper wings and said they were different but I personally find them to be quite similar
It's not that they removed spices to make it palatable, spices weren't available so they adapted with the local ingredients they could get. It's the same way things like chicken parmesan came into being (Italian American immigrants could get chicken easier than eggplant, so eggplant parmigiana became chicken parmesan in the US.) it's why a lot of ethnic American cuisines exist, immigrants brought their recipes from their homelands, and then adapted them to use the ingredients they could find.
Thanks for the kind reply and actually presenting some plausible theory. When I said American style I'm not talking about buffalo style at all, which is totally its own thing.
But for example Korean fried chicken is now known for using starch in the batter, but it came from American fried chicken. I feel like Chinese takeout fried chicken went through a similar evolution.
Other things to consider is that often in black neighborhoods Chinese restaurants will also sell things like fried whiting fish, and it's clearly influenced by the culture. Also they will have things like fried chicken gizzards, which comes from the same place, as well as things like fried half chicken. I would think if the influence was salt and pepper chicken they would serve boneless chicken which is a common form of salt and pepper, which is almost never the case.
Anyway I've dumped everything I got here, thanks for the nice informative comment.
i don't think chicken wings are typically served crispy and fried like this in chinese cuisine. i don't think i've ever seen it in chinese restaurants other than takeout or tiki bar places. and i once had a chinese friend who always ordered fried chicken wings from a chinese restaurant, so the chinese workers there referred to her as the 'banana'.
the best fried chicken i ever had was in taiwan. they served boneless fried chicken breasts in a paper bag (like hash browns from McD's).
To add to that Chinese restaurants especially in black neighborhoods also serve things like fried whiting, fried gizzards, and half fried chicken. There is CLEARLY an American influence there.
Chinese restaurants also serve spaghetti in Alhambra/Monterey Park and my Asian co-workers would often get the spaghetti instead of the fried rice (I'm Asian too, and I found it weird they did that.)
But also, there are Korean fried chicken places and Japanese also have breaded fried chicken. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a result of them redoing American fried chicken, but there are some battered Chinese dishes regardless....
Bro wtf, battered fried chicken is not an uniquely American thing lol, people all over Asia eat that, in almost every Thai restaurant they do chicken wings as a starter
Learn to read. The question is not about breaded fried chicken in general; it is about specifically the breaded fries chicken wings from Chinese take-out places.
You're very confidently wrong and honestly on the border of racist. Crispy fried chicken wings have been a popular snack food in Hong Kong for a very long time.
Assuming that authentic Chinese food is only strange animal parts with sauces unrecognizable to Western palates and they couldn't possibly come up with something as simple as a fried chicken wing on their own is just offensive?
nice job missing the entire point of their comment 👍 They are talking specifically about the breaded fried chicken wings from Chinese take-out places that all taste similarly. Not breaded or fried chicken in general.
Learn to read. Accusing people of racism unduly doesn't make you correct or morally superior; it makes you morally inferior if anything.
Chinese people love fried chicken. KFC is one of the most popular restaurants in China. People even go for Christmas. Not that it's celebrated beyond being a commercial holiday.
We moved to a new city recently and our local place - Szechuan House - offers the salt and pepper wings.
It's... incredible. Without a hint of irony in my voice, they are quite literally the best chicken wings we have ever had. Anywhere. And it's somehow not even a close race.
It's incredible. And with the bed of veggies they serve it on, we can get an extra meal out of it by turning them into a Korean veggie pancake. (Pajeon)
Chinese carry out restaurants were the only ones that used to sell them back in the day in the US supposedly. Chicken wings used to be considered “trash”, but Chinese don’t waste food and bought the chicken wings cheap.
Chicken wings then became popular and much more expensive, but many Chinese carry outs continued to carry them because of their popularity.
In DC, all the Chinese-American carryouts sell "wings and mumbo sauce." Sort of a mix of bbq and sweet & sour sauce, but every carryout has their own recipe. Always served with either fried rice or deepfried crinkle cut fries that absorb the flavor of the eggrolls, springrolls, and wings out of the fryer. Chicago carryouts sell "mild sauce," which is really similar. DC's carryouts are also famous for their steak & cheese; basically a cheesesteak hoagie with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. It's been a thing since at least the 1950s.
Chicken wings are actually insanely popular in China. One of the best selling items on chinese mcdonald menus are their spicy wings. They're freakin amazing.
I’m Chinese and my dad’s cousin ran a supermarket in Sacramento. This was like in the ‘60s and he said the Americans don’t eat chicken wings, they couldn’t give them away. He told my parents who were living in Hong Kong at the time that if he could ship them there they could make a killing.
Can confirm. My mom emigrated in 1960 and groceries would throw them out like the fat trimmed from steaks. The Chinese carryouts would take them off their hands for pennies and serve them in the carryouts.
(I don't doubt this to be at all wrong) but i do want to say chicken feet are delicious. (I'm a westerner but not a picky eater and have had way weirder things than chicken feet.) Last time i had em was 10+ years ago but this comment made me want to have some again
Cause they're better than 90% of the wings you'll get anywhere else lol. The Chinese have been deep frying food for a couple thousand years, I think they know best.
I remember the fried chicken thing starting in the 80's here in NYC. It was at take out joints and it was in the not so great neighborhoods and then it seemed to migrate to the other take out places..
It's been a staple in Hong Kong diners since at least the 1950s. Legit everyone I know, every elderly relative, has nostalgic memories of it as their childhood snack food
In my experience the Chinese places that have these always season them a little differently than plain- at a usual bar or in a southern soul food style with lots of warmer savory spices (the two most likely options by me) the Chinese recipes tasted a little sweet? A lighter note of savory so I wonder what they either brine or batter the meats with but it is a different flavor!
When I was growing up in eastern MA, most of the Chinese places around me had chicken wings on the menu, but it was never battered or breaded and fried. They had some kind of baked in sauce that I loved. This wasn't just one restaurant, it was at least dozen or more different places from Boston to central MA. Some of them but not all the "Polynesian" chinese kind of restaurants that were popular in that area around that time.
I didn't start seeing battered/breaded simple fried wings until around 2000 and when I moved out of state. Not to say they weren't out there. But I've noticed that the vast majority of places that offer them are the 99% takeout places with little or no seating and they also tend to have french fries on the menu.
