WINGS AND THINGS

HP proved again on Saturday night, budget dining does not have to mean crappy dining.

As usual, he had spent far too much of his time tooling on the internet. However, on this occasion, instead of waking up to an inbox of links to interesting news stories and You Tube clips, I found a mail suggesting that, after his Saturday gym session, I join him for a pint in The Artillery Arms and then for a heapin’ helping of “fried” spicy chicken wings using a recipe he had gleaned from this great blog on that there World Wide Web.

I obtained special dispensation from my intended to indulge in the best part of a pint of Fuller’s Discovery and then flopped on the couch watching TV on Demand while he prepared the meal.

For about £7, he had bought sixteen meaty organic wings from Waitrose and, after jointing them in to three parts, dusting them in seasoned flour and tossing in Frank’s Hot Sauce, had baked them on a rack for an hour, turning once. That much was fairly straightforward but it was the second stage that made these some of the best wings I had tried.

He made a simple glaze out of chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar, which he reduced together in a pan while the wings were cooking. After they came out of the oven he tossed them in the sauce and let them sit for five minutes so the sauce soaked into the flesh but still left the skin crisp and golden.

The result was a glorious and gloriously messy supper, which with an excellent and simple cabbage, sesame seed, carrot and grain mustard slaw, fed us both for well under £10. The wings fell apart under the slightest tooth pressure and the sauce was hot, spicy, sweet and entirely delicious.

HP matched it with a glass or two of Albarino. Me? Well, being well aware that Sybil would know if I was lying and that she is more than capable of kicking my ass, kept to the orange juice.

Well worth a try. The wings, that is, not kicking my arse