Korean Sweet & Crispy Chicken Wings

Crispy, sweet and addictive! I just love this Korean style chicken wings the husband made a couple weeks ago. The wings were so good, I wished we had more of them. Who wouldn’t like sweet and sticky caramelized wings. The hint of ginger and roasted sesame seeds brought the wings to another level. It was indeed finger licking good!!!! =) The wings still tasted delectable the very next day!

I found the recipe from David’s Lebovitz’s site (one of my favorite food blogs). This recipe was originally adapted from this Korean cook/chef, Maangchi. We (the husband) tweaked the recipe a little so, the wings may not be as crispy as it was supposed to be. We had problems with the batter, not quite adhering to the chicken wings so we added the white of a large egg to the batter. That coated the wings better and we still love the after effect. And we also made use of what we had in the pantry, incorporating some maple syrup.  Here’s the recipe with our changes.

DAK GANG JUNG RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Corn Flour
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Large Egg White
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
• 14 Chicken Wing Segments
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1- 3” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Light/Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
• 3 Tbsp Mirin
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Corn Syrup
• 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1-2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seed
• 1 Tsp Red Chili Flakes
• Oil

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, starch, egg, salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground chili pepper until it's a thick paste. Add the wings and mix with your hands until they're thoroughly coated. Let wings marinate for about 1 hour.

Deep fry the wings in a pot of hot oil over medium high heat, twice in batches. About 15 minutes the first time and 1-2 minutes the second time. Then drain well.

In a large pot or wok, bring to a boil the water, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, Mirin, corn syrup and syrup. Let cook until the mixture becomes syrupy and thick, and starts to foam. It should be about as thick as honey.

Turn off the heat and stir in the cooked wings, sesame seeds, and chili flakes, until completely coated.

June’s Comments: Don’t be afraid to use your elbow grease when you incorporate the wings and the sweet sticky sauce!!

Kowloon Restaurant @ Saugus, MA

First of, I do feel bad writing about my maiden visit to Kowloon coz dinner wasn’t great but the company was great and meal was free. Well, the husband and I did not pay a penny. Chris paid for our dinner there when we helped him move. Chris, if you’re reading this post…Sorry!!

Whenever we pass by Route 1 and Kowloon, the husband will always tell me about Kowloon and that lots of people like to frequent this joint. And that we should try it. The place is huge and the parking lot is always packed whenever we drove past it. The weekend we helped Chris with his move, we decided to head there for dinner since it was quite close to his new place. I was quite hyped about the place from all the raves I’ve heard from my friends.

Upon arriving, the parking was indeed quite packed and definitely huge. The building itself looked ginormous. When we entered the restaurant, it seemed like it was divided into 2 dining areas; Japanese Sushi area and common dining area I guess. We were lead into the regular/common dining area. The interior looked like it was stuck in the 70s or perhaps 80s with all the wall mural mimicking the beach/island. They were also faux coconut trees along one side of the wall. And part of the dining area were designed to create the feel of being on a sailboat…perhaps a mini Titanic…..all with the emergency boats/rafts, sail, etc… Sorry, I honestly don’t know parts to a boat. =)

So, after browsing through the menu with tons of dishes from different cuisines/regions…we decided to order from their Chinese menu. Here’s what we ordered.

1) Crab Rangoon @ $5.95 (Bottom Left). This is not exactly REAL Chinese food. If you’re not familiar with Crab Rangoon, this is basically a cream cheese mixture with imitation crabstick and seasoning wrapped in wonton skin then deep fried. 8 pieces of golden crispy cheese “pillows” came with a side of sweet and sour sauce. This was perhaps one of the better dish that night. =) I do appreciate that they really stuffed the wonton skin with lots of cheese! Yums!