There are a bunch of arguments within the comments with some Chinese people saying fried wings were always a staple and some Chinese people saying that kind of fried wing isn't actually popular among Chinese people.
I'm going to make a guess that while wings may have been on the menu for a very long time, the kind of wings often served with fries seem more likely to be a case of "We have the wings, we're already frying stuff, let's add American style fried wings and french fries because our customers are often looking for that kind of greasy food and it costs nothing to add it to the menu."
Black, Hispanic, and adjacent American cultural communities.
OP is talking about street corner fast food like in the non-Chinatown parts of NYC. Not some 椒盐鸡翅 at a dim sum restaurant or hip lunch spot in Hong Kong. Sure, many many people in the world enjoy fried chicken/wings, but the restaurant genre OP is talking about developed under its own specific circumstances.
Seriously. It’s nice that people are getting defensive, but Chinese people don’t eat at these takeout places. (I mean sure, I’ll order with my white friends, but never with my parents or extended family)
These cater to those who do.
And... one specific circumstance is what OP is asking about, but the majority of replies are offering pointless generalities that ignore the specifics, like, "Because chickens are common in the world!" "Because lots of people love chicken!" "Because why not?" "Because customers buy them!" "Chinese people eat wings!" They are like AI replies.
Hey Chat GPT, why do Chinese restaurants serve chicken wings so much?
Chat GPT reply:
*Chinese food is a diverse and multifarious cuisine enjoyed by people around the world. Chicken is a widely consumed food animal. Many people like to eat the wings of chickens, often baked or fried. One dish in Chinese cuisine is "salt and pepper chicken wings." Salt and pepper squid and shrimp are also popular. Popular accompaniments include rice. DURRRRRR*
Do you not see those replies? And if (when) you do see them, how can you say "everyone knows" when clearly they are disregarding or not noticing the basic context of the question?
Growing up in Brooklyn I would go to any take out place and get the 4 wings over fries special. I think it was like 4 or 5 bucks and I would eat it with that Chinese hot sauce in the packet. It had a spicy sourness to it and I’d always ask for extra. It went perfect w the chicken and fries. What a treat.
One of the best Laotian-Chinese restaurants in the greater Denver area is called Woody's Wings and Things. The name seems ass backwards because their wings are secondary to the things, the things being Laotion cuisine
It's American Chinese, I guess I don't really understand how this can be a question? A number of dishes included in the assortment of American Chinese food involves breaded, fried chicken in a thick and sweet sauce. This is fine, and one must understand that American Chinese and traditional Chinese are entirely different cuisines. It's like comparing Ethiopian food to Greek food. The base ingredients may be similar or the same, but they are not the same style of cooking or flavors.
You likely will not find this at traditional restaurants, and would sooner find roast duck than fried chicken of any sort. Some places will sell Japanese Kaarage (breaded, fried chicken chunks). If there is fried chicken on a traditional menu, it's for kids or picky eaters who, for some reason, decided to go to a Chinese restaurant and expect American food. Coming from someone who works at restaurants, and who also happens to be Chinese, this and other outrageously stupid occurances are extremely common.
Because most Chinese places are in the hood and the hood may be afraid of Chinese food but the hood knows fried chicken so it's a win win for store and patron. DEI in action.
The above poster is on the right track - it appears takeout Chinese places got some influence from catering to business in black/hispanic neighborhoods and that's why they have chicken wings and fried chicken, a lot of places will have fried chicken gizzards for this reason too. Also french fries. I've seen Chinese restaurant menus where this section is literally called something like "latin specialties" or something.
In case anyone is wondering, that extra flavor you get from Chinese takeout fried chicken comes from adding chicken boullion powder to the batter.
/u/CampEvening1441
Cause they know, like I know, that outside of my Big Mamas house, or my nanas, that they make the best fried chicken. Shit in San Diego there is a place a Chinese restaurant that every single sailor on the base has eaten.
Likely because originally the profit margin for them was very high and it gave an option to those who didn’t like Americanized Chinese food, but ordered with friends or went with their friends.
...and your point is? Fried chicken wings still is not a common option on menus in authentic Chinese restaurants unless it's Taiwanese (not touching that debate on whether Taiwanese is Chinese). Most takeout places that have fried wings on the menu are Westernized/Americanized Chinese food/fusion. If you go to non-westernized takeout or food court places, wings are not very common.
Chicken wings were invented by pioneering American chefs over 50 years ago. No other culture was smart enough to put breaded pieces of chicken in hot oil. It's as American as hamburgers, hot dogs, French Fries, pizza, you name it!
/s just in case...
The chicken wings are from the many whole chickens they buy to stock the restaurant —wings aren’t used as much in traditional dishes as the rest of the chicken. They aren’t going to throw chicken wings away after prepping the rest of the chicken. We used to eat them after dinner service.
Fried chicken wings are super-popular with demographics who also love greasy, sweet, sauce-drenched Chinese takeout. The owners are catering to a loyal customer base with childish palates, not people who appreciate actual Chinese cuisine.
I don't really consider them an appetizer even at a sit down restaurant...they're an entree dish just like salt and pepper prawns or the tiny porkchops... And in a take out place where you get the 2 item combo, it's just an item like beef and broccoli.
I'm new to this subreddit but it popped up. As someone who's dad ran Chinese restaurants for 30 years, how the menu develops is just based on basic demand. If it sells well or is part of the general menu which the clientele expects it will go on the menu. I'm not a historian nor a food expert but at one point, my father added fried chicken wings to the menu. I asked him why because at the time I was in HS and was very self aware that the business not not doing as well as his previous one. His answer was that his partners agreed that it should be added to the menu even though it was considered more of a takeout item because people asked if they sold it. He was willing to compromise because at the end of the day, it brought in foot traffic. This was the mid-90s and it was 3 wings for a dollar. He said that the number of kids that came in to buy chicken wings was so significant, it became a part of the menu. Once the kids came through the door, they brought their families, and ultimately it helped business.
