Have you heard of Andrew Zimmern? He's the guy who eats bizarre food from around the world. Turns out, his family isn't quite as daring and so Zimmern's recreated a few bizarre dishes he found particularly enjoyable into those his kid might even eat. This recipe below is one of those available on the Food & Wine website. A friend of mine, who, like Zimmern, will eat anything, turned me onto it.
Before I go on, let me tell you up front that I have made subtle changes. I subbed an ingredient (crushed red pepper instead of chiles) and reorganized the ingredients from random to sequential. Food & Wine testers must've been perfecting the dish in the kitchen beyond print deadline and thus it wasn't quite complete upon submission.
One-Pot Sticky Chicken Wings
adapted from Food & Wine
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 whole star anise
3 tbsp sugar
2 scallions, thinly sliced
lime wedges, optional
In a large nonstick skillet, cook the chicken wings over moderate heat in batches, turning once, until golden, about 8 minutes. Combine batches.
In a large nonstick skillet, cook the chicken wings over moderate heat in batches, turning once, until golden, about 8 minutes. Combine batches.
Batches one and two browned before all dumped into the skillet together.
Add the ginger, crushed red pepper, star anise, and cinnamon and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
I broke one of my Costco-sized cinnamon sticks in half, resulting in a weapon-like sharp end.
Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, aji-mirin, and sugar; bring to a simmer over moderate heat.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes; uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wings are cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick glaze covering the chicken.
That glaze part will take about 20-30 minutes.
Discard the star anise and cinnamon stick. Transfer the chicken wings to a platter, scatter the scallions on top and serve. Serve with lime wedges if you like.
Rather than doing the platter thing with lime wedges, I served up a portion with steamed white rice. FYI, you'll need a few napkins. Better yet, a warm damp towel.
I've gotta tell you, these wings are great! The fat from the skin is rendered during browning and becomes part of the sticky sauce, which makes the sauce very smooth and almost velvety. Using crushed red pepper, the heat is evenly distributed but can be adjusted to suit your tastes. If you are serving the kids, keep the volume low; if you are a heat-freak, crank it up. I found a 1/2 tsp to be fairly mellow and will certainly kick it up to a full tsp next time. The cinnamon and star anise add a nice flavor without either being overwhelming.
Most amazing is how the flesh wasn't rock hard or dry as a bone. We're talking white meat taking some punishing heat and still having texture you wouldn't dare compare to sawdust (unlike some holiday white meats at grandma's)! You're making a mistake if you avoid trying this one.
Cost:
- party wings: $10.47
- ginger: $0.72
- star anise: $0.20 (swag)
- cinnamon stick: $0.09
- soy sauce: $0.25
- oyster sauce: $0.36
- aji-mirin: $0.47
- sugar: $0.10 (swag)
- scallions: $0.09
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