Description
These sticky, crunchy, garlicky, intensely-flavored chicken wings come from a recipe I learned to make in my childhood growing up in Hawaii.
Ingredients
- ¾ cups Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Unseasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
- ½ Lemon, Juiced
- ⅓ cups Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 3 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
- 4 Green Onions, Finely Minced
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, To Taste
- 2 pounds Mini Chicken Wings, Tips Removed (2 Pounds Is About 16 Wings)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour Or Potato Starch
- 2 cups Coconut Oil, Or Other High Smoke-point Oil
Preparation
Make the sauce in a small saucepan. Put the first 9 ingredients in the pan then briefly bring it to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Turn off heat and set aside.
Pat chicken dry. Dip chicken in your choice of flour or potato starch, coating thoroughly. Shake off excess and set aside while you heat up the oil.
In a wok or Dutch oven, heat the coconut oil until it reaches 350 F. One-by-one, gently lower 5 or 6 wings into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. And don’t drop them from a distance as the splashing oil will cause burns. Lower chicken using tongs, a slotted spoon, a Chinese spider ladle or a very steady hand. The oil will bubble up around the chicken. Move the chicken periodically as it fries. When one side has browned carefully turn each piece over and continue cooking until both sides are brown and crispy. This should take about 15 minutes for each batch.
Scoop the cooked wings out of the oil using tongs, a perforated wok ladle or a Chinese spider ladle and transfer to the saucepan. Let the wings soak in the sauce while you work on the next batch.
Using a perforated wok ladle or Chinese spider, scoop out any brown bits and put them on a plate to cool before discarding. Check that your oil temperature is back to 350 F and add your next batch of wings.
Remove the first batch of wings from the sauce and drain on plates lined with paper towels. Continue working in batches until all the chicken is fried and then soaked in the sauce for a few minutes before it is drained. Serve hot or at room temperature. Garnish with additional green onion slices or green onion curls if you desire.
