Want to know a secret? I’ve never really been a fan of wings. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of wings. Tasty little chicken snacks in a sauce - awesome. Except that sauce is typically gnarly vinegar-y Buffalo Sauce. Gross. Then, take that wing and dip it in generic bleu cheese or ranch dressing. Barfalo. So, typically, I would just grill some wings and drummettes and coat them in bbq sauce. But, that’s essentially just miniature grilled chicken, not really what you conjure in your head when someone says “chicken wings.”
Luckily, for me (and now for you), I came across a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Korean Fried Chicken Wings a few years ago. These things are the goods: perfectly crispy skin, tender and juicy chicken, lightly covered with a sauce which will knock your socks off because it has good heat from Gochujang (not crazy stupid spice that burns your taste buds) and amazing flavor depth boosted by garlic, ginger and soy sauce. My girls loved these wings. We crushed 4 pounds of them for dinner last week! You can pair them with my quick asian slaw or try out this family recipe below, a vinegar-based slaw that goes great on bbq, alongside roasted pork, or these yummy Dakgangjeong!
Korean Fried Chicken Wings
Dakgangjeong, from Cook’s Illustrated
Vegetable oil for frying
3 lbs chicken wings
1 cup AP flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1.75 cups water
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Large garlic clove, minced on rasp grater
1 tsp rasp-grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp gochujang
1 tbsp soy sauce
Place oil in a dutch oven or deep fryer and heat to 350 degrees.
While the oil heats up, using kitchen shears, cut off the wing tips and discard. Cut the wings from the drums at the joints and reserve.
Whisk together the flour, cornstarch and 1.5 cups of water. When the oil has reached temperature, dip half of the wings into the batter, allowing excess to drip off back into the bowl. Drop the wings in the oil and fry for 7 minutes, until lightly golden and just starting to crisp.
Place the par-fried wings on a wire rack over a baking sheet and allow the oil to return to 350 degrees. Dip the remaining raw wings into the batter and fry them for about 7 minutes. Remove and drain on the wire rack.
While the wings fry, prepare the sauce by combining the sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a large glass bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds. Whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of water, along with the sugar, gochujang and soy sauce until smooth. Reserve and complete the frying of the wings.
Raise the oil temperature to 375. If using a dutch oven, drop all of the wings back into the fryer and cook for another 7 minutes until deep golden brown and very crispy. If you’re using a small fryer, you’ll have to complete the frying in 2 batches. When fully fried, drain on the wire rack and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
Toss the wings into the sauce and fully coat. Place the sauced wings back onto the rack and allow to cool for another couple of minutes. Serve with quick asian slaw or my family’s recipe
below.
Refrigerator Slaw
1 large head cabbage (~3lbs), shredded
Large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup + 2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp ground dry mustard
1 cup white vinegar
Mix together the cabbage and onion in a large bowl. Sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the vegetables.
In a saucepan, combine the remaining 2 tsp of sugar, the vegetable oil, celery seed, mustard, vinegar and a tablespoon of salt. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for a few minutes.
Pour the hot oil mixture evenly over the vegetables. Put a small dish over the slaw and press down with a weight to ensure the cabbage eventually ends up submerged in the juices.
Cover and let stand at room temperature for about 6 hours.
Move the slaw to the fridge after 6 hours and stir every few hours or so. The slaw should stay in the fridge for about 24 hours before serving. The slaw holds for a couple of weeks in the fridge so you can use this for multiple meals.
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Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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