First post of 2020! Can I get a WOOT WOOT?!

I can’t take full credit for this recipe. I didn’t think of it but I did add my extra touch. My mom used to make sweet and sour wings whenever she wanted to jazz up regular fried chicken. We would typically have them along with fried rice as a special weekend dinner. It was nothing fancy, but it was always so good.

Then, two years ago, on Super Bowl Sunday nonetheless, she wanted to make these wings, but was almost out of sauce. With the game about to start and the chicken coming out of the fryer, there wasn’t any time left to go to the store. Queue ratchet kitchen improvisation! If you’re not a trained improviser, like myself, I don’t recommend trying this. JK! This was risky regardless, but it was crunch time and I had to make this happen. So, I took the last few drops of sweet and sour sauce, leftover Chinese food duck sauce packets (we all have a junk drawer with some stashed somewhere), molasses or honey, dried chili flakes, vinegar and God knows what else to whip up a quick sauce. Of course it came out a success or else I wouldn’t be telling you this story. Hence the beginnings of this now improved recipe.

By all means, you can just make fried chicken and smother it in sweet and sour sauce straight out of the bottle like my mom…or you can be a little extra. I think you should choose the latter option and continue to the recipe ;) . I also recommend eating these when they are hot & fresh. Actually, this rule applies for all wings. There’s nothing worse than a soggy skinned, reheated chicken wing. YUCK! So, do yourself a favor and enjoy these immediately because you only deserve the best.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the Chicken
4 lbs chicken wing portions (drums & flats)
1 tbsp season salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp malt vinegar
10 dashes Maggi seasoning*
2 cups flour

For the Sauce
1/2 cup Kikkoman sweet & sour sauce
1 tbsp Sambal Oelek chili paste
1 tsp honey
2 tsps apple cider vinegar
5 dashes Maggi seasoning
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 sliced green onion (greens and whites separated)

Other Ingredients
vegetable oil (up to 4 cups depending on your frying method)

*You can substitute Maggi seasoning for soy sauce, if this seasoning isn’t available near you.

Special Tools:
deep fryer (Fryer used: Presto 05420 FryDaddy)**
tongs or metal slotted spoon
cooling wire rack
small saucepan
2 large mixing bowls

**If you do not have a deep fryer, a medium sized pot filled halfway with oil on the stovetop can achieve the same results. Just preheat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit prior to frying the chicken.

Instructions

To Prep the Chicken

In a large mixing bowl, evenly distribute the seasonings, malt vinegar and Maggi seasoning over the chicken. The cover and let marinate for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, toss the chicken in flour until fully coated. Shake off the excess flour prior to frying.

To Make the Sauce

While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine all the sauce ingredients and warm for about 10 minutes.
Set sauce aside until the chicken is done frying.

To Fry the Chicken

Fill the deep fryer up halfway (up to 4 cups of vegetable oil) and allow it to preheat.
When the fryer has reached it’s optimal temperature, gently place the floured chicken portions into the hot oil bath. Fry until the chicken is dark golden brown; about 7 minutes.
The amount of chicken you can cook at a time will depend on the size of your fryer. I am able to comfortably fit 8-10 pieces in my fryer
for each batch.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, place on a cooling rack.
Repeat the frying process until all the chicken is done.

Assemble