Sticky Asian Chicken Wings

Well it's definitely been a long time between posts for me and to be honest I have so many recipes backed up it's kind of embarrassing.  We at the House of Murray have been ridiculously busy with life in it's entirety.... work, school, junior and senior football, etc., that by the time we sit down we fall asleep.  Oh well, I guess a busy life is still so much better than no life, correct?

I have been eyeing off carious recipes for sometime as we have been experimenting quite a bit with Chicken Wings over the last few months with one of our favourite recipes being Heston's Barbecue Chicken Wings and of course, the recipe that started our wing obsession off Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing.

This recipe not only lives up to it's name with the stickiness of the sauce but the wings are also mega crunchy.   Baked in the oven makes them a win win in the fat stakes also but they could easily be deep fried if preferred.  I liked the fact that the wings are quickly tossed in the sauce just before serving and that the wings were not cooked in the sauce as then they would not have that crispy crunch.  The sprinkle of crushed peanuts and spring onions over the top added to the texture and the flavour which only made the dish even yummier.

We were lucky enough to buy nice sized wingettes (no wing tip or drumstick) but you could use the full chicken wing if you prefer - that's totally up to you and wouldn't change this recipe at all.

Sticky Asian Chicken Wings

Serves: 6

SmartPoints per serve: ?

2 kilograms chicken wingettes

1/4 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

cooking spray

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

2 teaspoons crushed ginger

1 tablespoon chilli sauce (such as Maggi)

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

4 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons chopped roasted peanut

2 spring onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Rinse and pat dry chicken wings with paper towel.

In a large snap lock bag combine flour, salt and pepper.  Add chicken, seal and toss until chicken is covered with the flour mixture.

Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper.  Spray with cooking spray.  Line the chicken wings on the tray in a single layer and spray with cooking spray.  Cook in oven for 20 minutes, turn over and increase oven heat to 220 degrees Celsius.  Continue to cook for a further 20 minutes or until crispy.

In a small sauce pan, combine the garlic, ginger, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, honey, and soy sauce together. Simmer on lower heat until thickened and slightly sticky.

Toss the chicken wings and coat well with the sauce.

Transfer the chicken wings onto a serving platter, top with peanut and spring onions.

Serve immediately.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Heston’s Barbecue Chicken Wings

Noel was on a mission recently to cook chicken wings.  This fascination started when we went to the Loch Festival with our gorjus friends Kelee and Dave.  We had the most devine Buffalo Chicken Wings there and the men have been talking about them ever since.

I love the fact that Noel loves to cook and he spends hours googling and reading recipes. However saying this he has been know to create his own marinades - successfully I might add. He recently came across this recipe for Heston Blumenthal's Barbecue Chicken Wings and talked about making them for a couple of weeks.  I have to admit they sounded good on paper but they were magnificent in real life.

To quote the great man himself Heston said "Chargrilled chicken wings slathered in a rich, sticky sauce has got to be one of the all-time barbecue classics. This recipe will have those wings flying off the barbecue faster than you can make them. A little lime marinade to season and soften the meat, a coating of sauce made from the gutsy, punchy flavours and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for a toasted note and some crunch – and you’re good to go. Especially with a cooling, easy-to-make blue cheese dip on the side."

Heston’s Barbecue Chicken Wings

(Recipe adapted from Waitrose.com)

Serves: 4 – 6

For the barbecue sauce

2 cups chicken stock

100 grams white caster sugar

100 mls rice wine vinegar

200 mls tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon mushroom oyster sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon Tabasco Pepper Sauce, to taste

2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

For the cheese dip:

300 grams blue cheese

300 ml soured cream

For the chicken wings:

juice of 4 limes

2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoon oil

1 kilogram chicken wings

50 grams sesame seeds, toasted

To make the barbecue sauce, place the chicken stock in a pan over medium-high heat and reduce until it is approximately 150 ml. Place another pan over medium heat, add the sugar and cook until a medium caramel is formed. Slowly add the rice wine vinegar while whisking until the caramel has dissolved. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and whisk until well combined. Set aside.

To make the blue cheese sauce, removing any rind from the cheese, chop into small pieces and add to a bowl with the soured cream, and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth if desired. Put into a small container and allow to stand in the fridge.

When ready to cook, place the juice, salt and oil in a bowl, add the wings and toss until well coated. Allow to stand in the fridge for 45 minutes. Once the time has elapsed, place the wings on the preheated barbecue and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them every few minutes until cooked through with no pink meat. Once cooked, transfer the wings to the bowl with the barbecue sauce and toss to thickly coat. Remove and transfer the wings to a clean bowl then sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve in a bowl with the cheese sauce, celery and any remaining barbecue sauce on the side.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Chicken wings are one of the most versatile ingredients and I have to be very truthful I don't use them enough.  They are the ultimate finger food... one little package of their very own ready to cook and dish without much fuss really...... so simple and so underrated.

This is one of our favourite dishes... Hot Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing.  Now there are many versions of this recipe.. so ours is not gospel or from the original recipe it's just one that we have stumbled across from many attempts - you know good old trial and error!!

Firstly lets get the definition right: From the United States origin a Buffalo wing or Buffalo chicken wing is a chicken wing section that is generally deep-fried, unbreaded, and coated in vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and butter.

Until you start googling..... then some recipes claim that deep frying the wings is the only way to go. Some spruke that one Hot Sauce is better than the other. Unbreaded or breaded both are delish.... Remove the tip or keep the tip and it simply just goes on and on...

We do not crumb our version however we do give the chicken pieces a light coating of seasoned flour.  We do not deep fry either we bake them in the oven.  We also cook them with the Hot Sauce on and not just pour it over when it's cooked.... 

Bottom line as I said that's how we like them... others may argue.....

Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves: 4

90 grams blue cheese

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 kilogram chicken wings or drumettes and wingettes

1/3 cup plain flour

salt

ground white pepper

cooking spray

1/4 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce or hot sauce of your choice

20 grams butter, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Process the blue cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in a food processor until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside.

Place the chicken, flour, salt and pepper in a snap lock bag and seal.  Shake until chicken is completely covered.

Cover a baking tray with baking paper and spray with cooking spray.  Line the chicken in a single layer, shaking off excess flour as you remove from the snap lock bag.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, turning once, until browned and cooked through.

Place hot sauce and butter in a bowl.  Microwave for one minute or until butter has melted.  Stir well.

Remove chicken from oven and drizzle with hot sauce.  Toss the chicken in tray to coat.  Ensure they are still in one single layer when done.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until crispy.

Serve with Blue Cheese Dressing and any left over hot sauce.

 

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)