Deep-Fried Chicken Wings with Crispy Spiced Breading

Step-by-step recipe

1. Fried wings are easy to make, since chilled wings are sold in any store. If the meat is frozen, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before, so it loses less juice while thawing. Also clean the wings thoroughly of any remaining feathers and hanging bits of skin. Then use a sharp knife to cut off the tip, if there is one, and cut the rest in two at the joint.
   
2. Marinating the wings takes at least 1 hour. It's better, though, to let the meat stand with the spices for a few hours, as it will taste better. Put the pieces of chicken in a deep bowl. Add the dry spices: 0.5 tsp each of salt, dried onion and garlic. Adjust the heat strictly to your own taste. I suggest coarsely ground dried chili.
   
3. Mix the meat with the spices so they are evenly distributed. Then add a quarter cup of cooled boiled water and mix again. The marinade is very fragrant, so don't put an open bowl in the refrigerator. Put the wings with the spices in a plastic bag, seal it tightly, and then refrigerate for as long as you like.
   
4. Prepare the dry breading. In a bowl, mix equal parts of sifted wheat flour and cornstarch. Potato starch works too, but to my taste it gives a smell of fried potatoes. Add a little salt and hot pepper, and a little store-bought baking powder, about 300 g of dry flour's worth. Stir the mixture with a fork until even.
   
5. Take the chicken wings out of the refrigerator and put them in a colander, so that all the liquid drains off. Then coat the pieces one at a time in the breading mixture. Do this very carefully, so the wings pick up as much of the dry mixture as possible and are covered evenly, with no gaps. Wait a few minutes for the breading to absorb the remaining marinade, then coat the pieces in the breading once more. Transfer the breaded meat to a dry plate.
   
6. The simplest part of the cooking is the deep fryer in which the pieces are fried. The most fragrant and tasty fried chicken wings come from peanut oil. But, as they say, that's a matter of taste. Take an inexpensive refined oil; you will most likely need to top it up. Pour the oil into a metal pot and put it on the heat. Careful! Hot oil is quite temperamental, and if even a drop of water gets in, it will spatter. Heat the oil and you can start frying.
   
7. As soon as the oil shows signs of starting to boil, turn the heat down. The oil should not “bubble”. If the temperature is too high, the breading burns while the meat stays raw. If it is too low, the breading falls off. Dip a few pieces into the hot oil: a light bubbling begins, and that is just as it should be. You can handle the pieces in the hot oil with a fork or tongs with silicone tips, which withstand this temperature.
   
8. It's impossible to know the frying time in advance. At first I simply took a “thick” piece out of the oil and made a small cut, and that's how I found the average time. My fried chicken wings were ready in 13-15 mins. After that I simply kept all the other pieces in for the same time. Prepare a large plate and cover it with several layers of paper towel.
   
9. Take the finished wings out of the oil and lay them on the plate, where the paper will absorb the excess fat. Fry all the remaining pieces the same way. If the oil level has dropped, top it up from the bottle, then wait for it to heat. To keep the finished wings from cooling too much, cover them with a napkin. Don't use an upturned plate for this, as moisture will collect and the breading will go soggy.
   
10. While the chicken cooks, prepare a spicy sauce, or several. We made one by mixing soy sauce with mirin, then adding finely chopped garlic, fresh chili, balsamic vinegar and grated ginger. Simply superb. To serve, arrange the finished fried wings on a plate, pour the sauce into a small bowl, and add herbs and, if you like, sliced hot pepper and so on.
    
11. By the way, a very good set of sauces for chicken is described in the Hainanese chicken recipe: several spicy, fragrant sauces with an exceptionally pleasant range of flavors. You can also make a cheese sauce, as for Buffalo wings.