Apparently I enjoy polling my friends. I seem to get their advice all the time on recipes that they would like to see. So I did a quick poll on what they enjoy having to snack on when they are watching sports. And I got an overwhelming answer; wings! I guess I had never really considered it. But I did a little digging and found that the National Chicken Council(yes, that is a real council) estimates that over 1.25 BILLION chicken wings will be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday alone. So there you have it, over 100 million pounds of hot wings....in one day.
And so with this in mind, I decided I wanted to do my own version of the classic chicken wing. I mean, people need variety right? While discussing this with my husband, he informed me that he had already created the perfect hot wing and was willing to share with me (and you) his amazing creation. I was a little skeptical, but after trying these amazing wings I knew we had something special. So here is an asian inspired hot wing for your tasting pleasure. All ingredients are available in most grocery stores in their asian section.
I suggest brining your wings for at least 4 hours, if not over-night. This will impart some extra flavor to the chicken, and will also keep it extremely moist throughout the cooking process. Also, once you have put your chicken in the brine, go ahead and make the cilantro ranch dipping sauce. The longer those flavors get to meld together, the tastier the dipping sauce. The recipe below should be enough for at least 16 full chicken wings, or 32 wing and drumlettes.
Tokyo Joe's Buffalo Wings
Brine
14 cloves of garlic, smashed or diced
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar(mirin)
1 tsp hot chinese style mustard paste
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups water
Whisk all ingredients together. Place chicken in brine and give a good stir to coat each piece. If chicken isn't completely covered by brine, stir once every hour to give each piece a chance to sit in the brine. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Cilantro Ranch Dipping Sauce
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 packet ranch dressing mix
Handful cilantro - diced fine
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup milk - optional
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. If you prefer your dipping sauce very thick, then you are finished. If you prefer a thinner, dressing like sauce add milk 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors marry.
Dredge
2 cups rice flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chinese all spice
I have learned a very helpful tip. Use one hand for wet, and one for dry. So use one hand to pull chicken from the brining juices, and then let the other hand handle coating the wing in the flour. This will keep you from getting that thick coating of crud all over your fingers.
Fry your chicken according to the instructions on your deep fryer. If you aren't using a deep fryer, set up a deep heavy pan with at least a half-inch of oil. We use sunflower oil, but it's up to you. You want to get a nice golden color to the outside of the wing, usually 5-6 minutes on each side. To check if they are cooked all the way through, place the probe of a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the wings that you are cooking. You want an internal temp of at least 160 degrees.
Once they are finished frying, let them rest for a second in a bowl lined with paper towels to take off some of the grease that comes out. Once they are done, it's wing sauce time!
Wing Sauce
7 oz chili garlic sauce
3 tsp hot Chinese style mustard
1 tbsp sriracha
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a microwavable bowl. Microwave for about a minute. You just want to warm it up enough so that it doesn't cool off the wings too fast. Now there are two ways of coating wings. You can put them directly into this sauce and turn to coat. This will put a fairly thick layer of sauce on the wing. If you like a thinner sauce, place wings in a bowl, and slowly add sauce a spoonful at a time. Stir until the sauce is distributed. Repeat until you achieve your desired thickness of sauce.
Serve with ranch dip and enjoy! Don't worry; you will get this all over your face. Make sure there are plenty of napkins and wet wipes. Also, please note, this is a spicy recipe. It isn't overwhelming, but rather creeps up slowly on you, so the ranch really helps with that. I hope you enjoy. Would love to hear your comments if you try it!
Until Next Time,
Guten Appetit!
