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Updated: May 5, 2024

Growing up we really didn’t eat much fermented food. Once in a while there was a little canned sauerkraut on a hot dog at an impromptu family gathering; or a taste of yogurt when we’re sick; otherwise it wasn’t something we typically ate. So you could imagine my amazement when I moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s and I discovered what would years later become one of my most used condiments today! The mouth tingling heat from the chilies combined with the amazing aroma of fermented garlic makes a wonderful addition to anything from braised meats to hot pot; salad dressings to BBQ. This affordable, easy to make flavor packed fermented gem is a must have for any Asian food lover(s)!

Chinese Inspired Fermented Garlic With Chilies

Serves: 30

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cooking Time: 14 Days

Ingredients

1 Mason Jar, Or Container, Slightly Larger Than Your Ingredients

1 Fermentation Lid With Air Lock

10 Oz Peeled Garlic, Medium Dice (You can use unpeeled, whole garlic cloves as well.)

10 Oz Diced Chili(es) Of Your Choice, Medium/Fine (I normally use Thai Bird and Serrano chilies. Tien Tsin is another popular option.)

5 Oz Thinly Sliced Ginger

10 Oz Thinly Sliced Onion

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Chinese Cooking Wine (The light tan/yellow stuff.)

1/4 Tablespoon Chinese Black Vinegar Enough water to fill container to 1/4 inch below the rim

Unionized Salt = 3% by weight of the mixture minus the weight of the jar.

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl add all ingredients, minus the salt and water, and mix completely.

  2. Place your empty Mason jar, or container, on a kitchen scale and tare it.

  3. Pour the chili/garlic mix into your empty container.

  4. Pour in enough water to fully cover your chili/garlic mix. The idea is to only add enough water to completely cover the chili/garlic mix. You do not need to fill the container completely.

  5. Check the weight of your filled container and write it down.

  6. Using the weight of your filled container, multiply the weight by .03 to get the total weight of salt needed.

  7. With a clean kitchen cloth, or paper towel, clean the threads of your container.

  8. Attach your air lock to your fermentation lid and then attach the lid to your filled container.

  9. Sit your container in an out of the way location in your kitchen and allow to ferment for 7-14 days.

  10. Once your pickle reaches the desired level of fermentation replace the fermentation lid with a water tight lid and store in the fridge.

Notes

Keeping your fermented pickle in the fridge will slow down the fermentation, but it will not fully stop it. If you wish to fully stop the fermentation process place your sealed container in a pot of boiling water and allow to boil for 10 minutes. This should be enough to kill any live fermentation bacteria, but it will reduce the freshness of your pickle a bit.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @transchef.


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Twice Fried Crispy Wings In Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Mango Sauce

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients


Chicken

2 Lbs Chicken Wings, Cleaned and divided

3 Cups Corn Starch

Enough Cooking Oil To Fry Wings

2 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder (Optional)


Sauce Ingredients

1 Cup Mango hot sauce

1/4 Cup Honey

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Black Chinese Vinegar

2 Garlic Cloves, Pureed

1/2 Inch Ginger, Pureed

1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika

1 Tablespoon Oil From Chicken

1 Teaspoon Cumin, Toasted and ground fine

1 Tablespoon Fennel Seeds, toasted and ground fine

Instructions

The Chicken:

In a large bowl, combine corn starch, salt and garlic powder and mix until thoroughly blended.


Add your chicken wings to corn starch / spice mix and coat the chicken wings. Shake off any extra breading mix and set aside on a cookie sheet. Allow chicken to rest for 30 minutes.

In a large cast iron dutch oven, or frying pan, pour in the oil and heat on medium high until the temperature of the oil reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.


Once the oil reaches 350 degrees add half the chicken and allow to fry undisturbed for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes Turn your wings and cook for another 5 minutes and continue until each side is cooked until about half cooked. Depending on your heat this should take about 13 min - 20 min. Keep in mind that the corn starch coating will not be as brown as if you had used the typical wheat flower.


Side note: If you're using a shallow frying pain only put enough chicken for one layer. Once your chicken is half done take it out and sit it on a wire rack over paper towels. If you don't have a wire rack that's fine.


WARNING: DO NOT EAT YOUR CHICKEN WINGS AT THIS TIME. THEY ARE NOT FULLY COOKED AND WILL MAKE YOU SICK.


From time to time you may notice a large build up of debris at the bottom of your pan. This is normally means you didn't shake off excess corn starch from the chicken before frying. This can be dealt with by turning off your oil and allowing it to cool down to a manageable temperature. Then pouring the oil into another heat proof container stopping right before your about to start pouring out the debris. Discard the debris by wiping out your pan with disposable paper towels. Return the oil to your pan and turn on medium high until the oil reaches 350 degrees. After the oil has returned to 350 degrees return the all chicken to the pot and continue to fry for another 12 -15 minutes while turning your chicken about every 2-3 min for even cooking and browning. For safety reasons, when adding your chicken back to your hot oil make sure to notice the oil level does not rise above 2/3 the height of your pot. Doing so could lead to over flows and burns. So take your time and be safe! (It also helps with reducing splatter you'll have to clean later.) Since wings are white meat you'll want to cook them until their internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. As long as you hit this level they're perfectly done to eat. I normally pull my wings at 155 degrees F and the carry over heat will push the temp to 160+ degrees. (This helps stop over cooking.)


The Sauce:

In a medium sauce pan, add 1 tablespoon oil used to cook your chicken wings along with garlic, ginger, cumin, fennel seeds and smoked paprika and saute for 2-3 minutes until the ginger and garlic is slightly brown. Then add your remaining sauce ingredients and stir until fully mixed together. Bring the sauce to a low bowl and turn off.


Side note:

I use my own custom blended fermented scotch bonnet / mango hot sauce. (Recipe is coming soon.) It's perfectly fine to use a store bought mango hot sauce if you prefer.


The Wing / Sauce Marriage:

Place your chicken wings in a large, heat proof bowl and coat with your sauce mix. Shake the bowl in short, up and down motions to quickly coat the wings. Once your wings are fully coated serve and enjoy!

Did You Make This Recipe?

How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @transchef.



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