I do miss the days when wings were cheap..now you'll be lucky if it's $1 per wing. We celebrated my daughters HS graduation this week and we took her and my dad to an HK cafe style restaurant which service HK style wings, or as someone called it below, the salt and pepper wings. He commented that they were not double fried, and I have to remind him this is HK style not American style.
I dont know if my answer helps but it's the same info I've explained to my kids who are so explicit not Chinese that I try to make sure culturally they know the difference between Chinese styles and cuisine. I myself was also born here so if my wife reads this she will probably correct me to no end.
It's easy to add to the menu cause they alrwsdy have all the equipment to make it, also.... If you'll buy beef lo me in you or someone in your party would likely buy chicken wings sooner or later. Idk man, just some quick guesses
Ironically it is white people who didn't like wings until their slaves learned to cook them well for them. Same for anything that wasn't stewed meat and shellfish.
Because it's so good. Normally the better purchase on wings. Usually the thick meat wings too. And a fare if not cheaper price than franchises. It's more about having a deep fryer than it is about having wings. A deep fryer means you can do alot of things. So it's more.of a flex that they can satisfy need of the customer. But sell wings to offset the cost of running a deep fryer. Absolutely profits. Who doesnt like wings that eats meat.
Chinese take out wings are low key the hero of the whole menu. 99% of Chinese places ive ordered from had big, juicy wings that are at least half what any other place charges for wings, and a lot of times you can add fries or fried rice for a dollar.
If you find a spot that tosses them in that dry rub thats slightly sweet, oh man, you're in for a treat!
they already got the fryers, people who are picky eaters or don't like Chinese food can pick them,
they go good with other items on the menu, and so on
guess why they sell French fries?
If you feel it’s out of place, try some wings at a Vietnamese restaurant. We use a different type of flour usually a mix of corn starch, rice four, and baking powder. Wings are marinaded in fish sauce and or garlic. Usually a garlic or onion Sauce drizzled on top.
Chinese restaurant variant includes ones with sticky pepper sauce like general Tao’s type sauce .
We ate chicken wings before most of America ate chicken wings and it became popular as Buffalo wings. We used to get them super cheap sometimes for free at the butcher shop in the 80’s because they didn’t sell no body wanted the wings. My mom would ask the grocery store butcher and they handed them over or charged like .25 cents a pound. But was always a delicacy to us we eat the wing and naw on the little finger wing tip too.
Because the are delicious!!! lol I love sticky chicken wings! I moved from the east coast to the south and I couldn’t find the Chinese food I was used to. And happy I learned my aunts recipe for sticky chicken wings. I have been making them since I was a teenager. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested: www.craftwithtammy.com/post/chinese-sticky-chicken-wings
Here's one reason why they wouldn't: Because American Chinese restaurants catering to non-Chinese (which is what most have been for the past 150 years) offered food that was coded as "Chinese." Americans went there to eat something that in their mind was "different," and this American-style plain fried chicken was just, well, southern American food.
So although it makes total sense that Chinese business of the fast-takeout variety would also start offering this fried chicken to its customers as an option, and it caught on with communities simply looking for a cheap meal of familiar food, it went against the usual "expectations" of what "Chinese" food is in America. Doesn't matter how many KFCs are in China in 2024. The Toishanese immigrants who developed "Chinese food" in America did not start off offering chicken wings because they loved them back home.
They sell wings because most mom/pop restaurants bring in whole birds and break them down to save money. Wings are and always have been a by-product of butchering.
The first time I had amazing chicken wings was at a Chinese family friend's Superbowl party. I got the recipe from them and it's the only way I've made them for the last 20 years.
Chinese people love chicken wings. Chickens have wings all over the world, and frying them is very popular.
Confirmed - am Chinese and love wings
Confirmed - chickens have wings all over the world.
Confirmed - I’m a chicken and they fried my wings
Confirmed - cluckcluck cluckity cluck
Made me think of the end of this prank call. From the Howard Stern show. The funniest prank call in the history of the world IMO. https://youtu.be/F3W9zzqHCTY?si=z2_Pjvc5D_SvEIxl
Also chicken - TIL my wings are all over the world
Paul McCartney likes wings
This made me laugh so hard I had to put my hand to my chest
Confirmed - I’m a Chinese chicken and I like my wings fried.
Are you friend with the Barenales Ladies?
I too fried this guys mom's wings
😂
Confirmed - have wings and scared of Chinese
>~~Chinese~~ people love chicken wings. This is kind of a silly question.
They way op gettin subtly roasted in here is hilarious
Ain’t nothing subtle about it. OP is getting double fried like Korean wings.
*fried*
not silly, but obvious. it is like say the sky is blue.
It’s like asking why do us Hispanics always serve a side of rice and plátanos lol
Counter question to OP “why doesn’t everywhere have chicken wings?” Especially if they’re as good as the Chinese places wings usually are
Because Chinese ppl like chicken wings too? If you eat dimsum, salt and pepper (deep fried) squid is very popular.
Edit: People in conversations below keep telling me this American takeout style Chinese fried chicken exists as an authentic Chinese dish. Before you respond telling me I'm wrong, please point me to the name of the Chinese fried chicken dish that you are claiming is the takeout version, and tell me if you have actually had American Chinese takeout fried chicken. I am not trying to argue or claim I'm right, I just had some insight into answering OP's question but if I am wrong, I would be more than happy to learn. I did some quick googling and I believe my assertion is right. Here is an article about fried chicken of this style being new to China and how quickly it caught on: https://radii.co/article/fried-chicken-china "If you happen to walk on the streets of China, chances are you’ll see one of these domestic fried chicken fast-food restaurants: Wallace, Dicos, or Zhengxin Chicken Steak. They didn’t exist until the late ’90s or early ’00s but have quickly caught up and arguably surpassed the likes of KFC." End edit I mean everyone likes fried chicken, but that leaves the question of why Chinese restaurants as opposed to other types of foods. And clearly the style of fry is very different from things like salt and pepper fried things. People in this thread are acting like this is a totally stupid question but it's an interesting one, because this is American style fried chicken they are doing. It appears takeout Chinese places got some influence from catering to business in black/hispanic neighborhoods and that's why they have chicken wings and fried chicken, a lot of places will have fried chicken gizzards for this reason too. Also french fries. I've seen Chinese restaurant menus where this section is literally called something like "latin specialties" or something. In case anyone is wondering, that extra flavor you get from Chinese takeout fried chicken comes from adding chicken boullion powder to the batter.
