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Food

Chongqing Chicken Wings

Note: You need to parcook the wings a day ahead, so don’t start this recipe on Sunday morning thinking you’ll have wings in time for football.

Ingredients


Serves 4

  •  3 lbs chicken wings (either mid-joints or whole wings)
  • ¼ cup kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • ½ cup vegetable or peanut oil, plus 8 to 10 cups for deep frying
  • ½ lb honeycomb tripe
  • ½ cup cornstarch, for dredging
  • 4 cups dried Tianjin chiles or other medium-hot red chiles, like chiles Japones
  • About ¾ cup Chongqing Wing Spice Mix (recipe follows)

Chongqinq Wing Spice Mix

  • 2 tbsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 black cardamom pods
  • 1½ tsp whole cloves
  • 2 tbsp plus 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp Mushroom Powder
  • 2 tbsp cayenne pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the wings with the salt and ½ cup oil. Spread the wings out on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Bake the wings for 15 minutes, or just until the skin appears cooked but not browned. Let the parbaked wings cool to room temperature, then lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze, uncovered, overnight.
  3. The next day, clean the tripe thoroughly under cold running water, scrubbing vigorously to remove any grit. Put in a pot, cover with cold salty water by 2″, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, partially covered, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the tripe is very tender. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water, and cool completely.
  4. Meanwhile, retrieve the wings from the freezer and allow them to thaw at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
  5. Slice the cooked tripe into strips about ½” wide and 2″ long. Set aside.
  6. In a deep pot or a wok, heat about 4″ of oil to 350°F in a deep pot or a wok, or use a deep-fryer. Meanwhile, pat the tripe strips dry with paper towels, then dredge them in the cornstarch, shaking off any excess. Working in batches, if necessary, deep-fry the wings and tripe for 4 to 6 minutes, or until golden and crispy. They should cook in about the same amount of time.

Chongqing Wing Spice Mix

  1. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, star anise, cardamom, and cloves in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring continuously until fragrant. In a small bowl, combine the toasted spices with the sugar, salt, mushroom powder, and cayenne.
  2. In a spice or coffee grinder, grind the spice mix to a powder, working in batches if necessary. The spice mix will keep in an airtight container for about a week before losing much of its potency.

 

Source

The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook

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