2) Fresh Jumbo Shrimp with Lobster Sauce @ $11.75 (Bottom Right). I realized this is one of hubby’s favorite American Chinese Food. It’s definitely not mine. The brown meat sauce does not appeal to me. The first time I ate this dish (elsewhere), I thought the restaurant served up the wrong stuff. It was filled with ground meat and taste nothing like lobster. I’m not really sure why the call it Lobster Sauce, perhaps its cooked with some essence of Lobster..or lobster shells? No lobster meat is present for sure. Hubby’s shrimp with lobster sauce surely came with a handful of fresh juicy jumbo shrimps swimming in a pool of the brown meat sauce fondly known as Lobster Sauce. To me, there wasn’t anything special about this dish.

3) Tofu Yu Hsiang Style (Hot garlic Sauce) @ $10.75 (Bottom Left). I ordered this dish as I wanted some tofu. You can almost never go wrong with “Yu Hsiang” style tofu in any restaurants. This dish is usually slightly spicy. Tofu was deep fried then stir fried with some broccoli and spicy garlic sauce. It wasn’t the best I’ve tasted as I thought it still lacked some flavors/depths. However, all of us agreed that it was the best dish we ordered that night. Pat on the back for me.. Haha!

4) Special Kowloon Treasure - Chicken, Lobster, Shrimp, Beef and Roast Pork Sauteed with Chinese Vegetable and Oyster Sauce, Topped with Crispy Wonton @ $19.95 (Bottom Right). Chris ordered this and it came in a pedestal kind of serving ware. The dish looked odd, with huge wonton skins adorned around the dish, pineapple and cherry as garnish on top of the actual dish. It felt as if they were hiding the “stars” under all those extra garnishes. We were all deceived by the crispy wontons which were empty inside. We were expecting some kind of filling in it. The dish is perfect if you’re craving for all types of meat/seafood as well as vegetables in one dish. It was stir fried in a brown sauce which tasted very much alike the lobster sauce. Perhaps both these dishes use the same gravy base. Nothing too impressive about their “Special Kowloon Treasure” for sure!

What aggravates me most when eating at Asian restaurants especially Chinese ones is paying for white rice! To me, it doesn’t make sense to charge that extra $1-2 for rice when rice itself is a staple in Chinese cuisine! Why can’t they not charge the rice, and only charge if extra portion is requested??? I guess it’s just a marketing scheme to “extort” more money from the customers.. Haha! And yes, Kowloon does the same…charging you for the rice. And the rice wasn't cooked right. It was uncook/stale/..plain hard... It's a shame an Asian restaurant can't get its rice right! But, it was nice that the wait staff informed us that rice is not included and asked if we wanted rice with our meal.

Overall, the service is iffy. Their wait staff wasn’t very attentive or friendly. Will I be back? Probably not in the near future…Iffy service and mediocre food.. I rather pay more to eat at PF' Chang’s. Heck, I would even eat at Panda Express anytime then go to Kowloon again! You may disagree with me, but this is my personal review and experience. =P

Well, if you’re curious and want to give Kowloon a try…check out their menu HERE. They are located in the Saugus area on busy Route 1.

948 Broadway
Saugus, MA 01906
(781) 233-0077

Hooters Chicken Wings Copy Cat

Raise your hands if you love HOOTERS Chicken Wings!!! The hubby and I are fans of chicken wings…especially Hooters Style Buffalo wings in either Mild or Medium heat. The heat and butter ratio is just right… Any spiciness/heat above the medium is just a turn off to us. The nearest Hooter's location is about 40 minutes from us. It is a bit of a drive to get there to satisfy our Hooter’s Wings cravings and it also sucks that the nearest to us (about 15 minutes drive) closed down!!

The other day, hubby and I were game for a wings for dinner night. The husband volunteered to cook (and clean!). I can’t say no and let the man work his magic. He made some heavenly Hooter’s like wings for dinner!! We ate those up first before the husband cooked up more wings, batch #2 a little differently. Anyway, here’s the Hooter’s Wings Copy Cat recipe. This recipe is a keeper!!

HOOTERS WINGS (MEDIUM) COPY CAT RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
• 14 Chicken Wing Segments
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Frank’s Original Hot Sauce
• Oil

Method:

In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and peppers. Coat chicken entirely in the flour mixture; refrigerate coated wings for 1 hour; coat chicken again with remaining flour mixture.

