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Mexicali's Chinese-Mexican wings, double-fried until the crust crackles, glazed sticky in soy, honey, ginger, and garlic, served with chiles toreados blistered in soy and lime.
These wings are from Mexicali, Baja California. Not from California, not from a sports bar, not from a chain in any other Mexican city. From Mexicali. Specifically from La Chinesca, the Chinese district that has fed this border city since the late 1800s, when Chinese laborers were brought to dig the irrigation canals of the Valle de Mexicali and stayed to open restaurants and small shops on Avenida Reforma. Mexicali has more Chinese restaurants per capita than any other city in Mexico. That is not a marketing claim. It is a census fact.
The technique here is Cantonese in its bones and Mexican in its hands. Double-fried for the crackle. Glazed in soy, honey, ginger, garlic. The Coca-Cola in the glaze is the Mexican fingerprint, the same caramelizing trick that finishes carnitas in Michoacan, used here to soften the edge of the soy and pull the honey into a rounder sweetness. The chiles toreados on the side are the northern Mexican accompaniment, blistered whole on a comal and dressed in soy and lime. They are not a garnish. They are the salsa. Pick one up by the stem and bite between bites of wing.
I spent two weeks in Mexicali in 2019, eating at La Misionera, El Dragon, and a half-dozen storefronts in La Chinesca whose names I could only read in Mandarin. The senoras and senores who taught me this recipe corrected me twice on the soy ratio and once on the second-fry temperature. Esto no es comida de un solo Mexico. This is a dish that exists because Chinese cooks in a Mexican border city built a cuisine that is fully theirs and fully ours. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and Baja California has two of them: the Pacific seafood tradition and the Chinese-Mexican kitchen of Mexicali.
Chinese migration to Mexicali began in the 1880s and accelerated after the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which redirected Chinese laborers south of the border to work the cotton fields and irrigation projects of the Colorado River Land Company in the Valle de Mexicali. By the 1920s, Mexicali's Chinese population briefly outnumbered its Mexican population, and La Chinesca, centered on Avenida Reforma, became the largest Chinatown in Mexico. The Chinese-Mexican wing tradition developed through the 20th century at restaurants like Restaurante Victoria and the now-closed China Town, where Cantonese-trained cooks adapted southern Chinese frying technique to Mexican palates by integrating chile, lime, and the comal-blistered chile toreado as a permanent fixture of the table.
Quantity
3 pounds
split into drumettes and flats, tips removed
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1/2 cup
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
about 6 cups
Quantity
1/2 cup
preferably Yuen's or another brand from La Chinesca
Quantity
1/3 cup
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely grated
Quantity
6
finely minced
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for finishing
Quantity
4
thinly sliced on the bias, for finishing
Quantity
12
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| chicken wingssplit into drumettes and flats, tips removed | 3 pounds |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon |
| cornstarch | 1 cup |
| all-purpose flour | 1/2 cup |
| baking powder | 1 teaspoon |
| neutral oil for frying (peanut or canola) | about 6 cups |
| soy saucepreferably Yuen's or another brand from La Chinesca | 1/2 cup |
| honey | 1/3 cup |
| rice vinegar | 3 tablespoons |
| Mexican Coca-Cola | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh gingerfinely grated | 2 tablespoons |
| garlic clovesfinely minced | 6 |
| sesame oil | 1 teaspoon |
| cornstarch slurry | 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water |
| toasted sesame seedsfor finishing | 2 tablespoons |
| scallionsthinly sliced on the bias, for finishing | 4 |
| fresh chile guero (yellow chile) or chile serrano | 12 |
| soy sauce (for the chiles toreados) | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh lime juice (for the chiles toreados) | 1 tablespoon |
| lime wedges (optional) | for serving |
Pat the wings completely dry with paper towels. Wet wings do not crisp. Season with the salt and pepper, toss to coat, and let them sit on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. The surface needs to feel tacky, not damp. This is the first decision in a dish full of small decisions that add up.
Whisk the cornstarch, flour, and baking powder together in a wide bowl. The cornstarch is the backbone. It is what makes the Mexicali wing crackle the way it does. Straight flour gives you a soft American wing. Cornstarch with a little flour and baking powder is the Chinese-Mexican formula and it has been the formula on Avenida Reforma for over a century.
Heat the oil in a heavy pot or wok to 300F. Toss the wings in the dredge a handful at a time, pressing the coating onto the skin. Shake off the excess. Fry the wings in batches for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the meat is cooked through and the coating is set but still pale. They should look almost beige, not browned. Lift them out with a spider, drain on a wire rack, and let them rest for at least 10 minutes. This rest is not optional. The wing has to cool before the second fry or the crust will not snap.
While the wings rest, combine the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, Coca-Cola, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for three to four minutes, until the garlic loses its raw bite. Stir in the cornstarch slurry. The sauce will tighten into a glossy glaze in about 30 seconds. Pull it off the heat. It should coat the back of a spoon and slide off slowly. The Coca-Cola is not a joke. La Chinesca cooks have used it for decades to round the soy and the vinegar without reaching for white sugar.
Heat a dry comal or cast iron skillet over high heat. Lay the whole chiles down and let them char in spots, turning with tongs, for about four minutes. The skin should blister and the flesh should soften. Transfer to a small bowl, toss with the two tablespoons soy sauce and the lime juice, and cover. They will steep in their own heat while the wings finish. Chiles toreados are the northern table salsa. Every Mexicali Chinese restaurant sets a bowl down before the menu arrives.
Bring the oil up to 375F. Fry the rested wings in batches for three to four minutes, until they turn a deep golden color and the crust crackles when you tap it with the spider. This is the fry that earns the dish. The first fry cooks the meat. The second fry sets the texture. Drain on a fresh wire rack.
Transfer the hot wings to a wide bowl. Pour the warm glaze over them. Toss until every wing is coated in glossy sauce. Move quickly, you want them coated while the crust is still hot enough to grip the glaze. Pile them on a platter. Scatter the sesame seeds and scallions over the top. Set the chiles toreados in their soy and lime alongside, with lime wedges. Eat them the moment they hit the table. Asi se hace y punto.
1 serving (about 285g)
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