Wings at a sports bar? Yes. Wings at a neighborhood dining spot? Check. Wings in Buffalo, New York, and almost anywhere that quirky American specialty foods are offered? Yep, we’d expect that. Right? What Jewish diners-out might not expect is to have the option of wings in a Chinese restaurant, and a classically upscale Chinese restaurant at that.
The chicken wings, Chinese style with Sichuan sauce
While something of a surprise, the presence of wings in a Chinese eatery actually aligns with the ethnic history of that nation’s cuisine. The domesticated chicken was introduced to what now is mainland China sometime around 3000 BCE, from the island of Taiwan. When wings of the chicken became a treat offered in Chinese households and by street food carts is anybody’s guess. But it did happen, and chicken wings became a “grandma’s secret recipe” kind of food among Chinese households. In fact, if one goes to the recipe options for Chinese-style takeout wings here in the US, the backstory for preparation, ingredients, and cooking instructions tends to originate from one or another family’s past generations, often being carried forward from places in China. So, tradition, with roots in the Old Country.
Recipes vary in that some feature a deep-fry process that produces a crispy finish, while others might be sauced and roasted. At China Gourmet, owner Matthew Loomis has taken a path less trod, as Robert Frost might have said. That path combines the deep-fry part of preparation with a sauce that offers a definite Chinese taste profile.
According to assistant chef Krystal Schaeffer, the wings are battered in seasoned flour. The flour is seasoned with herbs and spices that are common in Chinese cooking, but the ingredient mix is proprietary to China Gourmet, so no-go on what they are. Coating with flour delivers part of the flavor of the wings, though. Once the coating is to the desired consistency (a secret to crispiness for wings is to coat with flour, dip the coated chicken part in water, and then coat again in flour), the wings are deep-fried to what would be a golden brown if the process went no farther. There is another step, changing the wings into the more American-style Buffalo wing appearance. That step involves coating the wings with Sichuan curry sauce. The coated wings are placed on a bed of bok choy (aka Chinese white cabbage) and festooned with chopped green onion.
“The darkness of the wings comes from the sauce, which is where a lot of the flavor comes from,” says Schaeffer. “The wings are not overly spicy, only lightly spiced and they are really good. I love them!” Talking to Loomis, he intimated that Wing Wednesdays are coming to China Gourmet. Not sure just yet what those Wednesdays will entail, but something to look forward to at the venerable eatery. In any event, the wings are on the menu and available at any time you’re at the restaurant, and for carryout as well.
The filet of walleye, served over a bed of sautéed spinach with brown rice
Another dish that might be a surprise in a Chinese restaurant is one that currently is not on the menu but should be — the pan-seared walleye filet. It’s delicious! Pan-seared, yes, but done in the wok instead of a fry or sauté pan. Wok searing creates a nice char on the outside of the filet that differs from typical, traditional pan searing, I think. Not quite but almost crunchy on the outside, the fish has a great texture. The inside of the filet is moist and flaky. Schaeffer stated that preparation for the dish includes searing spinach in the wok first, and the seared filet then is set atop the spinach, along with brown rice on the side. The filet of walleye is topped with black bean sauce, and chopped scallions.
We tried the walleye dish, and for the uninitiated, the fish is mild and white, with a texture similar to cod. However, walleye is a freshwater fish, unlike cod, and much of what we eat here in the Midwest is caught in Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. As for black bean sauce, this fermented specialty of Chinese eateries is deliciously savory, with the bean-based sauce carrying the flavors of garlic and ginger. It is one of my favorites in the Chinese pantry of sauces.
See you at China Gourmet!