In a 2-quart saucepan, heat butter and hot sauce just until butter melts; turn heat to low and keep warm on stove top.

Deep-fry chicken, 8 - 10 pieces at a time, in 375 degree oil (vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil) for 13 minutes, turning once or twice. Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack for 30 seconds, then immediately toss fried chicken in buffalo sauce mixture and remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining chicken. Adjusting the spiciness of the sauce: As is, the recipe produces a medium sauce. To change the amount of spiciness, simply adjust the butter-to-hot sauce-ratio:

• Mild: Use 3/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup hot sauce.
• Hot: Use 1/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup hot sauce.

June’s Comments: The only variation the husband did to the recipe was using Frank’s Chile and Lime Hot Sauce (that was the only Hot Sauce we had in the fridge). The result is equally awesome. Wings tasted very close to the Hooters kind. I bet, if we use the correct Frank’s Hot Sauce, the wings will be SPOT ON!!

I cut up some celery stick to go with the wings. Feel free to also serve some Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing with those buttery and tangy wings! Don’t forget cold beer!!

The Day The Husband Was The Wing Expert!

That was the day he made some awesomely delicious chicken wings! 2 flavors; Hooters Style Chicken Wings and Korean Sweet & Crispy Chicken Wings! It was SO GOOD! I officially made him the Chicken Wing expert! I googled the recipes, and my husband did the rest; from prepping, cleaning to cooking us some restaurant quality chicken wings!! Here’re some picture of the yummy goodness he made for dinner!

1) Hooters Style Buffalo Wings which tasted very much alike like the ones you get from the restaurant! He made it medium, so it was slightly spicy, tangy and buttery good! =) Batter on the chicken was just right, not too thick!

 

2) Dak Gang Jung (Korean Sweet & Crispy Chicken Wings). Another finger licking good plate of wings. This one is slightly gingery, sticky, sweet and just so additive!! =)

I will share recipes for these 2 delectable wings in another post! =) This would be great for parties or for whenever you have a wing craving I guess. =).

Wilted Watercress Salad

2 weekends ago, hubby and I went for luxury on a budget by cooking a seafood meal at home and pairing it with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I was desperate to pair the seafood with some greens while working with whatever I have in the pantry and fridge. I always try to incorporate some vegetables in each meal.

I soon found a recipe I really liked and was able to incorporate the stuff I already have without running to the store to get more. I did change the recipe a little to my liking by adding some caramelized onions and substituting ground mustard for dijon mustard. The result was a delicious sweet and tangy salad with hint of crispy bacon pieces. Here’s the recipe 

WILTED WATERCRESS SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Bunch Water Cress (About 5 Oz)
• 4 Slices Bacon, Cut into 1”
• 1 Medium Onion, Sliced
• 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Sugar
• 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
• A Dash paprika

Method:

Rinse thoroughly the watercress and remove any yellow leaves. Cut watercress into about 2”.  Set aside in a serving bowl.

Heat a small stick-free pan on medium heat and cook the bacon until done, several minutes on each side. Remove the bacon from the pan and put on a paper towel. Keep the bacon fat in the pan. Add onions and sauté until soft. Then add 1 tsp of sugar and let onions caramelized before removing onions and keeping fat in pan.

Add the cider vinegar and sugar to the bacon fat. Stir to dissolve. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add dijon mustard and a dash of paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning. This is a sweet-sour dressing, so if it is too acidic, add a bit more sugar, if too sweet, add a bit more vinegar.

Bring the dressing to a simmer. Pour over the watercress. Add in caramelized onion and sprinkle cooked bacon. Toss and serve. Serves 2-3.

June’s Comments: I served with delicious tangy Wilted Watercress Salad with some Chilean Sea Bass and Tiger Prawns (Bottom Left). We both enjoyed the salad so much that we repeated the recipe and used Spinach leaves instead. The Wilted Spinach Salad (Bottom Right) was equally delicious!!! =)