Hot Wings

By BobD

The wonderfully spicy chicken wings that husband-and-wife owners Ben Schneider and Sohui Kim serve at their intimate, Asian-inflected restaurant are made with the popular Thai chile sauce Sriracha in place of the classic Frank's Red Hot sauce; the soothing accompaniment is a mix of sour cream spiked with rice vinegar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup Sriracha chile sauce
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek or other Asian chile sauce
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 3 pounds chicken wings, tips discarded, wings cut in half at the joint

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a bowl, mix the sour cream with 2 tablespoons of the rice vinegar and the scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

In a saucepan, combine the Sriracha, sambal oelek and the remaining 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until melted; keep warm.

In a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 375°. Pat the wings dry and fry in batches until crisp and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl. Pour the hot chile sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Serve with the dipping sauce.