When I inherited this column in 1998, I also inherited a pile of requests seeking the recipe for Chicken Alice’s spicy Korean chicken wings. It was the No. 1 request of the time.
Alice Yang had closed Chicken Alice’s restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard in 1995, and the wound was still fresh.
I found Yang in 2005, employing an age-old investigative reporting technique: I answered the phone. On the other end was a friend who had spotted Yang at her then-place of employment and expertly secured her identity (“Aren’t you Chicken Alice?” he asked).
Long story short, Yang gave me her recipe. It was a gesture of thanks, she said, for how welcome the people of Hawaii had made her feel since she immigrated from Seoul in the ’70s.
Of all the recipes I have published in 17 years, this is the one that has gained the most traction. Try Googling it; dozens of references link back to the old Honolulu Star-Bulletin. I’d never noticed that until last week, when word came that Yang had died Oct. 3.
So it’s time to bid a good cook farewell, and what better way than with her recipe. Here it is, one more time.
Aloha, Alice.
Chicken Alice’s Wings
» 5 pounds chicken wings
» Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Batter:
» 1/3 cup Parks Brand Kim Chee Sauce
» 1 tablespoon minced garlic
» 2 tablespoons salt
» 2-1/2 cups flour
» 2 cups water, or more, as needed
Rinse and dry chicken. Cut off and discard wing tips. Cut through joint to separate drumettes from other half of wing.
To make batter: Combine kim chee sauce, garlic, salt and flour. Add water gradually, enough to make a thick batter, about the consistency of pancake batter.
Add chicken pieces to batter, mix well and marinate in refrigerator 2 to 3 hours.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Deep-fry chicken pieces about 10 minutes, until chicken rises to surface and coating is deep brown. Serves 10 to 12.
Note: Find Parks kim chee sauce at Asian markets such as Palama Super Market or Don Quijote, in the refrigerated section near the kim chee.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 160 calories, 11 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrates, no fiber, 1 g sugar, 10 g protein
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
