Asian Chicken Legs
Back in my college days, chicken wings were a dietary staple for my friends and I. You could buy a big family pack of wings for a few bucks and eat well for days. Of course that was before wings became trendy and every restaurant in the country started selling them. It was also before I started Weight Watchers and realized that 3 wings are almost a third of my daily points allowance. Bye bye wings.
Around Nashville, wing pieces are in the $3.00 to $3.50 per pound range, which I think is crazy for what you’re getting. I refuse to pay that much so chicken legs are the new wings at my house. I can substitute legs for any wing recipe for less than half the cost. Chicken legs are around a $1.30/lb at regular price. If you can catch a sale, you could get them for close to $1.00 per pound and stock up.
Next time you throw a party or go tailgating, this about this:
- Chicken legs are low in fat.
- They have more meat than wings.
- They’re kid friendly.
- They taste great.
- Easy to eat – less messy
This marinade for this recipe is sweet, salty, and spicy. You can substitute siracha for the pepper flakes. Make sure to dry the legs well before baking so the marinade won’t burn.
Asian Chicken Legs
Ingredients
- 8 chicken legs
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place soy sauce and brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Let mixture cool.
- Add water, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes.
- Place chicken legs in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over legs.
- Marinate for at least 2 hours.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cover a baking sheet with nonstick foil. Pat chicken dry and put legs on sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes and turn legs. Bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve.
