Tuesday 26 April 2011

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.

14 comments:

  1. Oh Lord. I wish I was having this for dinner tonight!

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  2. oh man these look so good... I LOVE chicken wings done like this... they're so perfectly of a time as well... i'm glad you remembered your first every book, that's great. I think everyone had such a fab trip down memory lane on this challenge, so thanks for taking part x

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  3. You scared me with the 260 degrees until I realized what the C. meant. My first cookbook was "Joy of Cooking." With my luck, if I went random I would doubtless end up with jello mold salad.

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  4. God that chicken looks good, I would never have thought to of put it with a creamy dip like that but it sounds great and I really want some!

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  5. fun recipe and wow you have been a foodie a long time :-)

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  6. I have that same cookbook...and I've made all the recipes you have too...including this one! It was really good.. I loved the spice it had!!
    Love the story about your childhood. I wish I had had a love for cooking at such an early age :)

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  7. I am saving this recipe for my next batch of chicken wings.

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  8. Chicken wings are one of my fav. Never tried it with 5 spice but that will change soon. That cookbook also sounds right up my ally, might have to add that one to the collection as well.
    I love new sauces as well, sound delish!

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  9. Michael, this looks so delicious! What a simple and yummy dish. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I wandered over to your blog from Dom's, and this really looks yummy! I think five-spice powder really adds sth to roast chicken!

    http://mummyicancook.blogspot.com/2011/03/five-spice-roast-poussin-with-mandarin.html

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  11. You bought your first cookbook in high school? Now that's what I call passion! Speaking of which, if you ever come across a cake recipe better than that misnamed one by Paula Deen, then I want to know what it is so I can make it and make my husband happy! Happi-er, I should say...haha.

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  12. You are definitely addicted :) Even if I don't eat meat I can appreciate this, and love th sauce!

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  13. I have that book too! I actually got it as a gift from the Food Network Kitchens when I was an intern last fall, and a bunch of the people I worked with signed it for me, yearbook style. This is actually one of the most appetizing recipes that I (still) am hoping to try. Glad to know you're a fan! They really do look pretty awesome :)

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  14. Now you have made me all nostalgic. I need to figure out what my first ever cookbook was. (and where it is now...). These wings look delicious! And the dipping sauce sounds like the perfect accompaniment. Thanks for sharing!

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