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COOKING & INGREDIENTS
O
ur chefs test recipes andnewproducts
every day. Sometimes the recipes are
for our delis and cafes, sometimes
for stories in this magazine or to go up on
our newly redesigned website. Spearheading
the testing is Rouses Corporate Chef Marc
Ardoin. Here are some easy yet tasty recipes
Chef Marc recommends this season.
Football means food, and wings are a classic.
I like bone-in wings rather than boneless,
which are usually just chicken breast meat
or tenders.Traditional wings are plain fried,
with no breading or batter, and that’s what
we serve at Rouses on our hot bar during
tailgate season.
When you’re frying at home you can use
vegetable oil or canola oil, because they both
have a higher smoke point (usually around
450° F) and a neutral flavor. Vegetable oil
contains trans fats, so use canola oil if you are
trying to avoid excess fat.The trick to getting a
crispy, crunchy crust rather than a chewy one is
keeping that oil at the right temperature and
frying in small batches. Use a thermometer,
and remember to let your oil come back up
to temperature between each batch. If you try
to fry too much at one time, you won’t get that
delicious crunch.
The real crust challenge comes with baking.
Wings have a higher ratio of skin to meat than
other pieces of chicken. To get a crispy crust
when baking, you need to dehydrate the skin,
which will help the batter cling to the chicken
and render out some of the fat. Let the wings
rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour
— even overnight — before baking.
We toss our wings in an ever-changing
variety of sauces. This football season we’re
serving Buffalo, BBQ, Thai Chili, Teriyaki
and General Tso’s, which is a sweet and
spicy Chinese-American sauce. Our chefs
and cooks prepare the sauces every evening,
Monday through Friday, and lunch and
dinner Saturday and Sunday. We also have
a variety of pre-packed wings available in
our deli case every day.
Thai Chili Wings
For this sweet, spicy, stickyThai version, wemade
a nam jim, or dipping sauce, with sweet chilies,
fish sauce, rice vinegar and sherry. Cornstarch
acts as a thickener and helps keeps the red chili
flakes suspended, which looks pretty.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2
tablespoons cornstarch
4
tablespoons water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
3
tablespoons fish sauce
2
tablespoons sherry
3
cloves garlic, minced
2
teaspoons dried crushed chili
3
pounds of chicken wings,
cut into drumettes and flats
Peanut oil for frying
Sesame seeds for serving
Green onion tops for serving
Red chili flakes for serving
HOW TO PREP
Combine the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons
water to make a slurry.
Place the vinegar, white sugar, remaining
water, fish sauce, sherry, garlic and chili in a
small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir
to combine. Bring themixture to a boil, reduce
the heat to medium, and continue boiling
until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the cornstarch
mixture. Continue stirring occasionally until
the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove
from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Fill a 12-inch,
cast-iron skillet with 1 inch of peanut (or
vegetable) oil. Bring the oil to 375 degrees
over medium-high heat. Place half of the
wings in the oil and fry until golden brown on
the first side, then flip and continue to fry until
the second side is browned, 5-7 minutes per
side. Transfer the wings to a paper towel-lined
plate, then place in the oven to stay warm.
Repeat with the second batch of wings.
Place all of the wings in a large bowl. Pour
in the reserved sauce and toss to coat.
Transfer to a platter. Garnish with sesame
seeds, green onion tops and red chili flakes.
Rouses Corporate Chef, Marc Ardoin
Photo by
Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee