Sunday, November 16, 2008

Nearly Buffalo Wings

P1270193

If you've ever wondered why they call them 'buffalo wings' in those American-style chain restaurants like TGIF, it's because the dish originated from Buffalo, New York.

The story is that this lady who ran the Anchor Bar in Buffalo in the 1960s (which to locals is still the only place for true Buffalo wings) had last minute customers when she was about to close so she used whatever was left in her kitchen to prepare a meal, and the rest is history. Traditionally, buffalo wings are just deep-fried wings tossed in a margarine and hot sauce sauce, served with celery sticks and a blue cheese dressing to counter the fire from the sauce. Apparently if you switch the margarine with butter, you are considered to have committed a culinary crime as far as buffalo wings are concerned. Well, arrest me because I hate the flavor of margarine and I used butter in this recipe. Not only that, I believe in marinading all my wings. You'd want the flesh inside to be tasty as well as the skin so why not marinade it? Okay granted that the sauce is so robust and wings so lacking in meat that you won't notice the difference, but I will, so I marinaded the wings overnight with my favorite Maggi soy sauce and a little bit of sugar. Travesty, heresy you say. Are there really any rules any more when it comes to cooking?

But I didn't do further damage to the authentic recipe. I deep-fried the wings, not bake them. And I didn't add Worcestershire sauce or any other seasoning. Unfortunately, we don't get Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce here (Frank was the guy whose wife first whipped up those wings) and the most popular hot sauce here is Tabasco.

Unfortunately for Tabasco, my favorite hot sauce isn't Tabasco. I don't know if I should tell you that my favorite is Louisana Hot Sauce and cause a run at Merdeka Supermarket, the only place I've seen them so far. Just to make sure I won't be caught by another price increase, I've got 6 bottles of Louisiana Hot Sauce in my cupboard. I know there are hundreds of hot sauces in the US, with names like Obama's Jihad Hot Sauce, Burning Bush Hot sauce, Ass Blaster, Kamikaze, Kiss Your Ass Goodbye, The Slap Heard Around the World, Pain & Suffering, Mustard Gas, Dragons Blood, Dave's Ultimate Insanity, Ass Reaper, The Final Answer and my favorite, Sphincter Shrinker, but here we only get 3 hot sauces: Tabasco , Louisiana Hot Sauce ('The One With The Red Dot'/'One Drop Does It') and Red Devil. Of the three, Red Devil is the pits--or pitt, given his behavior (excuse me)--it's just not tasty. Tabasco is too thin, too sharp and flat for me. Louisiana Hot Sauce is thick, rich, tangy, tasty and a real pick-me-up. I splash it in noodles, fish, meat, eggs, bones, and one day soon I'll drop some into hot chocolate. Another plus about Louisiana Hot Sauce apart from its taste is that it's only RM3.90/US$1.10 a bottle, even cheaper than local chili sauce, and about 3 1/2 times cheaper than Tabasco. I only wish Louisiana Hot Sauce is hotter. Cayenne pepper just doesn't do it for me; I prefer habanero for the heat and flavor.

Next time the boys come over for a drink, I suggest you make a platter of these yummy yummy wings. Just make sure you have lots of beer and paper napkins.
Nearly Buffalo Wings
2 kgs wings, jointed
--marinade overnight in 2 T Maggi Soy Sauce & 2 T sugar if like.
--deep fry in oil until golden brown, drain on paper towels. You can also fry it in a shallow tray of oil in the oven.

Original Buffalo Wings Sauce:
3/4 cup hot sauce (your choice)
3/4 cup butter (margarine if like)
--melt the butter in a small pot and whisk in the hot sauce.I tried thickening the sauce by adding cornflour but it came out curdled.

Serve with:
celery sticks
blue cheese dressing

1. When wings are all fried, put them on a tray and pour the sauce over, tossing well to coat.

2. Serve with celery sticks and a blue cheese dressing for the celery. If you are not a blue cheese aficionado like me, just mash some blue cheese into a cup of mayo instead of buying a dressing you don't normally eat.

18 comments:

Terri said...

Louisiana Hot Sauce??!! Yeah! My favorite, too. So much more flavor along with the heat!

TeaLady said...

