Japanese Teba Shichimi is a popular dish in Izakaya, consisting of chicken wings marinated in ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sake (Japanese rice wine).
Barbecued marinated chicken wings are tasty little tid-bits at any time, but when you add seven flavor chili powder to the mix, it takes them to the gourmet level.
Seven flavor chili powder (Seven Taste Tang Xinzi) is a unique Japanese compound seasoning consisting of pepper, dried tangerine peel, black sesame, white sesame, ginger, and seaweed, among other things (different brands have small differences). The taste is spicy with a bite making it irresistible.
My simple grilled chicken wing gourmet delights will have your mouth watering, so be prepared!
Traditional seven flavored grilled wings are cooked on a charcoal fire barbecue, which is not so easy to replicate in the family kitchen, so instead, I bake the wings in the electric oven. In the oven, the temperature can be controlled more precisely, and the wings can be cooked just right.
List of ingredients (2 servings):
- 8 chicken wings
- 40 ml sake
- 40 ml soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne chili powder. You can use other chili powder instead, but the amount may need to be adjusted according to its spiciness. Cayenne chili powder is a relatively hot chili powder.
- 1 clove garlic
- 6 g piece ginger (approx. 2” piece)
- 1/2 teaspoon Japanese seven flavor chili powder
Method:
Step 1
First, prepare the chicken wings. Try to buy chicken wings that have the wing removed, but if you can’t get them, you will need to cut the wing tip off, and just use the larger part of the wing.
Step 2
Next is to prepare the marinade for the chicken wings.
Take a large glass bowl and pour the sake, soy sauce, and cayenne chili powder into it. Mince the garlic and ginger with a plane straight into the marinade. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
Step 3
Put the chicken wings into the marinade and mix with your hands to fully coat the chicken wings. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Sometimes chicken can become infected with Salmonella during the production process, so in this step, you must be careful not to dirty the outside the bowl, so as not to contaminate the other things in the refrigerator.
Step 4
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. After the chicken wings have marinated for at least two hours, take them out of the refrigerator and thread the wings onto short bamboo skewers.
The bamboo skewers are not absolutely necessary, but these short ones make eating the wings so much easier, enabling the most elegant guests to keep their composure while eating what can otherwise be a messy affair.
Step 5
Take a large oven pan and line the inside with aluminum foil (this makes clean up easier). Place a grill rack on the foil and put the chicken wings on the grill with the thicker side facing up.
If the chicken wings are fatty and placed directly on the baking pan, they will be immersed in their juices giving an oily result. If the chicken wings are thin, the metal pan will conduct too much heat to the chicken wings, making them dry tasting. Also, the bamboo sticks will ‘cook’ causing the woody flavor to leach into the wings.
Step 6
Position the pan on the oven about one third from the top to achieve a charcoal effect. Close the oven door and bake for 6 minutes. Open the oven door, and with a silicon basting brush, baste the wings with some of the marinade.
Baste twice more after another 8 minutes and then 10 minutes. Bake for a further 12 minutes and then take the wings out of the oven. Allow to rest for two minutes, and sprinkle with seven flavor chili powder. Serve immediately and enjoy these finger-lickin’ good chicken wings!
Cooking Tips:
- Basting should be done as quickly as you can to prevent the oven cooling down too much between bastings. Be careful not to burn yourself in the process!
- To avoid scorching the bamboo skewers, soak them in the water for 30 minutes before use.
