Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a shot at probably one of the most Americanized dishes that I've come across in a long time, which is a Cola braised chicken wing. Yes. I know, it sounds gross. But hear me out, I'll explain. While on first glance I will admit, this does sound like some insane midwest housewife "spa-peggy and meatballs" kind of thing, on further research, I actually think this is a VERY clever and resourceful way to quickly and easily make a batch of super tender, fall off the bone chicken wings, paired with a wonderfully sticky, sweet and savory glaze to top it off. This is because our Coca-Cola contains a high amount of sugar, acid, and CO2, or in other words, the same things that we add to well...pretty much all chicken marinades and glazes.
In other words, essentially all of the things that are in this bottle of Coca-Cola that make it sweet enough to cause an American diabetes epidemic and acidic enough to burn a hole in your stomach lining, are all of the same things that we need to tenderize and glaze a chicken wing. This means that this bottle of Coke is about 80% of everything that we need to make our chicken wings today. And while I am going to do some extra credit here by toasting some whole spices and adding some umami and heat drivers to round out our glaze, honestly y'all, Coca-Cola did most of the work to make this dish here, and I will prove it to you. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (1 tbsp) ginger
2 lbs chicken wings (flats)
3 star anise pods
1 stick cinnamon
6 Tian Jin peppers
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (braise)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
12 oz coca cola (regular, not diet)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp doubanjiang
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
MINCE the ginger, set aside
combine all braise ingredients, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a dutch oven over medium low heat, add the cinnamon, star anise, and Tian Jin peppers and dry toast for 2-3 minutes until fragrant, then remove
ADD 4 tbsp peanut oil, then add the chicken wings 12-15 at a time and sear over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side until browned
REMOVE the chicken wings, then add the garlic and ginger and saute for 15 seconds until fragrant
ADD the glaze mixture and deglaze the fond from the bottom of the pot
ADD the wings, star anise and cinnamon, then cover and let braise for 15 minutes
REMOVE the cover and let reduce until the sauce is thickened and coats the wings