It's Super Bowl week! It's kinda 'ho-hum' for me as I don't feel an allegiance to a particular team and either of their successes in Sunday's tilt will have little to no effect on my life. However, I do like the excuse to gather friends, watch some (hopefully) good commercials and most of all, feast on food!
The quintessential Super Bowl food in my opinion is Wings. A close second is guacamole with blue corn chips, but back to wings. Done correctly, they are deep fried at exactly 375° for 11-13 minutes, then tossed in a mixture of butter, vinegar and Franks® Red Hot. The problem here is the massive amount of fat they contain. Sure it's a good protein source, but the fat! According to Food.com, 5 homemade wings may contain 51 g of fat, 18 of which are saturated. A serving may also contain 219 mg of cholesterol, 455 mg of potassium, 53 mg of magnesium, 25 g of carbohydrate, 1 g of fiber and 48 g of protein. YIKES!
So...what to do? Sure, it's just one day of feasting on not-so-good-for-you foods, but if you want to keep it on the healthier side, I offer up this Korean Spicy Wings Recipe. I'm not sure when I found this recipe, but every time I make it, people profess that they are the best wings they've ever tasted! If you're going for this method, don't wait until the last minute, it won't work. The critical success of this recipe is the overnight dry-out in the fridge. Also, you'll need to head to your local Korean market for gochujang, a red chili paste, it's not the same with a substitute.
Read on below and share your photos and experiences with this technique on our Facebook page. Eat Well!
Korean Chicken Wings
Ingredients
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon sea salt, finely ground
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 lbs chicken wings, drumettes and flats separated with tips discards or saved for stock
4 medium garlic cloves
1-inch knob of fresh ginger
1/4 cup gochujang (Korean chile paste)—LOCALLY AVAILABLE AT H-MART
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Special equipment
Oven proof wire rack
Rimmed baking sheet
Directions
1. Place the wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Place the egg whites, baking soda and sea salt in a large bowl and beat until the salt and baking soda is dissolved into the egg whites (feel the egg white, you shouldn’t be able to feel any grains of salt). Toss the chicken wing pieces in the egg white mixture, making sure to coat all sides of the wings. Pick the wings up from the bowl, letting any excess egg white drip back in to the bowl, and put on the wire rack, making sure the wings aren’t touching. Put in the refrigerator, uncovered for 8 hours or overnight to dry out. If you can, flip the wings once to let both sides dry out evenly.
2. Once the wings have dried, preheat the oven to 450˚F. Place the wings (on the rack) in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip the wings over and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Flip one more time and bake for 10 more minutes or until the wings are crispy golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. While the chicken is baking, prepare the sauce by forcing the garlic through a garlic press or finely mincing it. Peel then finely grate the ginger. Place the garlic and ginger in large sauté pan or wok and add the remaining ingredients (gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, fish sauce and sesame oil). Once the wings come out from the oven, turn the heat to medium and cook the sauce until it starts to thicken slightly, about two or three minutes. Toss the still warm wings in the sauce and serve immediately.
Makes about 12-16 medium sized wings, enough for 4 to 6 people as appetizers.
Recipe by Irvin Lin, www.eathelove.com
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