Coca-Cola chicken wings

Yup I'm doing wings again today but this time they're not fried! This recipe is an Asian approach to wings using coke in the sauce. I had to play around with the original recipe a couple times to fix it because the first time I made it, the wings were very salty. Here's to showing you that many recipes can be fixed and corrected to your liking!

Cocoa-Cola Chicken Wings

Recipe adapted from appetitefromchina.com

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil

2 lb chicken wings, wings and drummettes separated

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp dry sherry or Chinese rice wine

3/4 cup Coca-cola (not diet or anything flavored!)

2 scallions, chopped

a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Make the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, sherry, and coca-cola. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken wings and sear on all sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Pour in the prepared sauce and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to a glaze. Remove the chicken.
4. Season the wings with pepper. Spread on a lined baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until cooked. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis:
per seving: 652.3 calories, 51.0g fat (12.4g saturated, 12.4g polyunsaturated, 20.1g monounsaturated), 5.4g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 61.0g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

Whenever you are searing meat, it is important to have your pan and the oil in the pan very hot. This way it cooks the outside of the protein, creating a nice golden color, without cooking the entire meat. If you try to flip the wings over too early, you will find that the wings stick to the pan. When they are ready, they will "unstickify." 

As you can see below, I kept the wings whole, wing still attached to the drummette. You will get an even sear; however, if you do separate the two. You can see that if they are still attached, there are parts of the wings that do not touch the pan (I only chose to keep them together so it appears as if I'm giving each person more.)

When I first tried cooking the wings, the soy sauce mixture would reduce very quickly, not giving the wings enough time to cook. Therefore, I just simmered the wings in the liquid to give it the flavor and finished them in the oven. 

You can choose to use the remaining reduced liquid as a glaze, but I found that the wings were so flavorful already that it's not necessary. 

Even though these wings needed work, the outcome was well worth it. You get the slight sweetness from the soda and the saltiness from the soy sauce. It's especially a nice change from the typical fried wings. I served these wings with a side of baked sweet potato fries and you have a healthier version of a guilty meal!

Just a side note: this will be my last entry on a Friday since we are cutting out our Friday lunches. However, I will do my best to update it with a special treat!