The Coca-Cola chicken wings in finished form. Photo: Eden Gao

Coca-Cola Chicken Wings

Do you know how to use Coca-Cola to cook delicious chicken wings? Does it sound ridiculous? Let’s try!

By CASSIE YANG and EDEN GAO (photo)

Braised chicken wings is a common dish in China while Coca-Cola is a common drink all over the world. For quite a long time, Chinese people have used soy sauce as the main sauce for braised chicken wings. A few decades ago, in a restaurant in Jinan, Shandong province of China, the chef accidentally spilled some Coca-Cola into the pot when cooking braised chicken wings. Unexpectedly, the braised chicken wings with Coca-Cola gained the appreciation of guests and it became a special dish of the restaurant. It was found that Coca-Cola made it more convenient to color and glaze the chicken wings and that mixed with soy sauce it offered a special sweet and salty taste with a charming fragrance. Therefore, the Coca-Cola chicken wings were spread and have gained popularity among common families.

To cook the Coca-Cola chicken wings, you can follow the recipe below.

Coca-Cola Chicken Wings

(serves 2 as an appetizer)

Ingredients

12 chicken wings

1 can Coca-Cola

5 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 scallions, chopped

2 pieces of ginger

Salt to taste

Method

2
Add an appropriate amount of water and heat until boiling. Photo: Eden Gao

1. Put the chicken wings and ginger in a pot. Add some water to immerse the chicken wings and heat until boiling. This step causes the smell of raw chicken wings to be removed.

How to gash the surface. Photo: Eden Gao
How to gash the surface. Photo: Eden Gao

 

2. Gash the surface of the chicken wings with knife to make them tasty.

4
Sear until the chicken wings are golden brown. Photo: Eden Gao

 

3. Heat a wok and pour rapeseed oil (or any neutral food oil) in. Sear the chicken wings until they are golden brown on each side but not cooked through (about 3 minutes each).

5
Pour in all of the liquid to immerse the chicken wings. Photo: Eden Gao

4. Pour in the soy sauce and Coca-Cola and add salt to taste. The fluid should cover the wings, add water if more fluid is needed. Simmer the wings uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the liquid is reduced to a glaze.

5. Add chopped scallions and transfer the chicken to a plate, then serve.

The Coca-Cola chicken wings in finished form. Photo: Eden Gao
The Coca-Cola chicken wings in finished form. Photo: Eden Gao