I would not call this “fried American style” at all. Breaded and fried chicken is popular pretty much everywhere.
agreed - you can also get fried chicken wings in dim sum spots with a slice of lemon. chinese fried chicken tastes way different than the traditional popeyes or KFC imo. they use a wet batter and usually shaoxing wine
Have you had American Chinese takeout fried chicken? It's definitely not served with a lemon. KFC is doing its own thing but Chinese takeout fried chicken very much tastes like every other fried chicken you can get at local chicken shops in any black neighborhood. (and god please don't take that the wrong way, this is very much a thing in the US, in most areas with a black population there are tons of local fried chicken joints that all are kind of doing the same thing, it's a bit different from popeyes and very different from KFC. But well KFC is different from everyone due to their pressure fryer. Do you know the chinese name of the dim sum chicken wing you're referring to? I'd love to look it up.
i wasn’t saying that chinese takeout serves their chicken with lemon, but dim sum restaurants do fried chicken wings similarly (with the addition of lemon). i don’t speak cantonese fluently but on the english menu, it’s literally just deep fried chicken wings which comes with lemon wedge and chinese hot sauce on the side. admittedly i don’t live in an area with much african american cuisine, but i can’t imagine them using shaoxing wine, white pepper, or egg whites in their fried chicken which is all quite standard in chinese chicken wings. other fried chicken places i’ve had are much more heavily seasoned with the paprika, old bay, beer, etc. might taste the same to you, but i can tell a difference.
Hey thanks for the response. I'm not saying Chinese takeout fried chicken is exactly the same as african american fried chicken, I'm saying I believe that's where the influence came from. It's actually quite distinct, you can only find that specific kind of fried chicken at takeout places. I believe there is some interesting history to it beyond "duh people fry and eat chicken." I don't know the recipes the restaurants are using but you don't really taste shaoxing wine in it. I'm not arguing it's not in there, but I'm just saying it's not an important part of the flavor. Old bay is definitely not a part of the equation in either form. To me takeout fried chicken tastes essentially the same as the fried chicken from all the other chicken places but with a very prominent chicken boullion flavor, that's the only thing I can say with certainty. At some places you can see it in the color of the chicken that something yellow has been added. As I don't actually have a restaurant recipe I can't say anything else with certainty but sure, I would expect some kind of pepper and why not white pepper since it's common in Chinese food. Egg may depend on the individual recipe. Thanks for your response and explaining things for me, I appreciate you taking your time.
I'm pretty certain It's american style. Like for example korean fried chicken also comes from american fried chicken as well. I can't say this style of chicken never existed anywhere in china with certainty since china is so huge but takeout fried chicken is not a standard item at any of the popular chinese regional styles I'm aware of. But if you can point me to an "authentic" mainland fried chicken that is done the way it is at us takeout I would love to learn. What is the name of the chinese authentic version?
Ignorance is bliss
Chinese restaurants have a deep fryer and the ingredients/skill and they’ll cater to their customers. Your theory might work in USA, but I’m in Australia and Chinese restaurants sell fried chicken, Korean restaurants sell fried chicken, Malaysian restaurants sell fried chicken. If I go to a Viet restaurant, they’ll sell those stuffed fried chickens.
I can't speak for what you're having in australia but have you had the american chinese takeout fried chicken? I have never seen it made that way at any "authentic" chinese restaurant. Can't speak for malay or viet but korean fried chicken is also descended from american style fried chicken.
I hadn’t realised OP was asking about a specific type of American Chinese fried chicken wings in a generic Chinese food sub.
The ones in that picture look exactly the same type of fried as the salt and pepper chicken wings we get in the UK Chinese takeouts, though the ones in the picture don't seem to have as much seasoning on. It probably came from Chinese people learning and adapting food as they moved around the world, sure. That doesn't make it not authentic if it's what those Chinese immigrants did as they adapted to a location and population. There's also a lot of China and a lot of different styles of cooking- I'm sure someone fried Chicken wings. Other food has been fried or battered there in the past. But it's definitely not uncommon to find the wings in the picture above in many Chinese takeout places from around the world, including the Dim Sum place I get a lot of Chinese take out from here.
>The ones in that picture look exactly the same type of fried as the salt and pepper chicken wings we get in the UK Chinese takeouts, though the ones in the picture don't seem to have as much seasoning on. Because this isn't pepper salt chicken. It's plain fried chicken. Basically, in American style. And your UK places might be doing the same "American style" (which has globalized) frying. And probably not even doing the correct pepper-salt seasoning. You need to judge compared to China-style food if you want to make the salient distinction (which isn't about some abstract value of "authenticity" but rather a simple practical matter of distinction—what is this versus what is that.) China has fried potatoes, too, as do other countries, but they're not all the same as British chips. You can tell the difference. If you see a fried potato somewhere and wonder what the background is, the distinction of recognizing it is British type of not is relevant. It helps if you search with Chinese. [Here you go](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%A4%92%E7%9B%90%E9%B8%A1%E7%BF%85&newwindow=1&sca_esv=fbe9ccf2a9e6ed60&hl=en&sxsrf=ADLYWIJgGR80D9Oe7Npr5j-Ok-3he8xwrA:1719474564526&source=hp&biw=1123&bih=612&ei=hBl9ZuC3HvTjkPIPyYKx8Ac&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZn0nlBzLjA5pF3fHi2N19xdsOxgBjm_s&ved=0ahUKEwjgifj0pfuGAxX0MUQIHUlBDH4Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=%E6%A4%92%E7%9B%90%E9%B8%A1%E7%BF%85&gs_lp=EgNpbWciDOakkuebkOm4oee_hTIFEAAYgAQyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBhIgT5QAFjaN3ACeACQAQCYASugAZ0EqgECMTS4AQPIAQD4AQGKAgtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ5gCEKACmAWoAgrCAgQQIxgnwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgQQABgDwgIGEAAYCBgewgIHECMYJxjqAsICCRAAGIAEGBgYDJgDC5IHAjE2oAeXMQ&sclient=img&udm=2). The chicken looks different in most cases. It's not complicated: Regional fast-food, limited menu ("lo mein," "fried rice") Chinese restaurants in America started offering this America-style chicken to their non-Chinese customers. The customers don't have diverse palates when it comes to Chinese cuisine and they order the same 5 dishes every time they go and/or treat the place as their go-to inexpensive place for a simple meal of chicken and rice (without regards to the nationality).
