Chicken Aspirations

 The Good Life 

When some people talk about money

They speak as if it were a mysterious lover

Who went out to buy milk and never

Came back, and it makes me nostalgic

For the years I lived on coffee and bread,

Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday

Like a woman journeying for water

From a village without a well, then living

One or two nights like everyone else

On roast chicken and red wine.

- Tracy K. Smith

Lately, I've been thinking about this poem I've seen on the 1 train, my favorite poem in the NYC transit system's "poetry in motion" series. I'm about to enter the life she describes above. I haven't given up on roast chicken though, and chicken wings are my compromise.

Today: Who the bleep actually bothers to marinate chicken wings? Why not just make instant noodles or order out? Why do I bother? College-Me rolls her eyes at 29-year-old-Me with all the high-horsery of a food brat unfettered by a chronic lack of time and a grocery budget. 

Flashback to MORE THAN A DECADE AGO: when cooking started with a walk to the farmer’s market, when I spent Sunday mornings scrutinizing the colorful harvests that farmers and their families unloaded, their booth displays announcing fruit and vegetables and vacuum-sealed steaks and cheeses come all the way from the far-off hinterlands of Bakersfield and Fresno County. Then, after a pitstop at Trader Joe’s picking out a wine in the price point just above Two Buck Chuck, I’d clean all my beautiful vegetables and throw them in a pot with bones, olive oil, and garlic to soften into stew, while kneading that week’s loaf of bread into existence. *But now I have no time cuz big dreams to accomplish and a 6-step Korean layered skincare regimen to do at night. Aiya!

I have this daydream where I am back at that farmers’ market, teaching at my Alma Mater. Graham and I are pregnant, I’m big with child and I am showing our little one her (or his) first zucchini flowers. We're passing on the aromas of the markets and I have the luxury of spending the day here because I have proven myself and won some stability in the form of a professorship or steady adjunct situation.

Despite having no time, I like food that takes its time. You got to let flavors to soak in thoroughly and transform together – think about it  – ceviche with the lime juice and cilantro and tomatoes soaked in, cheese so soft it’s caving in, fermented tofu, oak-aged black rum, meats braised in soy sauce and sugar...yum...I sound pregnant already.

It turns out that marinating is the handiest thing when you’re trying to get a slow-cooked flavor without using up your whole afternoon. One of my standby recipes is this one for baked five-spice chicken wings, which is a healthier version that I developed based on these crazy delicious five-spice fried chicken wings that my maternal grandparents used to make when me and my cousins were sprouting into the teens. Nothing smells as good as fried chicken so we’d be eyeing that hot wok full of sizzling chicken wings, ready to dash into the kitchen. We were liable to take the whole plate and my poor grandma actually had to clear her way to the dinner table by bribing us each with a chicken wing; she carefully wrapped each one with a Bounty paper towel so we wouldn’t burn our greedy little fingers.

MUNCHMUNCHMUNCH

My version (above) is baked and thus healthier. If you don’t over bake them, they'll make the juiciest oven-baked chicken wings ever. I’d like to think the flavor approaches the gloriousness of grandma’s wings, although, can any food really compare with fried chicken? Marinade is a game-changer in this case though.

Serve these wings with mashed potatoes and you have easy, affordable comfort food. My favorite way to enjoy them is over Netflix. ;)

look at that JUICE

Five-Spice Chicken Wings

Chicken wing middle sections, room temperature
*for whole wings, cut off wingtip sections
Fresh black pepper

For the marinade:
Lots of five spice powder
Garlic to taste (preferably fresh minced garlic)
Soy sauce
Sugar to taste
A dash of oil
*A dash of Shaoxing rice wine (optional)
*Lemon or orange zest to taste(optional)

How the wings should look after marinating

In a small bowl, stir marinade ingredients together tasting and adjusting seasoning according to preference. If you are planning to marinate for a longer time (over 2 hours), make sure the marinade is not much saltier than you take your chicken. For shorter times, use marinade that is slightly more potent than you want your chicken to be.

Rinse the chicken wings. I like to lacerate the surface of the wings with a knife to ensure the marinade penetrates. Place in a Tupperware or a bowl with top, grind fresh black pepper generously over the wings and massage the pepper into the chicken for 20 seconds with your hands. Pour in marinade, close the top and shake to mix.

To bake, pre-heat your oven or toaster oven to 400 F. Cook wings for 12-16 minutes, depending on size, flipping after half the time has elapsed.

Enjoy!