Red Dragon : Hot and Spicy Buffalo Wings

There may be several versions as to how this dish came about, but one thing's for sure: it was named after it's place of origin, Buffalo, New York.

As a teenager, there was a year in my life when I couldn't eat chicken wings. Blame it on my doctor telling me to avoid chicken, and when I can't, stick to the white meat so as not to aggravate my asthma or all those rumours that growth hormones are injected in the wing to bulk the chicken up, which may be carcinogenic. Thankfully those days are over. Fried, wings are so flavorful and can reach that "crunchy" cooking time quicker than the other parts.

The blend of garlic, cayenne pepper, butter and honey in the sauce with every bite of that crunchy, tasty coating on the chicken just spells comfort food in my book. Here's my take on this recipe:

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Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken wings, washed and dried with a paper towel (you may also use drumsticks, but they don't get as crunchy as the wing parts). You may cut the wing into two parts, the flat and the drum, separating it at the joint)
• 1 c cornstarch (or flour)
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp celery powder
• vegetable for deep frying
• 1/2 c butter
• 6 tbsp Frank's Original Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (the one used in Buffalo)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey (or 2 tbsp brown sugar)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (increase if you want your sauce to be hotter)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing

Preparation:

1. combine flour, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and celery powder
2. put wings in the bag, seal and shake
3. deep fry in heated oil or put on a non stick baking pan, greasing the surface and baking the wings til it turns golden brown (20 minutes on 350*F). In frying, you'll know when the chicken's done by sticking  a fork into the meat. If the juices run clear, you're good to go. 
4. While the chicken's being cooked, melt the butter in a sauce pan and combine it with the pepper sauce, pepper, salt, honey or sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Stir til it simmers.
5. When your chicken's done, coat it in the sauce.
6. Plate and serve with celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing on the side. No one in the house likes celery (the veggie) but the flavor's pretty good in small amounts, so I try to incorporate the flavor via celery powder in the chicken and oftentimes, I throw in a tsp in the sauce. 

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!