Honey-Sriracha Chicken Wings and Ginger-Soy Noodle Soup

I love chicken wings and, inspired by an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats, decided to try some at home.

A good chicken wing has a really flavourful sauce, crispy skin and hopefully moist meat and you know you've got it right if you cant stop eating them and the beer seems to go down extra-easy..

I didn't think it was possible to find something that would best the classic of my childhood for all and anytime sauce - Maggi Hot and Sweet. But, Sriracha has done it for me. Chillies do for me what chocolate does for others- gives me that sweet endorphin rush. Sriracha has the perfect combination of chillies and garlic.

The idea of boiling them before hand is courtesy of Alton Brown's method of steaming them beforehand. Since boiling is easier than steaming and yields stock, I went with boiling. Cooking the wings before baking achieves two things: infuses the wing meat with flavour and moisture (the lack of which is a crucial shortcoming of most chicken wings) and leeches out the fat.

I was able to make this a complete meal by making a noodle soup of the stock.

Ingredients

chicken wings -fresh fare better than frozen

for the stock

ginger

garlic

soy sauce

black pepper

for the sauce

soy sauce - 1/4 cup

siracha - 1 teaspoon

honey - 1 tablespoon

freshly ground black pepper

spring onions for garnish

Method

Put the wings with the stock ingredients and water to cover in a pressure cooker and let it go for 3 whistles or so on high. If you are one of those unfortunate souls without a pressure cooker, just use a big pot and boil the heck out of the wings.

Strain the wings and dry them out on kitchen towels.

Line a baking tray with foil and grease the foil well. Spread out the wings in a even layer on the baking tray. Bake in a 450F oven for 30 minutes or so, rotating the tray once in between. Bake till the wings are golden brown but not too dark as they tend to dry out.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Bring all the ingredients for the sauce to a gentle boil in a saucepan. Taste and adjust sweetness/heat. Reduce till syrupy.

Toss the wings fresh out of the oven with the sauce, sprinkle with spring onions and enjoy.

Noodles

Basically, since it would be criminal to waste that yummy stock you made while boiling the wings,
round out the meal with a yummy noodle soup. Adjust the seasoning of the stock, add rice noodles and boil till they are cooked. Garnish with plenty of chopped cilantro and some lime juice. needless to say, serve piping hot.