Triple crisp chicken wings with Sichuan glaze
Learn how to make restaurant-quality chicken wings that are cooked three times and finished in a crispy vodka batter.
Ingredients
For the honey Sichuan glaze
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 500g/1lb 2oz honey
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
For the marinated chicken
- 12 chicken wings
- 200g/7oz sriracha
- 2 tsp MSG
- 2 tsp salt
For the dry coating
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú plain flour
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú tapioca flour
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
For the first fried stage
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú buttermilk
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- vegetable oil, for frying
For the vodka batter
- 200g/7oz rice flour
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 150ml/¼ pint vodka
- 300ml/½ pint beer
- 2 tbsp honey
To serve
- spring onions, sliced
Method
To make the honey Sichuan glaze, preheat a medium saucepan over a low heat, then add the spices. Toast for roughly 2 minutes or until the spices become fragrant. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Using either a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder, grind the spices to a coarse consistency.
In a medium saucepan, heat the garlic, sriracha, honey, sherry vinegar and ground spices over a low heat and stir. Once the honey has melted (after roughly 3 minutes) remove from the heat and leave the spices to infuse overnight, covering with a lid or clean tea towel.
Strain the glaze through a fine mesh sieve and store in an airtight container until needed.
To make the marinated chicken, start by breaking the wings down into smaller portions by separating the ‘winglet’ and ‘drumlet’. Place the meat, sriracha, MSG and salt into an airtight container and shake well to coat evenly. Leave for a minimum of 4 hours to marinate.
Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Place the chicken and all the marinade into a baking dish and cover with kitchen foil. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Strain the chicken from the marinade and place on a tray to cool.
To make the dry coating, mix all of the ingredients together in a clean bowl. This is your dry dredge. Sprinkle a generous amount over the chicken pieces as they cool to slightly coat them. Place them back onto a tray and leave overnight to dry.
To make the first fried stage of the chicken, mix together the buttermilk, vinegar, mustard and garlic powder. Keep to one side.
Half-fill a medium saucepan with oil and place over a medium heat. Heat the oil to roughly 150C – a cube of bread should turn golden in roughly 6 minutes. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Meanwhile, place the cooked and dried chicken into the buttermilk mixture to coat. Ensure evenly coated and then use a slotted spoon to place back into the dry dredge. Toss in the flour and then remove, shaking to get rid of any excess flour.
Once coated, fry in the oil for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the chicken and repeat the process until all the pieces are fried. Leave to one side and remove the oil from the heat.
To make the vodka batter, place the rice flour, self-raising flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk together then make a well in the centre. Pour the vodka, beer and honey into the centre. Using the whisk, start to stir from the centre out. Stir until a smooth, runny batter is formed. Place the batter into a squeezy bottle.
Return the oil to the heat and bring up to 190C, or until a cube of bread turns golden in 2 minutes. Use a heatproof slotted spoon to lower some chicken pieces into the oil. Drop for a few seconds then bring to the surface of the oil and drizzle the vodka batter over the frying wings. Release back into the oil and fry for a further 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove the chicken from the oil, place in a bowl and coat in the honey Sichuan glaze. Garnish with freshly sliced spring onions.
