Oriental Chicken Wings

Well, I tried this for our New Year's Eve party and I was not happy with them at all.  They all got eaten, but that doesn't mean anything to me.  It started out so promising, too
 
I got Perdue chicken wings and they had the 12% "encancement" sodium solution so right way I thought I'd hold off on any added salt to my "recipe."  I noticed when I was butchering the wings, the cleaver went right through those joints a hell of a lot easier than I recall butchering lots of them in prior years.  Had to be the tenderizing solution..Scary.
 
I used a combination of fresh garlic, fresh ginger, Hoisin sauce, Chinese 5 Spice, black pepper, Sambal, chopped cilantro, catsup, chopped scallions, brown sugar, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.  I marinated them overnight and then I baked one off to see how it was going to taste - 45 min at 350.  It's a good thing I did..It was bland!  They needed salt!!! So, I worried about the sodium solution for nothing.  Back to the drawing board for 4 more hours..Good thing I left myself plenty of time.
 
I added soy and salt and more fresh garlic, ginger and hoisin..Then I baked them in the oven on a rack sitting over a water bath.  Then put them on the char-broiler.  They were ok..I would not make them again though. 
 
I made a dipping sauce from duck sauce, vinegar, sugar, applesauce and fresh garlic.  It was ok, but I think sticking to Buffalo style on wings is the best thing to do.
 
 
 

I agree, you pretty much can't go wrong with Buffalo style. The best oriental style wings I've ever had were at a local Japanese hibachi restaurant, they're drums that are split along the bone, lightly tempura battered, and fried up... then I dipped them in wasabi and soy mixed right at the table. Simple and tasty.

Hey Ben,  Seems like a lot  of work also.
 
You really know your stuff though.  How do you do your Buffalo Wings?

Ben, interesting thread here from the portland food forum, hosted by occasional RF member extra msg. As an aside, maybe Asian is a better term. fish sauce and rice flour seem to be the key.
Bill
  http://www.portlandfood.org/index.php?showtopic=6573

SeamusD - I'm assuming what you mean is they look like big lollypops?  They take a sharp knife and scrap the meat up towards the top of the drumstick..I've seen that done...Lots of work and what do you do with the other part of the wing....Too much work but they must taste great. 

Frying is actually the medium I think wings need....For me, it's simply too much to overcome the skin by just baking them..The texture of frying enhances the eating experience IMHO.

Joe - We use to do lots of wigs at the restaurant; always fresh ones.  We'd save the wing tip sand make chicken stock for various soups.  All we did was fry them in peanut oil and then add our own wing sauce which was a combination of oleo, Franks Hot Sauce and some dry seasonings. .. Pretty mundane stuff.  But, we also had the bleu cheese recipe from the Anchor Bar and that was very good.

Having clean oil and a really good deep fryer help the most IMHO.  IT's hard to get the texture in a restaurant at home because those commercial fryers do a good job on wings.  I rarely make Buffalo wings at home but I should have in this case. 

Did you catch the spot on Food Paradise on the Anchor Bar - Bar food show.  What makes one place have better wings than another?  I like all the varities including the ones that have been floured.  My problem with wings is I only like the drumstick portion because it has less skin or at least the fryer gets to render more of it off.

Bill - Interesting idea..Fish sauce..Rice flour (great stuff) Thai...I'd add some lemon grass to that deal. The poster, who suggested frying them probably had the right idea. 

I just don't think you can do wings in the oven no matter what the variety of seasonings.  You got to get that texture and the oven doesn't render that skin enough for me. 

I was just being lazy and thought I'd come up with a good idea; it wasn't.   Maybe if I would have fried them, things would have been really good.  But then, if I'm frying I might as well make Buffalo wings...

baah,

That it is a good recipe and your adding soy should have helped.  The fish sauce is a great suggestion too. One of my favorite condiments is Mae Ploy sweet hot chili sauce,  but it is used after the chicken is cooked and not a marinade. It is made especially for chicken. This and the fish sauce actually have uses beyond Asian cooking.
While I am at it, get some ketjap manis. That stuff is great for a teriyaki style sauce.
I think that you had high expectations for the flavor to become one with the meat. You would think that would work but I suggest that you consider this may be a case where the basic item is so overwhelmed that you lose sight of the wing itself.

Treat your wings in the same manner as the Buffalo style, that is, not marinated and sauced until after frying.  Your marinade if thick enough, would be great on them.  If the wings are lightly floured, it would have a nice crunch that absorbs the sauce into the coating.
You baked them and you should have made a nice brown and caramelized crust.

Don't be your worst critic, your friends ate the wings because they did like them. The ingredients seem very good and I know I would eat a bunch of them too.  For Christmas Eve, I made guacamole and chips using -very- ripe avocados.  I also thought I made too much. That stuff disappeared, while in my head and verbally, I was apologetic. They loved it even if it was a lesser shade of green. ...like The Grinch.

mark

Mark - Thanks for the encouragement.  I think if I'd had fried them, things would have been better.  And, like you said, season them after frying them. 

I have fish sauce in the house..That would have been good..I mean, I put the "kitchen sink" into those wings and so I was amazed they did not have more taste.

Hey, since you obviously know oriental seasonings.  I just found out from my friend Leahann, who owns a Chinese restaurant here in Daytona Beach, that the soy dipping sauce that always comes with dumplings is not straight soy.  I always knew the other ingredients:  fresh ginger, sugar, scallions and garlic.  But, they add chicken stock to it!  I could never figure out why mine was so salty!  The chicken stock tones down the saltiness of straight soy and yet gives it a richness that diluting the soy with water can't.  Try it..It works.

Sam's Club makes a decent pot sticker with chicken that you can use and then make your own dipping sauce.  Leahan's fried chicken dumplings are the best I have ever had and that includes NY's Chinatown.  Her homemade dough is just so light and crispy (we get them fried).  Qwerty - You and your Mom need to try them next time you are there...