China Appetizer

Five Spice Wings
(Makes 8-10)

Beijing Wings (even rhymes)—an Asian twist on a US favorite. Delicious!

Marinade
4 ½ tsp. rice wine or dry sherry
3 slices fresh ginger (peeled)
3 scallions (minced)
5 T soy sauce
2 lb. chicken wings
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Batter
1/3 C flour
1/3 C cornstarch
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. five-spice powder (see sidebar)
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6-8 C vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Marinate: in a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients for marinade. Add chicken and marinate for 2 hours.

Batter: combine next 4 ingredients (not oil) in a bag. Pat wings dry, drop them into bag, and shake to coat with seasonings.

Deep Fry: heat oil to 350 in a skillet or wok. Lower wings in one or two at a time. Cook 3 minutes each side and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

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Tips & Glossary

Many ingredients used in Chinese cooking probably aren’t in your spice shelf, but you can find them at Asian grocery stores. To avoid frustration, make a list of the items before trying recipes.

Agar Agar: dried seaweed used as a gelatin. Buy it in sticks (or strips) and soak in cold water to soften.

Chili Oil: buy it or make your own. For a recipe, see Hunan Chicken.

Chinese Cabbage: aka “Nappa”;long, white stalks with light green crinkly leaves.

Deep Frying: use a deep-fry thermometer to reach the recipe's correct temperature; if the oil isn't hot enough, the food will be soggy. When cool, the oil can be strained, refrigerated, and re-used.

Dried Shrimp: tiny, salted, sun-dried shrimp that add a pungent flavor to Asian cooking. Soak before using.

Five-Spice Powder: blend of star anise, cinamon, cloves, fennel and Szechuan peppercorns. Like allspice.

Peppersalt: buy or make your own. Heat 2 T Szechuan peppercorns in skillet 5 min. Grind into powder and mix with 2 T salt.

Sauces: Hoisin (sweet, from soybeans); Oyster (like soy, from oysters); Sweet Bean (canned, salty, from soybeans); Hot Bean (hot & salty, from soybeans and peppers).

Sesame Paste: from gound sesame seeds; substitute with peanut butter.

Sweet Rice Powder: from glutinous rice; used in place of flour in many desserts.

Szechuan peppercorns: dried reddish berries, fragrant and mildly hot.