Air fryers are becoming more popular because they cook a wide variety of foods quickly with very little oil and yield fantastic results. In this recipe from Breville, chicken wings are coated with baking powder and salt before being air fried for 30 minutes. They are then tossed with a sauce made of gochujang (Korean fermented red chile paste), garlic, ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Delicious! Cook’s note: If you don’t have an air fryer, you can broil the wings for about 30 minutes, flipping once. Make sure the wings are about six inches (15.24 cm) from the element. You can also broil the wings briefly after tossing them in the sauce.
Avoiding Additives and Preservatives
Gochujang usually contains preservatives, but I used O’Food brand, which is additive-free and available from Amazon.ca. I used Marukan rice vinegar, tamari instead of soy sauce and Lee Kum Kee sesame oil.
Air fried Korean chicken wings
Ingredients:
Wings
1 ½ lbs (680 g) chicken wings
1 tbsp (15 ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt
Sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) gochujang
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) minced fresh ginger
1 tsp (5 ml) sesame oil
3 tbsp (45 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp (45 ml) honey
To serve
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) white sesame seeds
Preparation:
Place wings in a large bowl. Combine baking powder and salt in a small bowl and sprinkly mixture over wings to coat them evenly.
Place the wings in the air fryer basket, in a single, evenly- paced layer. Air fry the wings for 30 minutes at 450 F (230 C) for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
While the wings cook, combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Sauce can be made 24 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
Transfer the cooked wings to a bowl and toss with some of the sauce to coat evenly. You can serve the wings at this point or broil them for 1-2 minutes per side to brown them.
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve with the remaining sauce. Serves 4.
From Breville
I have a new kitchen toy — an extra-large air fryer. Air fryers aren’t really fryers at all – they are small convection ovens that circulate hot air with a fan. The intense hot air approximates frying — with little or no fat. I have a Philips Avance model and have been impressed with the results — crispy fries, moist fish and chicken that cooks through and browns in 20 minutes. It frees up oven space and there is no spatter! On the down side, it is large and heavy, so I’ve been leaving mine on the countertop. These Tandoori chicken thighs are from the American’s Test Kitchen Air Fryer Perfection cookbook. Marinate the chicken for a few minutes and then air fry for 20-30 minutes. You could also bake them in a 425 F (218 C) oven for 30-40 minutes.
Avoiding Additives and Preservatives
Make sure your dried spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. Use fresh lime juice and yogurt with no additives.
There are many different models of air fryers. This is a Philips XL Avance.
Marinate the chicken and place in the fryer basket.
The chicken is cooked and well-browned in about 20 minutes.
Air fried Tandoori chicken thighs
Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) grated fresh garlic
1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) garam masala
1 tsp (5 ml) chili powder
1 tsp (5 ml) vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
½ cup (125 ml) plain whole-milk yogurt
4 tsp (20 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
4 5-oz (140-g) bone in, skin-on chicken thighs
Preparation:
Combine garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, chili powder, oil, ¼ tsp (1 ml) salt and ¼ tsp (1 ml) pepper in large bowl and microwave until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly, then stir in ¼ cup (60 ml) yogurt and 1 tbsp (15 ml) lime juice.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Using metal skewer, poke skin side of chicken 10 to 15 times (omit this step if you aren’t using an air fryer). Add to bowl with yogurt-spice mixture and toss to coat; set aside to marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) yogurt and remaining 1 tsp (5 ml) lime juice in clean bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off, and arrange skin side up in air-fryer basket, spaced evenly apart (or place chicken on baking sheet). Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 400 F (204 C) (or place in pre-heated 425 F/218 C oven). Cook until chicken is well-browned and crisp and registers 195 F (90 C), 20 to 30 minutes, rotating chicken halfway through cooking; do not flip (if roasting in oven, cook 30-40 minutes).
Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with reserved yogurt-lime sauce. Serves 2.
From America’s Test Kitchen Air Fryer Perfection
