Chicken Wings in Cocoa-Hot Sauce

I like spicy chicken wings... I usually order a serving every time I place an order for pizza.  There is just something about it that can get very addicting and yummy.  They can be very messy to eat but I guess that is part of the charm in eating hot wings especially if you use your hands instead of the utensils :)

This recipe for chicken wings is based on a Good Housekeeping cookbook that my sister-in-law gave me recently.  I used cocoa powder instead of grated dark chocolate since I didn't have any in the house.  The result is a decadent variation of the classic hot wings that I do like very much.

Cooking this takes a few steps and several cooking vessels so be prepared to wash a mountain of dirty dishes afterwards...hehehe. I used one cooking pot for frying the chicken wings and another for the sauce.  I also used several plates for the preparation which was my mistakes since I should have used a ziplock bag for dredging the wings in seasoned flour.  That would have saved me a little bit of time and fewer dirty dishes...

The recipe calls for a cup of butter but I cut it down to half and still got a good result.  I do not like my food too greasy anyway so it worked out well.  Instead of using a regular hot sauce to make the dish spicy, I used a combination of kochukaro (Korean powdered chili) and Sriracha (Vietnamese hot sauce).  The kochukaro don't dissolve well so the sauce can be a little gritty but I liked it anyway.  You can adjust the spices to suit your taste but the proportion that I used (1 Tbsp kochukaro and 2 Tbsp Sriracha) was good enough for me- not too spicy but with enough hint of spiciness. 

Dredging the chicken wings in seasoned flour before frying not only gives it a nice flavor but also makes it crunchy even after the sauce has been added.  I think that if you do not dredge the chicken wings in flour prior to frying, the wings will become soggy once the sauce is added.  The addition of cocoa powder in the sauce gives it a darker color and deeper flavor than normal hot wing sauce.  

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken wings

3/4 All-purpose flour for dredging

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, according to taste.

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce

1 Tbsp kochukaro (Korean chili powder)

1/2 cup butter, room temp

oil for frying

1. In a bowl, combine flour with salt and ground pepper.  Mix thoroughly

2. Dredge chicken wings in flour mixture, remove excess and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a deep pan.  Add a few chicken wings at a time and cook until done.  Remove from heat and place in a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess grease. Set aside.

4. Heat another pan over medium heat.  Add butter and cook until melted.

5. Add Sriracha and kochukaro. Cook for a minute or two then turn off the heat.

6. Stir in cocoa powder and mix until well incorporated.

7. Add wings to the hot sauce mixture and mix until every wing is coated with the sauce.

8. Transfer in a serving dish and serve with ranch dressing and slices of celery.

Green Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky (Goi Du Du Bo Kho)

I remember eating a Vietnamese salad a while back and it tasted really good so I wanted to recreate it at home. I adapted this recipe from Viet World Kitchen but I modified it a little bit.

Papaya trees are abundant in the Philippines and usually used in several dishes such as atchara (pickles) or in a chicken stew. It can also be eaten raw both in its unripe or ripen stages. Unripe or underripe papaya can just be sliced and eaten with salt and vinegar while ripe papaya can be eaten by itself or grated then mixed with sugar and milk. Anyway you want to eat your papaya is fine as long as you add something to it. Eating papaya by itself can be a little bland unless it really ripe. There are varieties in the Philippines that are sweet when ripe and others that remains bland even when they are fully ripe. To me, the here is nothing compared to those foundin the Philippines but it could just be me and my preference :)

Anyways, this Vietnamese papaya salad is quite tasty thanks to the dressing which is a combination of sweet and spicy. I do think it is better to serve the dressing on the side so that each person can adjust it according to preference rather than dumping all the dressing on the entire salad. Plus, it makes it looks nicer too to serve the dressing and salad separately. I am not really a huge fan of the color of the dark soy because it looks too dark (to me) and makes the salad look unappetizing.

Dressing:
3 tablespoons regular (light) soy sauce
1 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoons sugar
1 or 2 Thai chillies, finely chopped (you can remove the seed if you prefer it less spicy)

Combine all ingredients and mix until sugar is dissolve. Set aside.

2 cups unripe papaya, peeled then julienned
1 teaspoons salt
4 ounces Asian-style beef jerky, julienned
a handful of basil,sliced thinly


1. Peel papaya, remove and discard seeds then julienne using a mandoline slicer. NOTE: Be careful not to cut your fingers.

2. Place papaya in a bowl then add salt. Let it stand for 15 minutes then squeeze as much of the fluid out. You can either do it by hand or use a cheese cloth to wring the fluids out. Discard any liquid.

3. Transfer to a clean bowl then fluff to loosen.

4. Add beef jerky and basil and toss lightly. Serve with dressing on the side.

Deep Fried Shrimp with Spicy Salt

This is my version of the deep fried shrimp dish that we usually get from a Chinatown resto here in LA. Normally, this recipe calls for Szechuan peppercorns but I did not have any on hand so I opted to tweak the recipe instead of going out to buy some. Taste wise, this dish is really good. The shrimp is very crunchy and crispy on the outside while succently on the inside. This dish taste really good with piping hot rice. When Ieat this dish, I usually do not use utensils. Instead, I use my hand to eat...mmmm, yummy...

I refrain from adding seasoning to the shrimp prior to deep frying it because the spicy salt will be more than enough to season it. You can devn your shrimp by making a lit along the back using a sharp knife then removing the membrame but I just totally skipped that step because I was pressed for time. When frying it, make sure that your oil's temperature remains constant by not overcrowding the pan. This will result in a crispier outcome, in my opinion. Oh, be very careful when frying or removing your shrimps as the oil will be very hot and could burn your hands. I always use a screen splatter guard (I am not even sure if that is what its called) to prevent oil from splattering all over you, your stove, and the kitchen. Word of advice: when handling Thai chili and kochukaro, avoid touching your face or eyes as they can cause it to sting. To me, the dish is not too spicy but if you can to cut down on the spiciness, make sure that you remove the seed from the Thai chillies or eliminate kochukaru. Bon Appetit!



Ingredients:
1 lb jumbo shrimp
oil for frying
1/2 cup cornstarch or all-purpose flour
2 red Thai chillies, sliced thinly and diagonally
2 greem Thai chillies, sliced thinly and diagonally
1/4 tsp freshly and coarsely ground black pepper
a small pinch of Kochukaru (Korean red pepper powder)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 rsp sea salt, you can adjust depending on your taste

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium high heat.
2. In a small bowl, mix sea salt, ground black pepper, and kochukaru. Set aside
3. Wash and dry shrimps thoroughly.
4. In a small bowl, place flour.
5. Dredge shrimp in flour them place in a strainer and shake off excess flour.
6. When oil is hot, add a few shrimps at a time and deep fry until it turns slightly orange. Remove from heat and drain excess oil using a strainer or colander. Repeat process untill all the shrimps has been deep fried.

7. Heat clean sauce pan over medium heat. Ad about 1 - 2 Tbsp of oil.
8. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
9. Add Thai chili and saute for 30 secons to 1 minute.
10. Add the salt mixture and saute a little bit. Notice that the salt will absorb almost all of the all.
11. Add fried shrimp into the mix and dry sautee to coat it with the salt mixture.
12. Immediately remove from heat, transfer to a serving platter and serve. Serve with rice if you want.