This Baked Honey Soy Chicken requires only a handful of simple ingredients. It's easy, healthy, and delicious. A winning combo for the perfect weeknight meal. Serve over fluffy rice.
Using paper towels, thoroughly dry each piece of chicken. (Do not skip this step, as moisture from chicken will negatively affect results.) Use a fork to poke holes everywhere on all sides of chicken pieces. Lay drumsticks in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or two baking pans, making sure not to crowd pieces. Evenly sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper over drumsticks.
In a bowl, combine cooking wine, honey, and soy sauce; use a whisk to mix well. Pour mixture evenly over drumsticks. Rotate drumsticks to coat. Let chicken marinade for 1 hour at moderate room temp, rotating once in between. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F, with rack on middle position.
Cover pans tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Uncover pans and bake another 20-25 minutes, rotating drumsticks once or twice in between to get a nice browning on all sides. Serve while warm, with thickened sauce from the pan.
Rice cooking wine can be found in ethnic aisles of some major grocery stores and definitely in Asian grocery stores. I use Shaoxing Cooking Wine, but you can use your preferred brand. If you can't find it, you can try substituting with dry sherry.
Be sure not to use rice vinegar by accident, as that would impart a tangy vinegar flavor - great for salad dressings, but not for this recipe.
If you have 2 large rimmed sheet pans, you can place one pan on top of the other to use as a "cover" in the oven.
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