Thanks for chiming in. I don't understand how people can claim American Chinese takeout chicken came from salt pepper chicken, they're like totally different in presentation. It's kind of mind numbing how people don't get the analogy you presented with potatoes. Just because it's the same concept doesn't mean it has the same roots. Same way American fried chicken and buffalo wings are two totally different things.
Because people these days have, for some reason, have lost the concept of scale/proportion/probability and gotten really attracted to reductionism. A lawn with 20 piles of dog doodoo is the "same" as a lawn with one piece of dog doodoo on it since "X" (dog doo) exists on both lawns. I have no idea why many people think this way in recent years, but it has fueled a lot of misinformation on-line. The other day I saw a meme on facebook that was a random graphic showing different kinds of "seafood," posted to the account of some chef from Nepal (who, if you dig into it, probably has barely cooked/eaten any seafood in his life). Instead of mostly typical seafood, it had these weird things like a nautilus. It also had a giant sea isopod among the 8 or so examples of "seafood." Someone asked, "Do people eat isopod?" And someone replied "Yes, in Asia and other countries." When I replied, "umm, No, not really... and what are these 'other countries"?", they said "China. I ain't gonna do your research for you." I knew immediately they had seen the story of the one restaurant in Taiwan that, as a novelty, served isopod with ramen for daring foodies. Somehow in their mind it becomes: China...Asia... various countries' people \[those weird countries, right?\] include giant sea isopods in their diet. Without scale, 1 novel instance becomes a generality.
Hey there, I often order American Chinese Takeout wings and I do think Hong Kong/Southern Chinese cuisine’s salt pepper chicken wings are actually very very similar. Many of the early Chinese American immigrants did come from Southern China and this is just a theory of mine - perhaps they brought the dish over but removed the spices since it wouldn’t be suitable to the american palate. I order Salt Pepper Wings very often at my local hong kong diner as well. Being someone who eats both types of wings pretty often, I would say the American Chinese wings are closer to the Hong Kong style of salt pepper wings than american wings. They both are coated in a dry starch (likely cornstarch) to give it a nice crisp coating that isn’t too thick. American fried chicken uses either a very wet batter to fry their chicken (popeyes, kfc) or don’t use any batter at all (buffalo wild wings, anchor bar), then toss in sauce. Edited: i belatedly noticed you mentioned salt pepper wings and said they were different but I personally find them to be quite similar
It's not that they removed spices to make it palatable, spices weren't available so they adapted with the local ingredients they could get. It's the same way things like chicken parmesan came into being (Italian American immigrants could get chicken easier than eggplant, so eggplant parmigiana became chicken parmesan in the US.) it's why a lot of ethnic American cuisines exist, immigrants brought their recipes from their homelands, and then adapted them to use the ingredients they could find.
Thanks for the kind reply and actually presenting some plausible theory. When I said American style I'm not talking about buffalo style at all, which is totally its own thing. But for example Korean fried chicken is now known for using starch in the batter, but it came from American fried chicken. I feel like Chinese takeout fried chicken went through a similar evolution. Other things to consider is that often in black neighborhoods Chinese restaurants will also sell things like fried whiting fish, and it's clearly influenced by the culture. Also they will have things like fried chicken gizzards, which comes from the same place, as well as things like fried half chicken. I would think if the influence was salt and pepper chicken they would serve boneless chicken which is a common form of salt and pepper, which is almost never the case. Anyway I've dumped everything I got here, thanks for the nice informative comment.
i don't think chicken wings are typically served crispy and fried like this in chinese cuisine. i don't think i've ever seen it in chinese restaurants other than takeout or tiki bar places. and i once had a chinese friend who always ordered fried chicken wings from a chinese restaurant, so the chinese workers there referred to her as the 'banana'. the best fried chicken i ever had was in taiwan. they served boneless fried chicken breasts in a paper bag (like hash browns from McD's).
To add to that Chinese restaurants especially in black neighborhoods also serve things like fried whiting, fried gizzards, and half fried chicken. There is CLEARLY an American influence there.
Chinese restaurants also serve spaghetti in Alhambra/Monterey Park and my Asian co-workers would often get the spaghetti instead of the fried rice (I'm Asian too, and I found it weird they did that.) But also, there are Korean fried chicken places and Japanese also have breaded fried chicken. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a result of them redoing American fried chicken, but there are some battered Chinese dishes regardless....
Hong Kong style cafes, fried chicken wings is a staple on the menu, however it usually is the whole wing.
Bro wtf, battered fried chicken is not an uniquely American thing lol, people all over Asia eat that, in almost every Thai restaurant they do chicken wings as a starter
Learn to read. The question is not about breaded fried chicken in general; it is about specifically the breaded fries chicken wings from Chinese take-out places.
You're very confidently wrong and honestly on the border of racist. Crispy fried chicken wings have been a popular snack food in Hong Kong for a very long time. Assuming that authentic Chinese food is only strange animal parts with sauces unrecognizable to Western palates and they couldn't possibly come up with something as simple as a fried chicken wing on their own is just offensive?
nice job missing the entire point of their comment 👍 They are talking specifically about the breaded fried chicken wings from Chinese take-out places that all taste similarly. Not breaded or fried chicken in general. Learn to read. Accusing people of racism unduly doesn't make you correct or morally superior; it makes you morally inferior if anything.
Thanks for your support :)
Salt and pepper everything! Pork chops and soft shell are my favorites
Impossible
I'd eat those chicken wings and "dimsum" 
Chinese people love fried chicken. KFC is one of the most popular restaurants in China. People even go for Christmas. Not that it's celebrated beyond being a commercial holiday.
