Sticky & Spicy Braised Chicken Wings

We eat a lot of crispy hot wings in our house. Even when we have Korean-style wings, they're fried off first. Well, we have a new beloved preparation in our house.

On this particular day, I didn't feel like setting up a frying station. Typically, if I'm going to fill up a pot with oil, I want to have multiple reasons to use it (maybe donuts or donkatsu); but I had no such plans. So I decided to braise the wings in Thai and Vietnamese-inspired seasonings and the end result was a pile of really sticky sweet and spicy wings.

Ingredients [serves 4]:
2 lbs. chicken wings
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon canola oil
¼ onion
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1" knob ginger
6 Thai chilis, chopped
2" piece orange peel
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon black vinegar
2 oz. yellow rock sugar
1 scallion, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Start by boiling the wings for 5 to 7 minutes or until they're just barely cooked through. Reserve one cup of the cooking liquid and drain the wings.

While the wings are boiling, prep the vegetables.

In a wide, shallow pot, add a little sesame oil and canola oil and fry off the wings briefly (for 4 to 6 minutes).

Next, add in the onion, garlic, ginger, Thai chilis, orange peel, soy sauce, fish sauce, black vinegar, rock sugar, and pour in the reserved cup of chicken stock.

Reduce the heat to low and pop a lid on the pan and braise the wings for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is v. tender.

Turn the heat up to high and rapidly boil for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce until it's thickened and sticky.

Serve the wings while they're nice and hot. Garnish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

These wings really live up to their name. They're sticky sweet and they have a kick from the Thai chilis. I really enjoy Asian cooking because the flavors give all of the taste buds something to do. There's the savory umami flavors of the garlic and soy sauce, the gentle sweetness of the rock sugar and citrus peel, the heat of the Thai chilis and ginger, the saltiness of the fish sauce, the nutty bitterness of the sesame oil; it all comes together harmoniously.

Here's the recipe page: