Crispy fried chicken wings in a light batter, finished with a spicy salt and pepper topping. These wings make a brilliant starter, side dish or addition to a Chinese banquet.
Preheat the oven to its lowest setting - this is for keeping the wings warm, as you’ll need to cook in two batches.
Cut each wing at the joint so you have a mini wing and a drumette.
2.2 lbs (1 kg) chicken wings
Mix the cornflour, baking powder, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika together in a large bowl.
60 g (½ cup) cornflour, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp garlic salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp paprika
Place the chicken wings in the bowl and toss to coat them evenly in the coating. Remove the wings from the bowl and place on a plate.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat - ready for frying the wings.
240 ml (1 cup) oil for frying
Add the flour, Chinese five spice, rice vinegar, and water to the remaining cornflour that’s left in the bowl and mix, using a balloon whisk until combined. This gives is the second coating for the chicken.
60 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 1 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice, 1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar, 120 ml (½ cup) cold water
Dip a chicken wing in the wet batter and turn to coat. Allow any excess batter to drip off and carefully add the chicken wing to the hot oil to deep fry.
Repeat with the remaining wings. You should be able to cook up to 10 chicken wings at a time if your pan is large enough.
Cook for 6-8 minutes, moving the chicken around in the pan a couple of times, with a set of tongs, to prevent it from sticking together.
Place the first batch of wings on a tray and place in the oven to keep warm, while you cook the second batch.
Repeat with the remaining wings.
While the wings are cooking, make the topping.
Add the oil to a small frying pan and heat over a medium heat.
1 tbsp oil
Add the spring onions, chillies, salt, and garlic into the hot pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Turn off the heat.
1 small bunch spring onions, 1 green chilli, 1 red chilli, ½ tsp salt, 2 cloves garlic
Once the wings are ready, transfer to a serving plate and spoon over the chilli topping, then serve.
Notes
Nutritional information is approximate, per wing, presuming approx 60ml (1/4 cup) of of is absorbed during the frying process.