soya glazed chicken wings

Last night I dreamt that I was made of yarn; burgundy and lime green. I wasn't well made though, I somehow resembled a 'yarn doll' I made in 2006 while teaching my cousin's children how to make toys by wrapping yarn around carboard squares... I haven't had such an interesting dream in a while...

It was a good dream... I just wish I was knitted or something...

I made some chicken wings for brunch today. I was feeling a little peckish around noon and I had a wings craving. These are hot, sticky, and finger-suckingly delicious!

You will need a wide saucepan, or a deep frying pan when you make this dish, you want all the wings to fit into the pan without them stacking up in more than 2 layers.

Soya Glazed Chicken Wings Recipe

Makes 2 servings as a main/4 as an appetiser

1kg chicken wings (joint: separate the 2 sections)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

1 crushed garlic clove

1/2 tsp fresh ginger

3tbsp sugar

1 tsp black pepper

70 ml soya sauce (around 9 tbsp)

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp cornflour

300ml water

cooking oil for frying

a handful of chopped coriander

salt to taste

1. Place the chicken wings 2 tbsps of  the soya sauce, and 1 tbsp of sunflower/corn oil in a non-metallic bowl and toss to coat them evenly. Set aside for 15 minutes. Dry fry the wings (in a non-stick pan without adding any additional oil). Make sure that the pan is SUPER hot, and fry the chicken in batches so you don't allow the temperature of the pan to drop. If you overload the pan all the moisture wil escape from the chicken and they will begin to stew. Allow 2 minutes on each side, don't worry about cooking them through, at this point all we want is to put some colour on them and seal the moisture in! Set aside while you prepare the sauce.
2. Cool the pan down to a medium heat. Put a small amount of oil (around 2 tbsp) in the same pan and add the onions, garlic and ginger. When the onions turn transparent, add the vinegar, black pepper and sugar. Heat for a further 2 minutes (or until u can smell the sugar and onions caramelising)  and then add the remaining soya sauce and most of the water. At this point the sauce looks more like a soup! Don't fret though... heres what you do next.
3. Mix the cornflour with the remaining water to make a paste, and slowly whisk it through the mixture in the pan. The liquid should thicken slightly, but the real thickening happens in the next step.
4. Add the part-cooked chicken wings to the sauce and mix through. Allow to simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, mixing through every now and then. The sauce should reduce to about 1/4 of the original amount and coat the chicken wings in a golden glaze.
5. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve immediately! Yummy!

I'm going away to knit now...