Fried hen skilled Susan Jung shares her recipe for family-friendly wings

Susan Jung has been the longtime meals and beverage editor for the “South China Morning Put up.”

Susan Jung’s love affair with chickens dates again to her childhood.

Throughout her 25 years as meals and beverage editor for the world-famous English day by day Hong Kong South China Morning Put upSusan Jung has posted greater than her justifiable share of fried hen recipes that do not comprise the 11 herbs and spices favored by America’s most well-known quick meals firm.

A California native who’s at present a meals columnist Vogue journal In Hong Kong, Jung determined she was passionate sufficient about poultry to jot down a cookbook of hen mixes and penned Kung Pao and Past: Stir-fried Rooster Recipes from East and Southeast Asia After leaving her publish in SCMP. Stuffed with over 60 recipes grouped collectively in keeping with the a part of the hen they want (boneless breasts, boneless drumsticks, drumsticks, and many others.), the ebook is pretty complete and showcases the love and fervour Jung developed over the course of her life.

Appropriately, that love affair began with a fried hen dish that Jung’s mom made for the household when she was rising up. The dish, identified merely as “Mom’s Wings,” was the primary number of fried hen that Jung realized to make on her personal and can be the primary recipe in Kung Pao and past.

“It is one thing I’ve cherished since I used to be a child. My mother’s hen wings have been simply one thing she makes for us each occasionally when she did not know what to make for dinner,” Jung informed InsideHook. She’d say, “What do you wish to eat tonight?” We might say, “Mother’s hen wings.” It was one thing my siblings and I actually cherished. After I return to go to my mother, I plan to prepare dinner it for her as a result of she lives on her personal now and would not prepare dinner as a lot. I wish to make one thing for her that I hope will convey recollections along with her.”

The “mom’s wings” are floured, fried twice after which seasoned with a sauce made out of elements together with ginger, garlic, sugar and soy sauce. “Soy sauce is not simply utilized in Asian kitchens anymore. It is a very typical ingredient in a whole lot of kitchens,” Younger says. “A whole lot of cooks use it as a result of it has a deeper saltiness than salt. It additionally has caramel undertones and a little bit of smoke. It is only a deeper taste of saltiness.”

After brushing the wings with the saucy combination, the wings are baked in order that the pores and skin has misplaced none of its crispness. For Jung, this is a crucial step. “Crunch is a highly regarded texture that individuals completely love,” she says. “Some individuals do not like steamed meals as a result of they are saying they’re too mushy. Some individuals do not like baked meals as a result of they are saying they’re dry. I do not know in the event that they’re common, however I’ve by no means met anybody who would not like crunch. The wings haven’t got a tricky crunch, however they’re interesting.” There are several types of crackers on the subject of hen.”

To jot down the ebook, Jung narrowed down her record of recipes from about 90 to the finalists who made it to the ebook. Though she did not develop up consuming all of them as she did her mom’s wings, Jung made each one of many decisions she made within the ebook not less than twice.

We have been consuming fried hen every single day for 3 months, not less than as soon as a day. I used to be often testing dinner recipes, however when the ebook acquired to the top of the ebook, I used to be testing lunch recipes, too, she says. “My husband acquired fed up ultimately. I by no means acquired sick of fried hen as a result of the recipes are so numerous and there are such a lot of totally different flavors. It by no means acquired boring for me. Even once I traveled after I completed, I ate fried hen.”

If you would like to do the identical, this is Jung’s favourite recipe for wings.