Crispy Chinese Black Pepper Chicken Wings

Ingredients

Marinade:

20 chicken wing durmettes (this are small chicken wings already cut)

⅓ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons black pepper

½ onion roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves roughly chopped

Sauce:

2 teaspoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

4 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons black pepper

8 tablespoons soy sauce

1 and ½ teaspoon cornstarch

Cooking:

Cooking oil or baking spray

Preparation

Place all of your marinade ingredients into a Ziploc bag (this is a plastic food storage bag) or covered dish that you use for marinading meats.

Make sure that all of the marinade ingredients are blended well together. Then, add the chicken to the marinade.

Let the chicken marinade for 12 hours or longer in the refrigerator (the longer the wings marinade, the more flavorful the chicken wings will be).

When ready to cook the wings, remove the wings from the refrigerator and let them sit for 15 minutes before cooking (This helps to create a more even cooking process. Plus if you are frying the wings, it prevents the cooking oil temperature from dropping, which then prevents slowing down the cooking time).

While you bring the chicken to room temperature for 15 minutes, preheat your oven to 415 degrees or heat your cooking oil to 350 degrees in your deep fryer.

For baking the wings - When ready to cook the chicken, line the baking pan with foil, and spray the covered pan with baking spray. Place the wings on this greased pan, and bake the wings uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes or until wings are crispy. Make sure to flip/turn the wings every 15 minutes during the cooking time. Note: When wings are done, place them on a baking rack to rest for a few minutes. This allows the wings to retain their moisture when they rest after cooking, and the rack keeps the chicken crispy, and prevents the chicken from becoming soggy.

For frying the wings - Place the wings in the hot cooking grease. Cook wings for six to seven minutes (or until golden brown, crispy, and internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees). Make sure not to overcrowd the deep fryer with too many wings during the cooking process. This decreases the temperature of the oil, which slows down the cooking time. Note: When wings are done, place them on a baking rack to rest for a few minutes. This allows the wings to retain their moisture when they rest after cooking, and the rack keeps the chicken crispy, and prevents the chicken from becoming soggy.

While the wings are cooking, mix all of your sauce ingredients together, making sure that all the ingredients are blended well together in a small sauce pot. Note: If you mix the cornstarch with water first, before adding everything else, it helps the cornstarch to blend well without leaving any lumps. Once all of the sauce ingredients are mixed together, bring the sauce to a slight boil. Once the sauce comes to a slight boil, turn the heat down to low and let the sauce cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir the sauce while it cooks. Note: Adjust the black pepper to your heat preference. Three teaspoons gives the sauce a medium spice level to me. Adjust according to your heat preference.

When ready to serve the wings, toss the wings in the sauce or use the sauce as a dipping sauce.