Alex's Dixie Chicken Wings

Dixie in Tel Aviv has been a long time favorite and unlike many other restaurants, it has been standing the test of time in the Israeli food scene. Though I think it's menu lacks cohesion (too much foods from too many different places), it is nevertheless quite good and the atmosphere is classy, yet casual. For anyone who has ever been there, the chicken wings and the Caesar salad are a must. I tasted both, and surprisingly, I was more impressed with the salad than with the wings, which they are mostly known for. 

Now, for someone who cooks and is aware of food prices and confection methods, I felt a bit dishearten to pay so much money for about 8 chicken wings. Yes, they are good, but they are also highly reproducible. The moment I mentioned this, I was challenged to make them at home. And I did.

Alex's Dixie Chicken Wings

1 kg of chicken wings ( clean and divided in two at the joint)
1 cup Flour
Black pepper (to taste)
Frying oil

Sauce:
60 g of sweet chili thai sauce
100 g of sriracha hot sauce
100 g  of butter (cut in small pieces) - or butter flavored margarine
1 clove of garlic chopped finely (opt.)

Clean and pat dry your wings and cut any tips.

Mix the flour with the black pepper and coat the wings. Deep fry them in hot oil  or in a skillet., until golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes).

 If you can, pick nice plump wings, like this one!

Flour coated wings, ready for the fryer

To prepare the sauce, mix the sweet chili sauce and the sriracha in a small pan. heat until it almost boils. Remove from heat and add in the butter and whisk energetically.  The sauce will turn creamy and lighter in color.

 Thai sriracha and sweet chili sauce

Transfer your chicken wings to a large bowl and pour the hot sauce. Toss until the wings are well coated. 

Serve warm.

 

Optionally, if you want to give it more zing, you can add finely chopped garlic to the sauce, at the same time you mixed the chili and sriracha sauce.

As a side note, this sauce also works wonderfully with other dishes, like deep fried fish, onion rings or even roasted potatoes.

You'll have people raving about it, I promise!

Have a great weekend all!

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Dressed Up Salmon Futomaki

This is what happens when you both have a craving for sushi and have too much time on your hands. Sometimes... there's a sparkle.

This was by far one of the best sushi rolls I ever had, both in a restaurant and at home. And interestingly enough, it just took a little extra 5 minutes to make it so extra delicious. A simple tempura batter and panko created a crispy outside that was so irresistible that you will find yourself eating more than you think you could. I used teriyaki as a drizzling sauce, but a spicy mayonaise or even ponzu sauce might add the right kick. I will certainly try it on another occasion.

This particular roll contained salmon, grilled salmon skin (I never have the heart to throw it away!), tamago, cucumber and avocado.

After shaping the futomaki, I lightly rolled it in tempura batter and then panko. I carefully fried each side until just golden (I didn't want the contents to cook). I removed it from the hot oil and let it drain a little. Because of the crispy outside, I found it easier to slice with a bread knife.

The salmon at the center remained uncooked, but the pieces closer to the surface did. Far from being a bad thing, this was actually really nice. The tempura/panko layer was also quite thin and crispy, yet, more than enough to retain the teriyaki.

 

 Cheers all!