That is a good hot sauce. I often use Crystal Hot Sauce, too. I am really surprised that the sauce is so cheap over your way. It is a little less than $1 here. Let me know when you run out, maybe we can exchange something.....

Anonymous said...

wow, those wings looks so delicious! I don't like bleu cheese so always have it with ranch dressing. If you can get Hidden Valley brand there,its really good ranch dressing. Kraft is not bad if you can't get Hidden Valley.

Denise ^ ChickyEGG said...

ha! seen this wings before from many blogs! Never knew it is so easy to make ! yum !!!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

interesting read for an early morning..didnt knw buffalo wings WERE SO UNHEALTHy!

LilyAnette said...

The only thing I like from American restaurants. Very good attempt.

Anonymous said...

That looks good ! I found another recipe that looked just as good http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-spicy-buffalo-chicken-wings-2

Not too sure if we can get buttermilk in KK though...

J2Kfm said...

butter >>> margarine on any day!!!

the shot looks good. very finger-lickingly delicious wings.

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

terri: (feels weird to 'talk' to another terri) good, i'm not the only one then. hey, enjoyed reading all ur blogs.

tealady: yes, i wonder if they made a mistake (*pls, pls, continue with the mistake*) ah, now i am certain of my preference for louisiana hot sauce:) u know what i miss? lays or smith's potato chips! the only imported potato chips we get here is kettle, n it just doesn't taste tt good. our local brands SUCK.i'd rather die than eat local potato chips.

kat: ok, will watch out for hidden valley--oz brand?

denise:yes so very easy.bet u can improve on it with local chili sauce.

joe: yes, it IS SO.i think most food for guys are unhealthy, bc guys want intensely flavored food tt means fried n stewed stuff.

lily: huh, what about clam chowder in a bread bowl, cinnamon buns, chips..! u must be homesick.

jeri: if u do come across buttermilk, let me know, please!i can only get the powder which is so different.

j2kfm: yes, margarine is one of the most artificial food invented. yuks.

PureGlutton said...

Most buffalo wings served in Tex-Mex restaurants are dry and salty. Your home-made version certainly looks yummy ... not sure where to get the hot sauce though!
BTW, i have linked you :)

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

pureglutton: check the supermarkets, am sure kl would have lots more choice. ok, linked u too :))

Anonymous said...

Your plate of buffalo wings is making me very hungry now!

very nice photos you take. I chance upon you blog when looking for oden recipe. =)

Zurin said...

wow Terri! looks so good going to male it definitely! my kids will love it.

Anonymous said...

You should try to make the spicy korean hot wings (Dak Nal Ke Jo Rim) at home if spicy is your thing. I made it for my husband and the guy when they were over at the house for Superbowl Sunday together with tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole and all-meat chilli. Their verdict: The wings were a lot spicier than Hot Wings but they are really good. BTW, if you can't find buttermilk in Malaysia, just mix a tablespoon of vinegar into one cup of milk. Let it sit in the fridge for 10 mins. There will be some curd form on top of the milk. Stir to mix. That is your home-made buttermilk. I use the substitute to make my southern-style biscuits. On hot sauce, we like Frank's in this household. They are hotter than Louisiana's.

terri@adailyobsession said...

reeseboston: tt sounds really really good, hot wings n salsa, chili, guacamole n chips.perfect for the boys. we don't get to watch superbowl, but maybe next time we watch world cup...n tt's a great tip on buttermilk. i've tried it b4 but wasn't sure if it really can substitute the real thing, esp for cakes.will try it again n report to u. thanx again!

Anonymous said...

muffinman: can i put it in oven n bake it instead? lazy to clean the floor after deep-frying...hehehe

terri@adailyobsession said...

muffinman: yes you can , but it won't be like fried. you can fry-bake it too, by putting oil in a deep pan upto 1" deep (the oil) and heat it up in the oven, then carefully slide the wings in but be careful n wear long kitchen mitts!

how is motherhood? the last time u wrote, you were excpecting:) congratulations, n welcome to a not-so-easy ride!

Smart Payment Plan said...

wow those look delectable! I am wondering what the maggie and sugar marinade does for the flavor? I never heard of that before.

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