Asian Flavor | Asian cooking made easy

How-to: Tebasaki (Nagoya-Style Chicken Wings)

This is my favorite way to make chicken wings.

INGREDIENTS

15 chicken wings
2 tablespoons
minced ginger
salt & pep
3 tablespoons sake
katakuriko (potato starch)
vegetable oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sake
3 tablespoons mirin

Mince ginger, pour 3 tablespoons of sake in with ginger and marinate the wings in it for 30 minutes. Salt & pep to taste.

Preheat oil to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Put potato starch in a bowl and coat marinated wings well.

Drop coated wings in oil for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.

While wings are frying, add 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons sake and 3 tablespoons mirin to a pan and bring to a boil, the instant it boils, remove from heat.

Drain fried wings on a baking rack or paper towels.

Drop wings in pan of sauce and coat well. Top with toasted sesame seeds.
You can cut the wings at the joint to be more authentic, but I generally leave them whole.

How-to: Pickled Cucumber Salad (Sunomono)

This is an excellent side dish in the summer time.

Ingredients
1 Japanese cucumber
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon white sugar
Soy Sauce
Sea salt
1 Teaspoon crushed red chili flakes (optional)

Directions
Wash the cucumber, Japanese cucumbers sometimes have spines on them that should come off when washing.

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and then cut those in half again, so you have 4 equal slices. Drag your knife down the insides to remove all of the seeds. Sprinkle salt on the cucumbers and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain off as much water as you can.

Slice the cucumber into small uniform pieces 1/4 to 1/2 inch (whichever you like). Place cucumbers in a bowl that is large enough for you to mix them.

Mix rice vinegar, sugar and a dash of soy sauce in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. You can substitute a small amount of sesame oil instead of the soy sauce if you like. Dress the cucumbers in this mixture thoroughly and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Salt to taste and mix in chili flakes.