If you're familiar with Filipino cuisine or have been following my "Filipino Food Friday" posts on Instagram, you'll know that Filipino Adobo is traditionally meat that has been braised in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper and served with rice.
This recipe here is a marriage between my love of both chicken adobo and crispy chicken wings. The garlicky soy-vinegar is used both as a marinade and the glaze at the end. What makes these wings extra crispy is the breading, which is a mixture of rice flour and tempura mix. Frying them at the right temperature is also key.
And when I say, "wings," I'm really talking about a combination of drumettes and flats, which are 2 out of the 3 parts that make up the wings. The last part is the tip, which I usually keep in a bag in the freezer until l'm ready to make some chicken stock. Instead of separating these wing parts yourself, you can usually find them pre-separated in the frozen section of any grocery store. Costco sells them in a 10-lb. bag. You'll just have to plan accordingly and give them time to thaw properly.
Makes about 24 drumettes & flats
Ingredients
24 chicken flats and drumettes (about 4 lbs)
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tempura mix
Canola oil
Water
Green onions, thinly sliced
Directions
Place the chicken pieces into a large resealable bag. In a measuring cup, combine the white vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and black pepper. Mix until the brown sugar has dissolved. Pour half of this mixture into another measuring cup.
Make a paste with 6 of the garlic cloves. I do this by grating the cloves on a microplane. If you don’t not have a microplane, then chop the garlic finely, sprinkle some salt on top, then press and glide the flat side of the knife onto the garlic against the cutting board, several times. The salt will break the garlic pieces down and help to form a paste. Add this paste to one of the liquid mixtures and stir well. This is your marinade.
Finely chop the remaining six cloves of garlic and add them to the other measuring cup of liquid. Add enough water so that the total liquid measures 1 and 1/4 cups. This will be your glaze. Set this aside.
Pour the marinade into the bag of chicken. Seal and massage to coat all of the pieces. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, turning the bag occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
When ready to fry, fill a large heavy-bottomed pot (like a dutch oven) with about 2 inches of canola oil. Heat to 325°F.
While waiting for the oil to come to temperature, remove the chicken from the marinade and gently pat dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade.
In a large bowl, combine the rice flour and tempura mix and stir well. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat.
When the oil is ready, fry the chicken in 2 to 3 batches. Tap each chicken piece against the bowl before placing it into the oil to knock off the excess breading. Fry for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack set on a baking sheet to drain. Allow the oil to come back up to temperature, and repeat with the remaining batch(es).
While the chicken is frying, pour the glaze mixture into a skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until the liquid starts to thicken. Remove from heat. Also, discard the breading, then wash and dry the bowl.
After all of the chicken has been fried, place them into the cleaned bowl. Pour the glaze over the wings and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.
Visuals
Mix the vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper, and brown sugar in a measuring cup until the sugar dissolves.
Pour half of the mixture into another measuring cup.
Grate 6 of the garlic cloves into a paste. A microplane makes this step super easy.
Mince the remaining 6 cloves of garlic.
Place the grated garlic into one of the measuring cups (this is the marinade) and the minced garlic into the other measuring cup (this will be the glaze)..
Place the chicken pieces into a resealable bag and pour in the marinade.
Seal the bag and massage the chicken to coat well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
When ready to bread and fry, remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade.
Mix the rice flour and tempura mix in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat with the breading.
Fry the chicken, in 2 to 3 batches, in oil heated to 325°F. Each batch will take about 12 minutes to cook and turn golden brown.
Transfer the cooked chicken to a wire rack to drain.
While the chicken is frying, pour the glaze ingredients and water into a skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until it just starts to thicken. Remove from heat. Don't let the liquid reduce too much.
Toss the glaze with the cooked chicken. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.
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