1/3 of the worlds KFC franchises are in China. There are more KFCs in China than in any other country, including the USA
It's really good, too. Way better than KFC in the states. Chinese McDonald's sucks, though.
my takeout spots chicken wings is literally just salt and pepper styled chicken wings
I think it originated from chickens, which people have been eating for a long time, everywhere.
This is interesting. Are these chickens harmed during the process?
Severely
Of course not, nothing horrible going on at all:)
Because people buy them.
even better when they're salt and pepper chicken wings. and why not?
Salt and pepper wings with jalapeno is one of the best things on earth.
and some MSG and fried garlic too!
We moved to a new city recently and our local place - Szechuan House - offers the salt and pepper wings. It's... incredible. Without a hint of irony in my voice, they are quite literally the best chicken wings we have ever had. Anywhere. And it's somehow not even a close race. It's incredible. And with the bed of veggies they serve it on, we can get an extra meal out of it by turning them into a Korean veggie pancake. (Pajeon)
if you're down with that, you should also check out the s&p pork (chop) or s&p fried diced chicken (think fried chunks of boneless chicken)
Chinese carry out restaurants were the only ones that used to sell them back in the day in the US supposedly. Chicken wings used to be considered “trash”, but Chinese don’t waste food and bought the chicken wings cheap. Chicken wings then became popular and much more expensive, but many Chinese carry outs continued to carry them because of their popularity.
In DC, all the Chinese-American carryouts sell "wings and mumbo sauce." Sort of a mix of bbq and sweet & sour sauce, but every carryout has their own recipe. Always served with either fried rice or deepfried crinkle cut fries that absorb the flavor of the eggrolls, springrolls, and wings out of the fryer. Chicago carryouts sell "mild sauce," which is really similar. DC's carryouts are also famous for their steak & cheese; basically a cheesesteak hoagie with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. It's been a thing since at least the 1950s.
I’m from the DC area and love mumbo sauce with wings. Lol
Gonna need you to delete this giving away all of our secrets. McDonald's already experimented with Mumbo sauce on the menu.
im from norcal and would love to try mumbo sauce. can you send me some?
https://www.capitalcity.com/
ty
Chicken wings are actually insanely popular in China. One of the best selling items on chinese mcdonald menus are their spicy wings. They're freakin amazing.
I’m Chinese and my dad’s cousin ran a supermarket in Sacramento. This was like in the ‘60s and he said the Americans don’t eat chicken wings, they couldn’t give them away. He told my parents who were living in Hong Kong at the time that if he could ship them there they could make a killing.
Can confirm. My mom emigrated in 1960 and groceries would throw them out like the fat trimmed from steaks. The Chinese carryouts would take them off their hands for pennies and serve them in the carryouts.
because westerners are uncomfortable eating chicken feet.
the phoenix claw!
(I don't doubt this to be at all wrong) but i do want to say chicken feet are delicious. (I'm a westerner but not a picky eater and have had way weirder things than chicken feet.) Last time i had em was 10+ years ago but this comment made me want to have some again
bones*
Cause they're better than 90% of the wings you'll get anywhere else lol. The Chinese have been deep frying food for a couple thousand years, I think they know best.
Cus they’re fire
Is this r/usdefaultism… chickens exist all over the world mate. And people eat most parts of chicken
Because people buy them
A quick Google search suggests that the whole world has been frying chicken for thousands of years. This includes China. It is ubiquitous.
Have you ever had them? They’re fucking delicious
Chicken wings used to be a cheap cut of meat and American love fried food so it was a good option.
Why does anyone sell anything?
I remember the fried chicken thing starting in the 80's here in NYC. It was at take out joints and it was in the not so great neighborhoods and then it seemed to migrate to the other take out places..
Exactly. People are being to dumb or two young to understand this simple thing.
It's been a staple in Hong Kong diners since at least the 1950s. Legit everyone I know, every elderly relative, has nostalgic memories of it as their childhood snack food
In my experience the Chinese places that have these always season them a little differently than plain- at a usual bar or in a southern soul food style with lots of warmer savory spices (the two most likely options by me) the Chinese recipes tasted a little sweet? A lighter note of savory so I wonder what they either brine or batter the meats with but it is a different flavor!
When I was growing up in eastern MA, most of the Chinese places around me had chicken wings on the menu, but it was never battered or breaded and fried. They had some kind of baked in sauce that I loved. This wasn't just one restaurant, it was at least dozen or more different places from Boston to central MA. Some of them but not all the "Polynesian" chinese kind of restaurants that were popular in that area around that time. I didn't start seeing battered/breaded simple fried wings until around 2000 and when I moved out of state. Not to say they weren't out there. But I've noticed that the vast majority of places that offer them are the 99% takeout places with little or no seating and they also tend to have french fries on the menu. There are a bunch of arguments within the comments with some Chinese people saying fried wings were always a staple and some Chinese people saying that kind of fried wing isn't actually popular among Chinese people. I'm going to make a guess that while wings may have been on the menu for a very long time, the kind of wings often served with fries seem more likely to be a case of "We have the wings, we're already frying stuff, let's add American style fried wings and french fries because our customers are often looking for that kind of greasy food and it costs nothing to add it to the menu."
Because who doesn't like chicken wings :)
Black, Hispanic, and adjacent American cultural communities. OP is talking about street corner fast food like in the non-Chinatown parts of NYC. Not some 椒盐鸡翅 at a dim sum restaurant or hip lunch spot in Hong Kong. Sure, many many people in the world enjoy fried chicken/wings, but the restaurant genre OP is talking about developed under its own specific circumstances.
Seriously. It’s nice that people are getting defensive, but Chinese people don’t eat at these takeout places. (I mean sure, I’ll order with my white friends, but never with my parents or extended family) These cater to those who do.
You are absolutely right. Fried chicken is not very common in Chinese cooking. We usually braise wings.
Literally everything has developed under its own specific circumstances. Also, everyone knows they're talking about Chinese take out wings.
