Name: Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
Ingredients: 1 kg wings (each split into two tips discarded)); 2 cups buttermilk (or a mixture of yoghurt and milk); 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp crushed black pepper; 1 tsp ginger paste; 1 tsp garlic paste; juice of half a lemon; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch; 2 tsp salt (plus an extra 2 pinches to season the flour); 2 tsp crushed black pepper; 2 tsp white pepper powder; 1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil; 2 green onions (finely chopped (reserve greens for garnish)); 1 tbsp red chilli flakes; 4 garlic cloves (finely minced); vegetable oil for deep frying

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

This quiet and unassuming little recipe is full of banging flavours! Perfect for game-nights or when you are craving some crunchy and delicious fried wings.

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Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Ingredients for Marinade

1 kg wings each split into two tips discarded)
2 cups buttermilk or a mixture of yoghurt and milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
juice of half a lemon

Other Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch
2 tsp salt plus an extra 2 pinches to season the flour
2 tsp crushed black pepper
2 tsp white pepper powder
1 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil
2 green onions finely chopped (reserve greens for garnish)
1 tbsp red chilli flakes
4 garlic cloves finely minced
vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

Clean and pat dry the wings. In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together and then dip your wings and stir them in to combine. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours or up to overnight for wings that are really juicy on the inside.
When ready to cook the wings, remove them from the fridge at least half an hour before you start so that they can come to room temperature. Heat oil on medium in a deep frying pan. The oil should not get too hot as the wings will be fried twice, first on medium low heat and then again on high heat for extra crunch.
Mix the all purpose flour and cornflour in a bowl. Season with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Take each wing out of the marinde, give it a little shake to remove any excess and toss it in the flour, ensure it is fully coated. Fry in batches (without crowding the pan) on low heat until the wings are pale golden but not fully cooked through, it should take about 8 minutes. Do not stir the wings around as that will make the coating fall off. Keep going until all the wings have been fried once. Then reheat the oil, and add the wings back in and fry for another 6-8 minutes or until golden, fully cooked and crunchy. While the wings are cooking, put the 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp black pepper and 2 tsp white pepper in a grinder and grind to a fine powder. I normally do not use MSG (ajinomoto or flavour enhancer) in my cooking, but if you like it, then add about a quarter tsp into this salt-pepper mix. Set this aside, we shall use this to season the wings when they are done frying.
In the meantime, heat the 1 tbsp of oil in a wok over very low heat and lightly fry the minced garlic until the aroma gets released and they begin to turn light golden (careful not to burn them!!), then add the green onions. Stir for a couple of minutes, mix in the chilli flakes and turn the heat off.
Once the chicken wings are cooked through, remove and drain onto paper towels and IMMEDIATELY season them with the ground salt and pepper mix. You do not need to use the entire lot, just 2-3 generous pinches should be enough. The remainder can be stored to season chips/fries, eggs or your next batch of fried chicken. Then put the wings all into the wok containing the cooked spicy garlic/onion mixture and toss them gently to combine. This is NOT a sauce, but rather a lovely little layer of additional flavour to compliment the chicken wings. Garnish with the chopped greens from the spring onions. Serve with a dip of your choice.
Enjoy! 🙂

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings