Introduction 簡介
“Chicken wings” do not mean quite the same thing everywhere. A complete wing has three sections—the drumette, the middle flat and the tip. In Hong Kong, it may be sold intact as a whole wing, while its three sections are also commonly named, sold and cooked separately as drumettes, mid-wings and wing tips.[1] Hong Kong families often buy mid-wings in the large bags commonly stocked by supermarkets, or pick them up from local markets. The chicken wings served in cha chaan tengs and restaurants are also usually mid-wings, although whole wings sometimes appear. So when I say “chicken wings,” the piece I picture is usually the mid-wing: the neat, flat section with two slender bones.
「雞翼」去到唔同地方，指嘅未必係同一件事。一隻完整雞翼分成三部分：雞槌、雞中翼同雞翼尖；喺香港，成隻會叫雞全翼，而三個部位亦經常分開叫、分開賣同分開入饌。[1] 香港家庭平時買雞翼，多數都係喺超市買一大包包裝好嘅雞中翼，或者去街市買；茶餐廳同食肆賣嘅雞翼亦大多數係雞中翼，間中先會見到雞全翼。所以對我嚟講，一講「雞翼」，腦入面第一時間出現嘅通常都係雞中翼——扁扁哋、有兩條幼骨嗰一截。
In Australia, large supermarkets generally sell either whole wings or “wing nibbles”—a mixture of drumettes and flats. Packs containing only mid-wings are much less common, so I normally have to look for them at particular meat shops. It is a small shopping difference, but it made me realise how distinctly Hong Kong my idea of an everyday chicken wing is.
喺澳洲，大型超市通常只會賣雞全翼，或者「wing nibbles」，即係雞槌同雞中翼混合裝。想淨係買雞中翼就無咁容易，唔係間間肉舖有。只係買雞翼呢件小事，令我發現自己心目中最日常嘅「雞翼」，原來都好有香港特色。
Growing up in Hong Kong, we were spoiled for choice when it came to food, especially Japanese cuisine. That variety shaped both my dining habits and the way I cook at home, which is why Japanese and Japanese-style dishes appear so often in our everyday meals. I first came to know Nagoya tebasaki through Sekai no Yamachan’s Hong Kong restaurant, and its Maboroshi no Tebasaki, or “Phantom Chicken Wings,” quickly became one of my favourite things to order. Nagoya has a different chicken-wing tradition: tebasaki usually keeps the pointed tip attached to the middle section, rather than using the bare mid-wing preferred in many Hong Kong homes.[2] The modern dish is generally traced to Furaibo in 1963, when an inexpensive and overlooked part of the chicken was turned into a fried, sauce-coated drinking snack.[3] Sekai no Yamachan began as a tiny 13-seat shop in Nagoya in 1981, and its sweet-savoury sauce and especially bold pepper finish helped make this style famous far beyond the city.[4]
喺香港長大，食嘢真係有好多選擇，世界各地嘅菜式都食得到，當中日本菜更加特別普遍。呢種多元嘅飲食環境亦影響咗我食嘢嘅習慣同屋企煮飯嘅風格，所以我哋日常飲食入面成日都會有日本菜或者日式菜式。我第一次認識名古屋手羽先唐揚，唔係因為去名古屋旅行，而係因為世界の山ちゃん喺香港有分店；佢哋嘅招牌「幻の手羽先」，亦好快成為我最鍾意叫嘅菜式之一。名古屋有自己一套雞翼文化：當地嘅手羽先通常會保留雞中翼連住最尖嗰一截，而唔係香港家庭常用、淨係得中段嘅雞中翼。[2] 現代名古屋手羽先唐揚一般追溯到1963年嘅風來坊：將當時價錢平、唔受重視嘅雞翼，變成炸香之後掃汁、用嚟送酒嘅小食。[3] 世界の山ちゃん就喺1981年由名古屋一間只有13個座位嘅小店起家，憑甜鹹醬汁同份量十足嘅胡椒香，令呢種風味慢慢走出名古屋。[4]
This recipe is my interpretation of Nagoya tebasaki, adapted for chicken mid-wings. Traditional tebasaki is normally fried without a coating; this version uses equal parts tapioca starch and cornstarch to create a thin, crisp shell.[5] The wings are fried first at 150°C to cook them through, rested, then fried again at 190°C for extra crunch. While they are still hot, they are brushed with soy sauce, mirin, sugar and garlic, then finished with white and black pepper. Cutting the joints at both ends beforehand also makes the two bones easier to remove.
呢個食譜係我對名古屋手羽先嘅演繹，改用雞中翼製作。傳統手羽先一般唔上粉直接炸；呢個版本就用木薯粉同粟粉一比一，做出一層輕薄香脆嘅外殼。[5] 雞翼先用150°C炸熟，靜置之後再用190°C翻炸，令外層更加香脆。一出鑊就趁熱掃上豉油、味醂、糖同蒜蓉調成嘅醬汁，最後灑上白胡椒同黑胡椒。炸之前先剪開雞翼兩端嘅關節，食嗰陣兩條骨亦會更容易拆出嚟。
If you would like to try some Chinese home-style chicken-wing dishes, you can also make Pan-Fried Chicken Wings 煎雞翼 for a Cantonese-style favourite, or Hua Diao Drunken Chicken Wings 花雕醉雞翼 for a chilled Shanghai-style dish infused with Shaoxing wine.
想試吓其他家常雞翼做法，可以整廣東風味嘅煎雞翼；如果鍾意凍食，亦可以試吓用花雕酒浸製、帶上海風味嘅花雕醉雞翼。
References 參考資料
- 香港食材圖鑑: 雞翼辨認
- Nippon Ham: 手羽肉を上から下まで味わう
- Furaibo: The origin of tebasaki karaage
- Sekai no Yamachan: English
- Aichi Now: Tebasaki — Nagoya’s hot, spicy, crispy chicken wings
Yamachan-Inspired Crispy Chicken Mid-Wings 山哥風香脆雞中翼
Description 簡介
Ingredients 食材
Chicken Wings 雞翼
Sauce 醬汁
Instructions 做法
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Pat the chicken mid-wings dry. Using kitchen scissors, cut through the joints at both ends of each wing without cutting the wing itself apart. This will make the wings easier to eat later.
雞中翼印乾。用廚房剪刀剪開每隻雞翼兩端嘅關節，食嗰陣會更容易拆骨。
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Mix the tapioca starch and cornstarch. Coat the wings one at a time, giving each one a gentle squeeze so the starch adheres well. Leave them to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a pot of oil to 150°C.
木薯粉同粟粉拌勻。雞翼逐隻上粉，再輕輕揸實，令粉黏得更穩。靜置10分鐘；同時將一煲油加熱至150°C。
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Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Microwave at 800W for 10 seconds, then stir again until the sugar has dissolved.
將所有醬汁材料放入碗中拌勻，以800W微波爐加熱10秒，再攪拌至糖完全溶化。
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Fry the wings for 6 minutes, keeping the heat at low to medium throughout. This first fry cooks the wings through.
雞翼炸6分鐘，全程保持中小火，先將雞翼炸熟。
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Remove the wings, drain well and rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, raise the oil temperature to 190°C.
撈起雞翼瀝油，靜置10分鐘；同時將油溫升至190°C。
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Fry the wings again for 2 minutes, then remove and drain. While they are still hot, brush both sides with the prepared sauce and sprinkle with the white pepper and black pepper.
雞翼翻炸2分鐘，撈起瀝油。趁熱喺兩面掃上準備好嘅醬汁，再灑上白胡椒粉同黑胡椒粉。