Chin Chin knows how to keep a crowd happy – it’s been keeping spirits high with dynamic Southeast Asian dishes since 2011, when it opened its neon-lit dining room on Flinders Lane in Melbourne. So we trust that any recipe from its new cookbook Still Hungry will be a crowd pleaser.
Still Hungry is the restaurant’s third cookbook, and is stacked with some of the restaurant’s greatest hits (kingfish sashimi, massaman curry and butter chicken), along with new dishes and creations spawned from executive chef Benjamin Cooper’s travels.
These chicken wings are a classic – and ideal party pleasers as we head into the festive season, whether you’re whipping them up as part of a banquet, or to go alongside a series of other nibbles. “You’d best bust out napkins for these,” writes Cooper, whose energetic approach to cooking has been crucial to Chin Chin’s success. “They’re as messy as they are hard to resist.”
Make sure you read the instructions carefully before beginning – particularly for the master stock process.
Chin Chin’s sticky soy chicken wings
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
¼ bunch spring onions, plus extra, diagonally sliced, to garnish
2 knobs of ginger, grated
½ head garlic, halved
2kg chicken wings, jointed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Lime wedges, to serve
Master stock (this makes 2.5L; this recipe calls for 1.5L)
½ cup (125ml) Mekhong whisky (or any whisky)
½ cup (125ml) shaoxing wine
⅓ cup (80ml) dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
80g yellow rock sugar
2 garlic cloves
2 large heads garlic
⅓ bunch spring onions, roughly chopped
1 tsp cardamom pods
3 star anise
1 piece cassia bark
1 piece of meat to be braised
Sticky soy glaze
¼ cup (60ml) soy sauce
¼ cup (60ml) kecap manis
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves, grated
Pinch of black pepper
Handful of yellow rock sugar (available from Asian grocers)
Small knob of ginger, grated
2 tbsp caster sugar
Method
For the master stock, combine all the ingredients (except the meat) with 2L water in a large pot and bring to the boil, allowing the sugar to dissolve. Add the meat to be braised and turn the heat to a simmer. How master stock works is that once you’ve finished braising your beef/pork/chicken/duck in the master stock, you strain it, re-boil it and then freeze it for next time. When you come to braise that same type of meat again (don’t mix your master stocks), defrost the frozen stock, top it up with a little water and add some sliced ginger, garlic and spring onions. If it looks a bit too dark, add some more water. Master stock can and should be used over and over again in this way, becoming richer and more complex with each use. There are master stocks in China that have been around for hundreds of years, passed on from one generation of chefs to the next.
Combine all the glaze ingredients in a deep pot over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Be careful not to boil for too long as this can result in bitterness. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, keeping in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken.
In a deep, heavy-based pot, bring the master stock to a boil. Add spring onions, ginger and garlic. Drop in the chicken wings, return to the boil, then turn off the heat, allowing the wings to sit in the stock as it cools.
Once the stock reaches room temperature, remove the wings, transfer them to a container and refrigerate until needed. Leave the wings uncovered to start with, only adding a lid once the meat is fully chilled.
Meanwhile, return the master stock to the boil. Skim off any surface scum, strain the liquid and return this to its storage container. You can refreeze until needed.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat a barbecue hotplate to medium-hot. Brush the hotplate with oil and barbecue the wings (in batches if necessary) for 8–10 minutes or until they become golden.
Brush each wing liberally with glaze, then cook for an additional 2–3 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the glaze is sticky. Once the glaze is nicely caramelised, transfer the wings to a serving plate. Garnish with spring onion and serve with lime wedges.
This is an edited extract from Still Hungry with recipes by Benjamin Cooper, out now, RRP$55.
