Buffalo Wings

It's Friday evening. Work and school just ended and you're off for the weekend. You think to yourself, you've been working hard all week long, and it's about time you treated yourself out for once. A nice cool beer or two sounds just about enough to hit the spot right now. You head home and buy a few at the convenience store, and then you realize it wouldn't be as enjoyable if you didn't have something to eat with this beer. You've got some money to spare... What would go best with beer right now? Nearest pub and resto is miles away, but there is this delicatessen nearby. You walk inside, and after the staff greet you warmly, you go on and have a look around.

The delicatessen is exactly what you'd expect; various dried meats and specialty ingredients are on display all around the store. Rows of exotic ingredients line the shelf, either in boxes or jars, and there's a display of a pyramid of stacked cans on sale near the meats section. As you put down the vegemite you had some small interest in, you turn and see a shelf full of nothing but organized stacks of Munz chocolate on one side of the store, next to the pastry goods. But you don't want anything sweet. You want something that goes well with this beer you've bought and that chocolate is anything but.

But then, you see the blue cheese, packs of chicken wings, and Sriracha sauce, and suddenly it all hits you.

My plating could have been better.

Time for a personal take on my favorite kind of chicken wings.

Just a note: All my posts insofar about Sharehouse Cooking have involved a rice cooker. Just this once, I have to say that if all you have is a rice cooker, you may want to think about investing on an induction stove and pots compatible for them.

If you're an avid wings eater (like me), this should be enough just for you. Otherwise, it should suit about two people.

Buffalo Wings

Ingredients:

• 600 g chicken wings
• 200 g flour
• 1 pc carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 10 g butter
• Sriracha hot sauce as needed
• honey as needed
• salt as needed
• oil as needed

1. First off, cut your wings in half, if you haven't already. Make sure you cut your wings at the joints so they get separated properly.
2. Season your wings with salt.
3. Dab your wings into your flour. Don't dab it too much in the flour. You'll want to just make sure the chicken is lightly coated with it.
4. Cut your celery and carrots into small sticks. Set them aside.
5. Oil your pan and turn up the stove on a low heat (170°C). When the pan feels warm enough, put in your wings one by one, skin side down. When you put the wings down, remember to press each one against the pan lightly and then rub them against the oil. This prevents the wings from sticking against the pan. If your wings don't fit in the pan, cook them in batches.
6. Cover your pan while the wings cook, and increase your temperature (180°C). When one side turns golden brown, turn it over so that the raw side gets cooked too.
7. When your wings are cooked, take them out of your pan and put them in a separate bowl while you cook the next batch. Set the finished wings aside in a warm place.
8. When all of your wings are cooked, mix in some Sriracha and honey. Add in as much as you please, but bear in mind that about 1:3 should be your honey and Sriracha ratio. Add in your butter too. Toss your wings in with that mixture.
9. Serve with your carrots and celery on the side.

Skin side down first.

Blue Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

• 180 g blue cheese
• 90 g sour cream
• 10 g milk
• 25 g mayonnaise
• 15 g lemon juice
• salt as needed
• pepper as needed

1. Mix in all the ingredients into a container.
2. Take a spoon and start sticking it into random places in the mixture. Mix it around some, but just enough so that everything blends in together and there are still chunks of blue cheese left.
3. Serve with the buffalo wings. Otherwise, cover and store in the chiller. If your container doesn't have a lid, use cling wrap.

Look at that nice orange color.

And that's it. These wings should come out just about nicely spicy and somewhat sweet. You can also mix your wings in something other than Sriracha and honey, but this recipe simply covers the most basic kind of buffalo wings with a touch of honey, which I personally prefer over anything else. If you don't have Sriracha, some generic hot sauce should work fine too, but you'll want to adjust your servings accordingly depending on the spiciness of your hot sauce.

Last thing: when you toss your wings, it may be a good idea for you to cover your bowl with a lid while you do that. I've had to do a bit of improvising myself:

The smaller lids... Were too small.

But that's enough rambling. Time for you to enjoy those lovely wings you've made. And perfect timing for you Americans out there; I hear it's Superbowl season. Along with those veggie sticks and blue cheese dip, these wings are the perfect companion to your nice, cold beer while you watch your favorite football team glorify (or humiliate) themselves over national or international television. What a way to treat yourself, eh?