Friday, May 15, 2015

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings

What's up foodies? Are you doing good? I'm good? Are you good? Okay, good. Well, I love a good chicken wing and these wings are delicious. The other day on may way to class, I decided that I wanted to make chicken wings for lunch. I remembered having the sweet and spicy wings from Zaxby's before and I wanted to make my own version of sweet and spicy wings.

A combination of red chili pepper, ginger, honey, and orange juice give things wings a sweet taste, and a kick at the end. The first time I made these, I used sriracha hot sauce to give me the 'spicy' element in the sauce. The wings tasted just as good with sriracha, but I didn't want the flavor in the wings. You are more than welcome to substitute sriracha for the red chili paste, but you might want to use a little less than the red chili paste because the sriracha hot sauce is very spicy.

If you feel the sauce isn't enough, you can double the recipe.

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp. minced ginger
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. red chili paste
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste (optional)
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
Mix the orange juice, ginger, honey, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and red chili paste together in a bowl. Cut the wing tip off the chicken wings and separate the wing and the drummette. Place the wing portions into a bowl and season them with salt and pepper to taste (if you prefer). Coat the chicken wings with flour.

Pour enough oil into your fry pan so that it comes up about halfway up the sides. Bring the oil up to a medium heat. Place the wings into the oil and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes  on both sides or until full cooked. When the chicken wings are done, remove them from the oil and place them onto a plate lined with paper towel.

Mix the water and cornstarch together and then add the mixture to the sauce mixture. Place the sauce into a saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens up. Place the chicken wings into a bowl and toss them in the sauce.

Serve with french fries and ranch dressing.