One of my favorite wedding gifts was a set of aprons with matching oven mitts from our friends, Noy and Naphi. They were in this lovely grown-up tan color and were just the right material to withstand fire, cake batter, and frazzled housewife nerves. I used them all the time. Noy and Naphi, you’ll be heartened to know that Raj wore them every time he pretended to help me in the kitchen. Anyways, so the first time I wore the apron, I noticed that the pocket are seemed a little unnaturally stiff and cardboard-y. Imagine my surprise when I reached in and drew out a wad of post-it notes containing the recipe for a food that Rajeev absolutely loved- chicken wings.
This is not that recipe.
But seriously, I’ll never be able to eat another chicken wing without thinking of you guys and your awesome inception-like wedding gift. I really like being your friend.
So Shivonne and I found this recipe on the interweb but we jazzed it up a bit because we’re Telugu and for us Telugus, a life without spices is well, bland. Modesty aside, these chicken wings were mighty, mighty delicious.
Note: All measurements are approximate. Listen to your taste buds and add as much as you feel like.
Spicy Chicken Wings
For the chicken:
- 1 kg chicken wings
- ½ tsp soy sauce (salt seems to make the chicken really hard)
- ½ tsp pepper
- Enough oil to fry
For the Sauce:
- ¼ cup onions (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp mustard
- ¼ bottle (or 5 ounces) hot sauce
- 2- 3 tsp red chili and peppercorns (lightly toasted and roughly ground)
- A small knob of butter (which is more than a dot but less than a handful. :P )
Procedure:
- Wash and drain the chicken.
- Rub chicken with soy sauce and pepper, and keep aside.
- Heat some oil in a pan.
- Add the chicken and fry till golden brown.
- After you take out the chicken, add the knob of butter to the pan.
- Add the onions and cook them till they’re soft.
- While the onions are cooking, take another bowl and add the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, hot sauce and mustard. Stir to make a smooth sauce.
- When the onions are soft and translucent, add the garlic and let it cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the roughly ground red chilies and peppercorns to the pan.
- Stir in the sauce and let it simmer till you see the spicy oil rise to the surface.
- Add the chicken and let it all cook together for about 5 minutes.
And Voila! Lovely spicy chicken wings are done and ready to be devoured. Om nom nom nom.
P
