Soy-braised chicken wings

Name: Soy-braised chicken wings
Yield: 3
Ingredients: 500 g Fresh chicken wing mid-joints; 10 g Ginger, divided; 15 g Chinese leek pieces; 15 g Garlic; 1 leaf Bay leaf; 1 pc Star anise; 2 pcs Dried chilies (optional); 15 g Rock sugar; 35 ml Cooking wine, divided; 15 ml Light soy sauce; 5 ml Dark soy sauce; 3 g Salt; 2 g Sugar; 1 g Ground white pepper; 3 g Toasted white sesame; 5 g Chopped scallion; 10 ml Cooking oil; Cover ingredients Water for blanching wings; Just cover ingredients Hot water for braising wings

Blanch wings, braise with caramel and spices, then reduce the sauce after checking doneness.

~50 minestimated time3servings7clear steps

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Follow the food, not just the clock.

01
Prepare wings and aromatics
Blot wings dry and make shallow slashes in thick areas without rinsing raw chicken. Slice ginger, crush garlic and cut leek. Divide wine into a slightly larger blanching share and a smaller braising share. Do not use wings with spoilage odors.
Look for
Wings are dry with shallow slashes and the aromatics and wine are divided.
Preparation ↗
02
Blanch and drain well
Place wings in cold water with half the ginger and the blanching wine. After boiling, set a 3 min check and skim foam. Lift out, drain thoroughly and blot off droplets; discard the blanching water.
Look for
Wing surfaces have changed color and are thoroughly drained.
Blanching ↗
03
Make a gentle caramel
In a clean pan, gently heat oil and rock sugar over low heat, stirring until pale amber. Carefully add dry wings and turn to coat. Do not burn sugar until smoking or black, and guard against hot caramel splashes.
Look for
Wings have a thin amber coating without blackened sugar.
Heat control ↗
04
Add spices and liquid
Add remaining ginger, leek, garlic, bay, star anise and optional chilies and stir until fragrant. Add the braising wine and light soy, carefully pour in hot water to just cover wings, then mix in dark soy, salt, sugar and white pepper.
Look for
Wings sit in reddish-brown broth with aromatics distributed around them.
Seasoning ↗
05
Braise and check the center
Bring to a boil, cover and maintain a gentle medium-low simmer with a 8 min first check. Probe the thickest wing meat away from bone to 74°C. Continue braising if needed, adding a little hot water when necessary.
Look for
Wing meat is plump and evenly colored with braising liquid remaining.
Simmering ↗
06
Remove spices and reduce
Remove bay, star anise and large aromatics with tongs. Uncover and toss over medium-high with a 2 min check. Stop when the sauce lightly clings to wings; do not reduce the sugary sauce dry.
Look for
Wings are glossy and the sauce is thickened but still flows.
Reduction ↗
07
Finish with sesame and scallion
Plate the wings with a little pan sauce, sprinkle toasted sesame and chopped scallion and cool briefly before eating.
Look for
Glossy wings are finished with white sesame and green scallion.
Preparation ↗

Recipe sources & image information

Adapted from HowToCook / 红烧鸡翅 · HowToCook contributors / Anduin2017/HowToCook · Unlicense

Bilingual editorial adaptation. Independently content-reviewed; not kitchen-tested. Project-generated images illustrate this recipe and its steps, rather than a user’s cooking result. Timing is an estimate; check actual ingredients, labels and doneness.