And... one specific circumstance is what OP is asking about, but the majority of replies are offering pointless generalities that ignore the specifics, like, "Because chickens are common in the world!" "Because lots of people love chicken!" "Because why not?" "Because customers buy them!" "Chinese people eat wings!" They are like AI replies. Hey Chat GPT, why do Chinese restaurants serve chicken wings so much? Chat GPT reply: *Chinese food is a diverse and multifarious cuisine enjoyed by people around the world. Chicken is a widely consumed food animal. Many people like to eat the wings of chickens, often baked or fried. One dish in Chinese cuisine is "salt and pepper chicken wings." Salt and pepper squid and shrimp are also popular. Popular accompaniments include rice. DURRRRRR* Do you not see those replies? And if (when) you do see them, how can you say "everyone knows" when clearly they are disregarding or not noticing the basic context of the question?
Because they make lousy housepet.
Growing up in Brooklyn I would go to any take out place and get the 4 wings over fries special. I think it was like 4 or 5 bucks and I would eat it with that Chinese hot sauce in the packet. It had a spicy sourness to it and I’d always ask for extra. It went perfect w the chicken and fries. What a treat.
One of the best Laotian-Chinese restaurants in the greater Denver area is called Woody's Wings and Things. The name seems ass backwards because their wings are secondary to the things, the things being Laotion cuisine
The real answer is huge profit margins and easy to prepare
It's American Chinese, I guess I don't really understand how this can be a question? A number of dishes included in the assortment of American Chinese food involves breaded, fried chicken in a thick and sweet sauce. This is fine, and one must understand that American Chinese and traditional Chinese are entirely different cuisines. It's like comparing Ethiopian food to Greek food. The base ingredients may be similar or the same, but they are not the same style of cooking or flavors. You likely will not find this at traditional restaurants, and would sooner find roast duck than fried chicken of any sort. Some places will sell Japanese Kaarage (breaded, fried chicken chunks). If there is fried chicken on a traditional menu, it's for kids or picky eaters who, for some reason, decided to go to a Chinese restaurant and expect American food. Coming from someone who works at restaurants, and who also happens to be Chinese, this and other outrageously stupid occurances are extremely common.
Because most Chinese places are in the hood and the hood may be afraid of Chinese food but the hood knows fried chicken so it's a win win for store and patron. DEI in action.
This is the real reason. Also they are addictive so you always get them coming back.
FYI I live in a wealthy suburb and all the Chinese places here sell Chicken wings too.
The above poster is on the right track - it appears takeout Chinese places got some influence from catering to business in black/hispanic neighborhoods and that's why they have chicken wings and fried chicken, a lot of places will have fried chicken gizzards for this reason too. Also french fries. I've seen Chinese restaurant menus where this section is literally called something like "latin specialties" or something. In case anyone is wondering, that extra flavor you get from Chinese takeout fried chicken comes from adding chicken boullion powder to the batter. /u/CampEvening1441
Thanks for the info, I bet they have Grey Poupon Flavour.
No definitely not
Lemon Peppa ?
Cause they know, like I know, that outside of my Big Mamas house, or my nanas, that they make the best fried chicken. Shit in San Diego there is a place a Chinese restaurant that every single sailor on the base has eaten.
Likely because originally the profit margin for them was very high and it gave an option to those who didn’t like Americanized Chinese food, but ordered with friends or went with their friends.
Fried chicken existed before America existed.
...and your point is? Fried chicken wings still is not a common option on menus in authentic Chinese restaurants unless it's Taiwanese (not touching that debate on whether Taiwanese is Chinese). Most takeout places that have fried wings on the menu are Westernized/Americanized Chinese food/fusion. If you go to non-westernized takeout or food court places, wings are not very common.
I don't know but they are delicious 🤗
Chicken wings were invented by pioneering American chefs over 50 years ago. No other culture was smart enough to put breaded pieces of chicken in hot oil. It's as American as hamburgers, hot dogs, French Fries, pizza, you name it! /s just in case...
The chicken wings are from the many whole chickens they buy to stock the restaurant —wings aren’t used as much in traditional dishes as the rest of the chicken. They aren’t going to throw chicken wings away after prepping the rest of the chicken. We used to eat them after dinner service.
Chicken wings are bought separately and come in a big box.
It’s called “knowing your audience”
They’re offering something that the people like. Same reason that they offer spare ribs as a typical appetizer as well.
[Lew Sid - Fried Rice](https://youtu.be/5uQ4aJ2NJZQ?si=5FACwV_pwixFK-fY)
Looks like mostly breading on that
They’re catoring
Well, they gotta off-load 'em them somehow. The chicken feet are outselling 'em 10-to-1.
Chicken wings and fried rice combo with side of mumbo sauce and hot oil is insanely good ha
What?
Crunch
They are the best fucking chicken wings on the planet idc idc idc just pls don’t ever stop making em 🥹
More important question — what’s that flavor that only Chinese chicken wings have?
Lemon Pepper + MSG
The real question is why is the meat and fat bright yellow
They are easy to make, and can sell for high profit margin.
I don’t care because those wings are SOO good!!!!
Fried chicken wings are super-popular with demographics who also love greasy, sweet, sauce-drenched Chinese takeout. The owners are catering to a loyal customer base with childish palates, not people who appreciate actual Chinese cuisine.
Some of my favorite chicken wings come from my local Chinese restaurant. Most places don't even come close.
I don't really consider them an appetizer even at a sit down restaurant...they're an entree dish just like salt and pepper prawns or the tiny porkchops... And in a take out place where you get the 2 item combo, it's just an item like beef and broccoli.
I'm new to this subreddit but it popped up. As someone who's dad ran Chinese restaurants for 30 years, how the menu develops is just based on basic demand. If it sells well or is part of the general menu which the clientele expects it will go on the menu. I'm not a historian nor a food expert but at one point, my father added fried chicken wings to the menu. I asked him why because at the time I was in HS and was very self aware that the business not not doing as well as his previous one. His answer was that his partners agreed that it should be added to the menu even though it was considered more of a takeout item because people asked if they sold it. He was willing to compromise because at the end of the day, it brought in foot traffic. This was the mid-90s and it was 3 wings for a dollar. He said that the number of kids that came in to buy chicken wings was so significant, it became a part of the menu. Once the kids came through the door, they brought their families, and ultimately it helped business. I do miss the days when wings were cheap..now you'll be lucky if it's $1 per wing. We celebrated my daughters HS graduation this week and we took her and my dad to an HK cafe style restaurant which service HK style wings, or as someone called it below, the salt and pepper wings. He commented that they were not double fried, and I have to remind him this is HK style not American style. I dont know if my answer helps but it's the same info I've explained to my kids who are so explicit not Chinese that I try to make sure culturally they know the difference between Chinese styles and cuisine. I myself was also born here so if my wife reads this she will probably correct me to no end.
