Chicken wings are easy to eat and delicious when done right. Whether oven-baked, deep-fried, marinated or dry rub spiced, I don’t know too many people who do not like them. These tasty fried chicken wings are marinated overnight, deep-fried and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. When baked or grilled they are definitely the healthier option and contain fewer calories but sometimes all you want is some good old fried wings.
Because the marinade is wet you will not get that crispy end result that you would if you were using a dry rub. But let me tell you with these, you will not be missing that extra crunch. This is a recipe without flour or cornstarch and they're well seasoned, moist, delicious and the perfect pairing with Liha or Sobolo.
For this easy recipe, I am not sure which one I like more, the yooyi(velvet tamarind) sauce or the tasty chicken. These fried chicken wings are good to eat on their own, however, the accompanying sweet and spicy sauce is what truly completes them. The hint of sweetness comes from the velvet tamarind fruit, which is locally known as yooyi or atsitoe. I made some jelly for a friend a while back and had one jar leftover. As I wanted a bit of sweetness, this fruity, sweet and spicy combination was perfect.
The jelly was mixed with sesame oil, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, chopped spring onions, and chopped red chillies and the hot wings tossed in them. Finger licking and guaranteed not to last a day.
Fried Chicken Wings with Yooyi Sauce
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken wings separated into flats and drums
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 1 tsp lemon rind grated
- 6 kpakposhito (green Pettie belles)
- 6 red Pettie belles
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 garlic clove
- lemon juice from one lemon
- ½ medium onion
- salt
- vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp yooyi (velvet tamarind) jelly
- 5 red chillies chopped
- 1 tbsp spring onions chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend lemon rind, ginger, kpakposhito, red Pettie belles, black peppercorns, garlic clove, onion, half of the lemon juice, onion, and salt.
- In a zip lock bag or a container with a tight lid, pour marinade over the chicken wings and leave in the fridge overnight.
- Take off as much of the marinade as possible and pat dry if necessary.
- Heat a pan with some vegetable oil.
- Over medium heat, fry until golden brown.
- Drain excess oil from wings by placing them on a paper towel.
- For the sauce, combine light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, yooyi (velvet tamarind) jelly, rest of lemon juice, chopped red chillies, chopped spring onions, and pour over the hot wings.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Not everyone has access to velvet tamarind or even velvet tamarind jelly so a good substitute is to use some honey.
- If you find this too sweet, you can simply reduce the amount of jelly.
- The flats and drums are sized differently therefore you may need to keep an eye on the cooking times for each.
- The wings are cooked once the juices run clear or they have an internal temperature of about 75°C - 80°C.
Makafui says
I love me some tasty wings!
Edinam says
Thank you!
King of Boronia says
I definitely have to try this!
Edinam says
You absolutely should. Do let me know how it goes when you do.