Every chef has their preferred way of enjoying food, and when it comes to chicken wings, Andrew Zimmern’s go-to way to prepare this fowl favorite was inspired by an eating excursion in Hong Kong. While Zimmern’s favorite midnight snack is grilled toast with butter and anchovies, the chef revealed on an episode of Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Made” that when he wants comfort food he craves Grandmother’s Chinese chicken wings. It took Zimmern 20 years to perfect the recreated recipe, but his quest was worth it.
He explained, “A Chinese master sauce reduced around chicken wings…is, for my money, one of the world’s greatest recipes.” While Zimmern was able to discern all the ingredients for the delectable sauce right away, getting the ratios right was the “Bizarre Foods” host’s biggest challenge. Then a fortunate stroke of serendipity came his way. A friend’s wife gifted Zimmern a Chinese chef’s recipe book that contained the ratios for the liquids for the sauce.
As the chef learned, the liquids need to be precise or the sauce will skew too salty, sweet, spicy, sour, etc. The liquid base is made from water, sake, naturally brewed soy sauce, oyster sauce, and mirin, which is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that will also make your fried rice unforgettable. Then it’s time to add the spices.
The key spices for Grandmother’s Chinese chicken wings
In addition to the base liquids, the sauce for Andrew Zimmern’s favorite chicken wings includes a combination of brown sugar, fresh ginger, star anise, dried hot chili, green onion, and a lone cinnamon stick. If you’ve never used star anise before, don’t feel intimidated: It’s one of the uncommon spices we suggest you add to your cooking repertoire. Zimmern noted in the episode that the star anise and cinnamon are the key to balancing the flavor of this sauce because their natural sweetness pairs well with all of the salty elements in a way that the chef calls “transformative.” He cautions, however, that you want to taste as you mix, especially if you like a sauce that is more sweet than spicy.
Because this sauce is so flavorful, there is no need to do anything to the unseasoned wings aside from a dry sear before the sauce is added and the dish is cooked together. The sauce reduces and becomes sticky, sweet, and delicious. The chef then stirs the dish over high heat to let the chicken fat emulsify into the sauce, creating what he calls “a mouthfeel that you will not find with any other technique.” Topped with sesame seeds and green onions, the final dish is a marriage of sweet, sour, and smoky that Zimmern can’t get enough of — no wonder he said he eats this dish every week!