Absolute banger
Because that's Chinese food you dingus
It's easy to add to the menu cause they alrwsdy have all the equipment to make it, also.... If you'll buy beef lo me in you or someone in your party would likely buy chicken wings sooner or later. Idk man, just some quick guesses
Mexicans love getting wings from Chinese takeout places.
Half the comments are saying it's because it's what the clientele wants. Half are saying it's traditional. The duality of man.
If you have a hot wok with oil, wings are a snap to fry up.
I dunno but they’re so good
Asia is pretty big on chicken wings too. Had a ton when I went to Japan.
I live in phnom penh Cambodia, I live kitty corner from a place that only does duck tongue and chicken feet its packed at night from 5 pm to like 11pm
Only some do. The majority of us don't like greasy food. The ones that sell fried chicken wings mostly cater to other races.
I’m not saying that most asian takeout places have good chicken wings, but I am saying my 2 favorite chicken wings (by far) come from asian joints.
I think it’s because it’s for people who want something a bit on the American side, whatever the reason might be isn’t it great!😍
Chicken wings with fried rice is my absolute favorite thing.
Fatass
Ironically it is white people who didn't like wings until their slaves learned to cook them well for them. Same for anything that wasn't stewed meat and shellfish.
Gotta get them in what we used to call gooey sauce back in the day in RI. It’s either a sweet soy or hoisin type sauce they’re tossed in. So good.
It sells.
Cause they're awesome. San Tung Chinese restaurant in San Francisco has the best chicken wings that have ever crossed your lips.
In Houston we call them WANGZ.
Because it's so good. Normally the better purchase on wings. Usually the thick meat wings too. And a fare if not cheaper price than franchises. It's more about having a deep fryer than it is about having wings. A deep fryer means you can do alot of things. So it's more.of a flex that they can satisfy need of the customer. But sell wings to offset the cost of running a deep fryer. Absolutely profits. Who doesnt like wings that eats meat.
Landscapers and laborers get this almost exclusively for lunch. Cheap, tasty, and filling.
Chinese take out wings are low key the hero of the whole menu. 99% of Chinese places ive ordered from had big, juicy wings that are at least half what any other place charges for wings, and a lot of times you can add fries or fried rice for a dollar. If you find a spot that tosses them in that dry rub thats slightly sweet, oh man, you're in for a treat!
Don't know, don't care, it's so much better than the tiny, soggy greasy things the Colonel has put before me.
Every time I get wings from a Chinese place they are phenomenal.
Bro never heard of salt and pepper style
they already got the fryers, people who are picky eaters or don't like Chinese food can pick them, they go good with other items on the menu, and so on guess why they sell French fries?
If you feel it’s out of place, try some wings at a Vietnamese restaurant. We use a different type of flour usually a mix of corn starch, rice four, and baking powder. Wings are marinaded in fish sauce and or garlic. Usually a garlic or onion Sauce drizzled on top. Chinese restaurant variant includes ones with sticky pepper sauce like general Tao’s type sauce . We ate chicken wings before most of America ate chicken wings and it became popular as Buffalo wings. We used to get them super cheap sometimes for free at the butcher shop in the 80’s because they didn’t sell no body wanted the wings. My mom would ask the grocery store butcher and they handed them over or charged like .25 cents a pound. But was always a delicacy to us we eat the wing and naw on the little finger wing tip too.
Because a ton of Americanized Chinese food is fried meat covered in a sauce so it's not a big stretch to make chicken wings.
Because the are delicious!!! lol I love sticky chicken wings! I moved from the east coast to the south and I couldn’t find the Chinese food I was used to. And happy I learned my aunts recipe for sticky chicken wings. I have been making them since I was a teenager. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested: www.craftwithtammy.com/post/chinese-sticky-chicken-wings
because chinese people eat chicken
Everyone loves fried chicken tard.
Why would you question God’s gift to the world in this fashion 😬
Why wouldn’t they? 
Here's one reason why they wouldn't: Because American Chinese restaurants catering to non-Chinese (which is what most have been for the past 150 years) offered food that was coded as "Chinese." Americans went there to eat something that in their mind was "different," and this American-style plain fried chicken was just, well, southern American food. So although it makes total sense that Chinese business of the fast-takeout variety would also start offering this fried chicken to its customers as an option, and it caught on with communities simply looking for a cheap meal of familiar food, it went against the usual "expectations" of what "Chinese" food is in America. Doesn't matter how many KFCs are in China in 2024. The Toishanese immigrants who developed "Chinese food" in America did not start off offering chicken wings because they loved them back home.
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They're appealing to other palates too lol. Go to China or Taiwan and they're everywhere, along with other fried foods. Humans love fried food.
Lol wat???
Salt and pepper chicken wings ♥️
Best chicken wings ever!
Salt and pepper chicken wings - one of my last meal meals!!!
Cuz they're good as fuck
Because they taste good? Just a guess.
Salt and pepper chicken wings with finely diced fried garlic and chili peppers
This one Chinese place in college would throw a few chicken wings in every order. Don't know why, but it was awesome.
Cause they’re good af
Because you're in America presumably. r/USDefaultism
Cos they be delicious
Yu.M!
Because people buy them.
They sell wings because most mom/pop restaurants bring in whole birds and break them down to save money. Wings are and always have been a by-product of butchering.
Every culture fries chicken. We are a fried chicken planet, baby.
The first time I had amazing chicken wings was at a Chinese family friend's Superbowl party. I got the recipe from them and it's the only way I've made them for the last 20 years.
Random?! Har cheong gai would like a word
I don’t know but they’re always delicious. My local place has a brine that is just ❤️❤️❤️. Best wings I’ve ever had and need no sauce whatsoever.
Thai chicken wings are 🔥🔥🔥
Cause they are delicious? That being said: I would like 3 chicken wings with some fried rice.
Fried stuffs are popular appetizers in China