Garlic Korean Fried Chicken Wings

Before I ever tried Chicken Alice's Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) wings (original recipe here, mmm-yoso's version here, and my version here), I made a batch of "garlic" KFC. We love garlic and this recipe really sounded good. Love garlic or not, I was a bit hesitant because garlic burns quickly and deep frying a whole lot of minced garlic could be...a bitter catastrophe. But being a wing-aholic, and encouragement from the Mister, I gave it a shot.


The results were a bit mixed at first. As you might see in the picture, the little darker spots were the pieces of garlic and some of them did seem a little overcooked, giving a taste that was slightly bitter and sweet. On first bite, I wasn't quite sure how to react but there was a subtlety to the fried garlic and by the second bite, I was hooked. The Mister said they were really good, different and addictive. There definitely was a garlic aftertaste, not bad and again sweet. And certainly no fear of vampires visiting me in bed that night.

And sitting here now, thinking about the taste of these little delectable wings makes me want to whip up a batch for this weekend. Perhaps for tomorrow's Sabres game. Not quite Buffalo wings but wings, nonetheless.

Ingredients:

5 lb chicken wings
1/2 onion, grated or minced finely
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons ground pepper
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4-1/3 cup minced garlic cloves (as much as you can take!)
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder or 1 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 egg yolk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except chicken wings. Mix thoroughly, the batter should be thick and paste-like. If you're willing, taste the batter to adjust for taste (too sweet, too salty, not enough, etc.).

Add wings to the batter and mix well. Let marinade in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. The longer the better. You can also let it marinate overnight.

Take the wings out 1 hour prior to frying.

Preheat oil to 350 degrees F. I used my Dutch oven to provide the depth needed for deep frying (a Lodge cast iron skillet won't cut it here). Use a candy/deep fry thermometer to monitor oil temperature. You don't want your oil to get too hot on this one. Depending on the type of oil you use, type of frying vessel, how large the wings are, it will take anywhere from 6-10 minutes for the wings to cook.

Don't crowd your pot. Cook in batches. You might also need to adjust the temperature to make sure the wings cook all the way through without burning the outside. I've learned that I need to have the actual cooking temperature (once the food has been added) to be around 325 degrees F when I'm using the Dutch oven.

Think I might just whip up a batch this weekend. Aloha Friday everyone. Have a fantastic weekend. Now go and eat well.