Cantonese Swiss Chicken Wings (瑞士鸡翼)
A great dish that...obviously have nothing to do with Switzerland, but represents an interesting culinary era when Cantonese meets Western.
Swiss chicken wings are a classic Cantonese dish, and… obviously have precisely zero to do with the country of Switzerland. …sorry to disappoint. The name's had a number of urban legends attached to it, but unfortunately the ultimate truth behind "why Swiss?" seems to've been lost to history.
What we do know is where they originated – they came from an old restaurant in Guangzhou called Tai Ping Koon, or "The Pacific House". In 1860, the Pacific house was the very first Western restaurant to open in Guangzhou, and over the years developed a signature style of Canto-western cuisine now referred to as "soy sauce Western". Among the older generations in Guangzhou, Tai Ping Koon is a cultural institution – famously, it was even the place where Zhou Enlai had his wedding reception.
These days, Tai Ping Koon functions as a sort of a minor tourist attraction – people can come, order the same set meal that they served at Zhou Enlai's wedding, or perhaps munch instead on their iconic.. Swiss Chicken Wings.
Now, sometime in the mid 20th century, the dish made the jump over to Hong Kong, where it became a mainstay at Cha chaan teng, Hong Kong's own Canto-western tradition. So these days you can find those Swiss wings next to stuff like the cheesy seafood rice or the black pepper beef.. and in the context of home kitchens it's become 'modern classic' of sorts for many Cantonese homecooks.
And so while we've always liked Swiss wings, we actually wasn't really hooked until I tried that original version at the Tai Ping Koon restaurant. Their sauce had this sort of deep, caramelized flavor that was unmistakably reminiscent of a Western-style roasted stock. And so thus began our borderline obsessive search for figuring out how exactly Tai Ping Koon pulled that off.
So. After researching, we found that their wings do indeed use a stock base, and luckily, we were able to track down one interview of a Tai Ping Koon chef where he gave away the broad strokes of how they made it. And so while we did have to fill in a couple gaps with a bit of educated-guess-work, the end result landed quite close, flavor wise, to what you find at Tai Ping Koon.
Cantonese Swiss Chicken Wings
Stock (preferably roasted or Tai Ping Koon stock, in the recipe below), 750mL. Spices for the stock:
Cinnamon stick (桂皮), ½.
Star anise (八角), 2.
Dried bay leaves (香叶), 4.
Chinese black cardamom (Tsaoko/草果), 1. (Optional) To make the swiss sauce:
Light soy sauce (生抽), 6 tbsp.
Dark soy sauce (老抽), 6 tbsp.
Taiwan thick soy sauce (soy paste/酱油膏), 6 tbsp. Or additional 6 tbsp light soy sauce.
Slab sugar (jaggery/红糖/片糖) or dark brown sugar, 100g.
Chicken wings (鸡翼/鸡翅), 10. Or desired quantity.
Process:
Add 750mL stock to a saucepan with ½ cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 4 dried bay leaves, and 1 Chinese black cardamom (if using). Over medium flame, bring to a heavy simmer/light boil. Let it reduce for ~20-30 minutes.
While the stock reduces, blanch 10 chicken wings in boiling water for ~2 minutes. Rinse under cool water, then transfer to an ice bath. Soak for at least five minutes.
Remove spices from the reduced stock (there should be about ~375mL remaining). Add 6 tbsp each of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and Taiwan thick soy sauce (or additional light soy sauce), along with 100g slab sugar or dark brown sugar. Bring to a boil and let the sugar dissolve.
Add the chicken wings to the boiling sauce. Let them boil for ~1 minute. Shut off the heat and cover.
Let the wings soak in the hot sauce - covered - for at least one hour, flipping halfway through. If soaking longer than an hour (especially overnight), after flipping, bring everything to a boil again for one minute, then cover.
After soaking, transfer the wings with ~¼ cup of sauce to a non-stick skillet. Cook over medium flame for ~5 minutes, or until the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency.
Notes:
Save the remaining sauce in the fridge or freezer for future use.
You can skip the ice bath if you don't care about making your wings more plump.
This recipe can be scaled up - the wings reheat well.
The remaining sauce can be treated like a Lo Shui master stock for future use.
Cantonese Style Western Stock (Tai Ping Koon-Style Stock/豉油西餐上汤)
Chicken (preferably old hen/老母鸡/老鸡乸), ½ (~500g).
Pork bones with a bit of meat still attached (猪骨), 500g.
Chicken feet (鸡脚), 250g.
Onion, ½, cut into chunks.
Carrot, 1, cut into chunks.
Ginger, ~1.5 inches, smashed.
Chinese celery, 1 small bunch or Western celery (香芹或西芹), ~1 stalk.
Liaojiu (Shaoxing wine) or other wine (绍酒/料酒/餐酒), ¼ cup.
Fry the meat pieces (½ chicken, 500g pork bones, 250g chicken feet) over high flame for 5-6 minutes until browned, working in batches if necessary. Remove and reserve.
Reduce to medium flame. Fry ½ onion for ~1 minute, followed by 1 carrot for ~1 minute, then add the celery and 1.5 inches of ginger and fry for a minute more.
Swirl in ¼ cup of Shaoxing wine and deglaze, scraping up the fond.
Add back the meat pieces and cover everything with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very light simmer, and cover and cook for ~8 hours. (If leaving uncovered, periodically add more water.)
Remove the meat pieces and carrot, reserve for another use. Strain the stock and transfer to the fridge.
The next day (or before using), skim off the layer of fat at the top.
Note: This recipe involves some educated guesswork when researching, but the broad strokes should be correct.