Fan Favorite Chicken Wings

Spicy, baked or fried … winning ways to turn out chicken wings for your Super Bowl Spread.  David Leite of Leite’s Culinaria shares tips with Fox News’s Lilian Huang Woo.

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found on Leite’s Culinaria

Korean Chicken Wings

What’s the trick behind the best Korean chicken wings? According to Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot, it’s an overnight bath in a mixture of egg whites, salt, and baking soda. The concoction not only “forms an even coating that clings to the baked chicken wings and seasons them,” as the authors explain, but somehow manages to “break down the outer layer of proteins on the skin,” which renders the chicken skin thin and crackling, the underlying meat moist and juicy. There you have it. Best baked chicken wings recipe ever. Resourceful home cooks may wish to note that the authors also brush this very same marinade on a whole chicken, let it soak up the flavor in the fridge overnight, and then roast it.

One last thing. It’s not only the knee-wobblingly crisp skin that makes these baked chicken wings Korean-style. It’s also the fact that they’re served with yangnyeomjang, a Korean dipping sauce that’s sorta sweet yet still has some heat.–Renee Schettler Rossi

INGREDIENTS
For the baked chicken wings
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
4 pounds whole chicken wings
For the Korean dipping sauce
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce (seek out a gluten-free brand, if desired)
3 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Korean red chile flakes or crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, roughly chopped or coarsely ground if desired
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 scallion, finely sliced
DIRECTIONS
Make the baked chicken wings
1. Plop the egg whites, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the salt and baking soda. Add the chicken wings and toss to coat evenly. Remove the wings from the bowl and arrange them on 2 wire racks. Place each rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate the wings overnight, uncovered. (This results in the crisp skin. Don’t skip this step!)
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F (235°C).
3. Slide the wings, still on the racks on the baking sheets, in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the wings over and cook for 10 more minutes. Flip the wings over again and bake until deep golden brown with ridiculously crisp skin, 10 to 15 more minutes. Let the wings cool on the wire racks for 5 minutes.
Make the Korean dipping sauce
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, apple juice, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chile flakes, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, and scallion.
5. Pile the baked chicken wings on a platter and serve the sauce alongside. Oh, and you’re going to want to serve these with napkins. Ample napkins.

Follow Lilian Woo on Twitter: @LilianNY

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