Spicy Chinese Five-Spice-Rubbed Chicken Wings with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

The rule for this month's Random Recipes Challenge cleverly created by Dom at Belleau Kitchen is to use your first ever cook book and select a recipe at random.

Growing up, one of my favourite cookbooks was my mom's French cookbook, a gift from her cousin, which title is completely out of my head now. The pictures in the book were beautiful and I still remember reading the book on the bed, drooling to sleep. One day, with my mom's supervision, I cooked the cream of broccoli soup from that book which involved white chocolate as one of the ingredients. Who knew cooking a pot of soup could take hours. The end result was delicious though. At nine years old, I had to give myself some credit...

When I was in high school, I purchased my first cook book: Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis. Unfortunately I left the book at my parents'. I am going to visit my parents in few weeks time and I'm taking the book back with me. In the meantime, what I have with me is my second ever cookbook. It's still in the Food Network territory, appropriately named Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs. The all-star chefs include Emeril Lagasse, Tyler Florence, Michael Chiarello, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Dave Lieberman, Giada de Laurentiis, Rachael Ray, Alton Brown and Paula Deen. I am somewhat shocked Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa did not appear in this book.

The recipe I selected at random is this spicy Chinese five-spiced-rubbed chicken wings with creamy cilantro dipping sauce by the young & hungry, Dave Lieberman. Where is Dave these days? I don't know. I think he left the Food Network and I tried to open his web page, but it's no longer in use. Strange. I used to watch his TV show, Good Deal with Dave Lieberman and also his online show Dave Does. I made few recipes from both of his books and I really enjoy his honest approach to cooking. Many of his recipes are simple, but packed with flavours, just like these wings. The wings are spicy even though I used less cayenne pepper than instructed, but the creamy cilantro (coriander) dipping sauce cools them down nicely.

Apart from these wings, I've also tried few other recipes from this book, like Alton's pineapple upside-down cornmeal cake which I used to make a lot when I was a student, Giada's stuffed shells with arrabbiata sauce, Rachael's chili dog nachos, Tyler's fried crab wontons and Paula's is it really better than sex? cake... and if you really want to know, my verdict is still the same: I have had better... Sorry, Paula.


Spicy Chinese Five-Spice-Rubbed Chicken Wings with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Recipe by Dave Lieberman

40 chicken wings pieces or 20 whole chicken wings
2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dipping sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 260 C. If you have whole chicken wings, cut off wing tips and cut the wings in half at the joint. Discard wing tips or freeze to make stock. Place the wings in a large bowl. Sprinkle five-spice powder and cayenne on the wings; and generous pinches of salt, and about 15 grinds of black pepper. Rub the mixture into all the wings until no more loose rub remains.

Line the wing pieces up on a baking sheet so the side of the wing that has the most skin is facing up. Roast until cooked through, browned, and crispy, about 25 minutes. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

To make the dipping sauce, simply combine all sauce ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.