Swiss Sauce Chicken Wings (Dark Soy Sauce Chicken Wings)

Swiss sauce chicken wings (瑞士雞翼) is a classic Hong Kong dish. Swiss sauce has nothing to do with “Switzerland”. The chicken wings are marinated in sweetened dark soy sauce. The urban legend behind the name, was a miscommunication between a Chinese waiter and an English-speaking customer in a Hong Kong cafe. The Chinese waiter told the English speaker the dish was called “Sweet wings”, but the English speaker thought it was “Swiss wings”. But again, this is only a story.

No matter what the name is, these chicken wings are simply delicious. Bryan loves them on the first try. The chicken wings were savory with a hint of sweet. Dark soy sauce gave the wings that nice dark brown color and a little sweetness. One important tip for these wings is the iced bath. To shock the chicken wings in iced water, the chicken skins would tighten and stay intact while being cooked. The iced bath gave the chicken skins a nice bouncy texture, which I love!

Try these wings and I know you will love them!

Swiss Sauce Chicken Wings (Dark Soy Sauce Chicken Wings) (Adapted from Homemade Tea Restaurant Signature Dishes)

2 – 3 servings

Ingredients:

–   20 chicken wings

–   400ml dark soy sauce

–   800ml water

–   250 – 300 grams rock sugar

–   6 green onions

–   5 ginger slices

–   15 – 20 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, fill a large mixing bowl with cold water and combine with the ice cubes. Set aside.
3. Finely dice 1 green onion. Set aside.
4. Once the water is boiling, add 2 ginger slices and 2 green onions. Add chicken wings and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and place the chicken wings into the ice water. Let sit until the chicken wings are cold.
5. In a large pot, bring the 800ml water to boil over high heat. Add dark soy sauce, 250 grams rock sugar, the 3 green onions and the remaining ginger slices. Cook unit the rock sugar has dissolved. Taste and add more rock sugar if needed. Reduce to low heat. Add the chicken wings and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot with a lid. Let stand for 20 minutes. Turn back on the heat to high and cook for 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken wings to a serving bowl. Top with extra swiss sauce and diced green onions. Serve immediately.

Tips:

1. Don’t use regular soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is less salty with a hint of sweet. It cannot be substitute.
2. It is important to put the chicken wings in the ice water to keep the chicken skins firm.
3. You can adjust the taste of the sauce with regular soy sauce and extra rock sugar. The sauce should taste a bit saltier than normally how you would like you food, because that is the marinade.
4. Reserve half of the remaining swiss sauce for other great recipes, like this one.

Where can you buy dark soy sauce and rock sugar? You can get them from Chinese supermarkets, like 99 Ranch Market or from Amazon (dark soy sauce & rock sugar).

Source: Read