Receta Kid-Friendly Sticky Chicken Wings
Photo by Alex Mathews
Mason William Mathews
Just in case you somehow missed it,
I spent 5 of the happiest days of my calendar year visiting my son
and his family in California. Surprise,
surprise, I cooked. I have a lot of
theories about cooking for children and my grandson, Mason, aged 5, bore
several of these out. Now Mason has
always been an adventurous eater. Ever
since I saw him tackle a bowl of Guacamole at age 2, I’ve been impressed by his
palate. But he did lay down the law
when, at 3, he was confronted with a Chicken Curry I made. “I don’t like spicy”, he declared. So this trip I was determined to make
amends. And what better way to do so
than by serving him Chicken Wings. One
of my theories is that small children are overwhelmed by big food. Unlike a full-sized piece of chicken, the
Chicken Wing is just the right size for a 5-year-old hand to handle. Now, how
to make them memorable, kid-friendly and something even grown-ups would find
irresistible.
Dressing with their cousins from BuffaloLet’s
face it; the Chicken Wing is very often prefaced with the word “Buffalo” and
not as in “Bison” like an earlier post.
The Buffalo Chicken Wing is an invention from the uppermost North
Western corner of New York State, the City of Buffalo. These wings are so spicy, they could easily
blow the roof of the mouth off of the most devoted fan of Hot Sauce, never mind
that of a five-year-old boy. Amazingly,
in searching for “Kid Friendly Chicken Wing Recipes”, I came across a recipe
that said the following: “ Most children find Buffalo Chicken Wings too hot to
handle. But if yours don’t, here’s the
best recipe ever”. Now really! So I sifted through some others and found one
that combined elements I was pretty sure Mason would not just tolerate by
genuinely love.
It uses Hoisin Sauce,
“the ketchup of Asia”, a tiny taste of chilies just to keep the adults
interested, diced ginger and Orange Juice.
And unlike many wings, they aren’t fried. Rather there’s a two-step process. First, the wings are cooked in the sauce on
the stovetop until the sauce is reduced and the chicken made tender. Then, they go into a hot oven or 450 degree
broiler just to crisp them up. The
taste secret is one every parent or grandparent should know: Sweet and mildly spicy is the key to a great child-friendly dish. And in this case, Mason’s father and I both
dove into this plate of chicken wings with equal gusto. And just in case the sweet was over the top,
I added a traditional blue cheese dressing to make these wings a sweet and
spicy, cool and creamy delicacy for everyone at the table. Much to my great pleasure, Mason even ate the
blue cheese up. Here’s the recipe for
both wings and blue cheese dressing.
Recipe for Pop Pop’s Sticky Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing
Serves 4. Takes 1 hour to make tops.
- For the Sticky Chicken Wings:
- 3 lbs., Chicken Wings, drumettes
- separated from wings. Tips cut off.
- 9 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tbsp. Sriracha Chile Sauce
- 2 tbsp., peeled ginger cut into
- tiny dice
- 1 ½ cups Orange Juice
- 1 cup Scallions, sliced ¼ inch
- thick, green and white parts
- Salt and Pepper
- For the Blue Cheese Dressing
- 1- 4 oz. container of Crumbled Blue
- Cheese
- ¾ Cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise
- ¼ Cup Sour Cream
- 1 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- First, make the Chicken Wings:
1.
Combine hoisin sauce, Sriracha or
other chile sauce, the ginger, the orange juice and salt and pepper in a bowl.
2.
In a large pot or large skillet,
pour in the sauce to cover the bottom. Then add chicken wings in layers,
saucing them as you go along.
Cover the pot and cook the wings
for 30 at medium heat. After 20 minutes, remove the cover and allow the sauce
to thicken.
4.
Pre-heat the oven or broiler to 450
degrees.
5.
Place the chicken wings on a large
sheet pan covered in non-stick aluminum foil. Make sure there is room between
each piece of chicken.
Place in the oven to crisp. Watch carefully as this can take anywhere
from 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Either put the wings on individual plates or on a big platter in the center of the table. Scatter scallions over the wings.
6.
As Chicken wings cook, make the
Blue Cheese Dressing.
Combine, Blue Cheese, Mayonnaise,
Sour Cream, Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Garlic Powder and Salt and Pepper and whisk
in a large bowl.
Place finished dressing in
Refrigerator until time to serve. Serve in individual bowls or in the center of
the platter of Sticky Chicken Wings.
Dive in.