Ain't nothing but a chicken wing

Andy Ricker's deep-fried chicken wings dressed in fish sauce have been voted best wings in 2012 by NY Mag, and won the James Beard Award for his Thai cooking at his restaurant, Pok Pok. I finally had my first Pok Pok wings in Portland, Oregon a few months ago, and it was one of the tastiest chicken wings I’ve ever had. It was so good, that the following week I tried the newly opened Pok Pok location in LES, New York. The verdict? Portland location definitely tasted better.

But don’t flip, potato chip! It's ok that you don't have the time to fly to Portland and try these famous wings. Thanks to the internet and google, you could make your very own Pok Pok wings at home. These chicken wings are simple to make, and only requires a few ingredients that you might already have inside your kitchen. It's so good, you're going to want to make these tasty sweet & savory sticky wings for your next Super Bowl party. Enjoy!

Pok Pok Wings 

Recipe from Food & Wine 
Makes 5-6 servings 
PRINT RECIPE 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup Asian fish sauce
1/2 cup sugar 
4 garlic cloves, 2 crushed and 2 minced 
3 pounds whole chicken wings 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying 
1 cup cornstarch 
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 
1 diced shallot 

Directions:  
In a bowl, whisk the fish sauce, sugar and crushed garlic. Add the wings and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 3 hours, tossing the wings occasionally. 

Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet. Add the minced garlic; cook over moderate heat until golden, 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. 

In a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°. Pat the wings dry on paper towels; reserve the marinade. Put the cornstarch in a shallow bowl, add the wings and turn to coat. Fry the wings in batches until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a bowl. 

In a small saucepan, simmer the marinade over moderately high heat until syrupy, 5 minutes. Strain over the wings and toss. Top with the cilantro, shallots, fried garlic and serve.

Food for the soul

Amy Ruth’s 
113 West 116th Street 
Harlem, NY 10026 
www.amyruthsharlem.com

A beautiful mural in Harlem

So this past weekend, I was training for my Yosemite Half Dome hike by walking 280 blocks from downtown Chinatown all the way to uptown Harlem and New Jersey. It's inevitable that I would get tired, hungry, and super cranky. Thus, my boyfriend knew exactly what I needed to make things better… some soul food for his unsoulful girlfriend. So we stopped by Amy Ruth’s for some comforting, delicious and artery clogging worthy food to reward ourselves. 

Corn bread on the house

Before we even placed our orders, we received a basket of complimentary corn bread, which was absolutely heaven at the moment since we were completely famished. It was warm, perfectly sweet with the right amount of cornmeal and we slathered it with butter and some maple syrup. Yum!

As I slowly regained my energy back, I studied the restaurant menu carefully, featuring every permutation of comfort food with famous African-American themed dishes. Amy Ruth’s is well known for their famous chicken and waffles... but we just didn’t feel like having any waffles for dinner.

The President Barack Obama fried chicken with collard greens and mac & cheese

So instead, we ordered the President Barack Obama entree. You have the option of choosing your chicken fried, smothered, baked, or BBQ, with two delicious sides of your choice. I stuck with the classic fried chicken since it's essential and vital to Southern cooking. The chicken was juicy, well seasoned, with just the right amount of crisp without being too greasy, and mmmm-mmm finger-lickin’ good. I merrily gobbled the tasty chicken, and washed it down with some good ol’ Kool-aid.

The Reggie Harris Southern honey-dipped fried chicken with fried okra and potato salad

Our side dishes were really good as well. The potato salad was good, with a nice touch of dill. The fried okra did not have that gooey slimy texture, and it tasted awesome in a deep fried batter. The leafy collard greens were excellent with just enough salt and flavor. Macaroni and cheese? Nummy in my tummy! I can't wait to try all the other sides next time.

Neal shoemaker's peach cobbler

We barely had room for dessert, but we managed to squeeze in a warm peach cobbler at the end. The atmosphere here was comfortable, with good hip hop music playing in the background. Despite the service being a little bit slow, the staff was friendly and accommodating.  

Amy Ruth's was one of the most satisfying and hearty meals I ever had. Although my thighs felt guilty for enjoying soul food this good, it definitely satiated my hunger and my belly could not be happier. Going to Amy Ruth's is an experience. One that I recommend to all, for good quality southern comfort food where you eat with your soul, by keepin' it simple and real. Yes, I'd walk another 280 blocks for Amy Ruth's in a hearbeat.

Mickey’s rating: 9/10 
Price range: $$