Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings (椒鹽雞翼)

(Washing the chicken is optional; my dad likes to do this for even texture and to feel more confident in the cleanliness of the chicken.)

To wash the chicken wings (1.5 lb), put them in a large bowl of clean water. Scrub off debris and any dangly bits. When they're washed to your satisfaction, pull the wings out and pat them dry with a paper towel. Dry wings will soak up the marinade and fry up much better than wet ones.

Pour the dirty water directly down the sink. Be thorough in cleaning and disinfecting any surfaces that it may have splashed onto.

Next, prepare the chicken wings for even cooking. Make 2 slices across the back of each flat (the 2-boned wings). Then, with a paring knife or other maneuverable small knife, make two careful jabs into the thickest part of each drumette (the 1-bone piece), each jab on opposite sides.

Chop the green onions (2 stalk) into small pieces. For this dish, we prefer the whites, so you can either buy green onions that have more whites, save the green parts for a different dish, or just be more aware of possible burning when you're cooking later.

Roughly chop the shallots (3 ) into slices. Since they're already small to begin with, that should be enough to end up with rather small pieces.

Smash and peel the garlic (3 clove), then mince into small pieces.

Cut the stems off the red chilis (2 ), and cut into small pieces. These are spicy, so if you prefer a milder dish, you can reduce or omit the chili peppers altogether.

Cut the mini sweet peppers (1 oz) in half to open them up. Remove the stem, core, and the seeds. Cut each half into strips, and then dice into small pieces.

In a small bowl, mix garlic salt (1 tsp), salt (0.50 tsp), and white pepper (0.50 tsp). Stir it up a bit.

We always use white pepper for our Salt & Pepper dishes because we prefer the taste in this combination, and it looks more appealing, but in a pinch, black pepper is also an option. It won't taste the same, but it'll still taste good!

On a large plate, mix up cornstarch (3 tbsp) and all-purpose flour (3 tbsp). Make sure the two ingredients are thoroughly combined.

This 1:1 ratio will result in the perfect amount of crunch! If you run out while coating your chicken and need to make more, just mix up equal amounts of cornstarch and flour.

Bring the chicken wings over and designate a wet hand and a dry hand. Use your wet hand to pick up a piece of chicken and roll it in the plate of flour, thoroughly coating every side and corner. Once it's nicely coated in a layer of starch-flour, use your dry hand to give it a few firm squeezes to help the coating stick. Repeat with the rest of the wings.

It's important to use your wet hand to manipulate the wet wings, and to use your dry hand to squeeze the coated wings. If you use your wet hand to squeeze the coated wing, the coating will stick to your hand and come off of the wing. (If this happens, just wash and thoroughly dry your hands, re-designate your wet and dry hands, and re-coat the wing with flour.)

In your deep-frying vessel (a deep pot is best, in our opinion), heat up oil (5 cup) to 300°F. There should be enough to cover the chicken wings.

Once the oil reaches the right temperature, start cooking the drumettes. They're thicker, so they take longer to cook.

Set the pieces in gently; if you drop things into hot oil from high up, they'll splash dangerously. Instead, set them in gently, and let go once a corner of the piece is actually in the oil. It won't splash, and the splatter won't be very dramatic because your wings are coated in dry flour.

When the drumettes are all in, lower the heat to medium so that the oil can stay more consistently around 300°F. Occasionally, you may need to raise or lower the heat to keep the oil at the right temperature. Flip and rotate the chicken to help it cook evenly. When the chicken turns golden and floats to the surface, it has cooked through. This should take about 5 minutes. Take them out, and then fry the flats. The flats will cook through much faster, normally taking about 2 minutes. Take the flats out.

The chicken wings are now cooked through but not sufficiently crispy, so we're going to fry them a second time to get that crunch! The second fry will also tighten the crust to help keep the interior nice and juicy.

Bring the oil up to 350°F for the second fry. Add the drumettes back into the oil. Let them get a 30-second head start, then add the flats as well. After 30 more seconds, scoop out the golden brown drumettes, which will have had spent a smidge more than 1 minute in the second fry. Once all the drumettes are out, take out the golden brown wings.

Set the pot aside. You'll need to take a bit of it for the next stir-frying step. You can strain and reserve the rest for future use after it cools down a bit.

Heat up a wok on medium heat. Add oil (2 tbsp), taken from the frying oil from the previous step.

Add the minced garlic and shallots, and stir-fry for 10-15 seconds.

Add half of the minced green onion and the chopped chilis. Stir-fry them until they're aromatic, or for 30-40 seconds.

Add the chopped sweet peppers, and stir-fry for another 30-40 seconds.

Add the double-fried chicken wings. As you stir-fry, mix them in really well. Because the chopped ingredients are small, you'll want to scoop all the way to the bottom with your spatula. Every piece of chicken needs a chance to meet the aromatics and the fragrant oil. Stir-fry for about 20-30 seconds.

Then, start sprinkling in the seasoning mix while constantly stirring and flipping, so that it is evenly distributed. Use as much of the seasoning as you like; we usually don't use all of it.

When the seasoning is evenly coated on the chicken, turn off the heat and plate. Garnish with the remaining chopped green onions. Enjoy quickly for maximum crunch!