Zingy & Spicy Thai Wings Recipe (KFC Wingz Zabb!)

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need, with a few important notes on some of them. For amounts, see the full recipe card below!

Magical Wingz Zabb Seasoning Powder

• Uncooked jasmine rice. This is for making toasted rice powder, an MVP ingredient in many Thai dishes. Other kinds of white rice will also work, but jasmine is the most aromatic.
• Makrut lime leaves, aka kaffir lime leaves. These are technically optional and I don’t think KFC uses them, but it is highly recommended as I think it’s one of the reasons why I think mine are better!
• Sugar
• Cayenne pepper, or another spicy chili powder. I use cayenne because it’s already powdery fine, which is what we need so the seasoning powder adheres well. Always taste your cayenne pepper first to see how spicy it is though, because heat level varies significantly between brands. This will help you judge how much you should be adding.
• Paprika. You could do all cayenne for super hot wings, but because my cayenne is very hot I cut it with some paprika to make it milder, while keeping the colour and flavour. The ratio between cayenne and paprika is up to you, but keep the total volume of the combination of chili powders the same. (Do not use smoked paprika.)
• Lime juice powder (crystalized lime juice) If you’ve never used lime juice powder before, it is life changing. I have it on hand as a backup, or when I am just too lazy to deal with a fresh lime. It is especially useful for when you want the lime flavour and acidity, but not the liquid – such as in a seasoning powder! I wouldn’t use it in drinks, but in dishes with enough competing flavours, the difference is hardly noticeable. In Canada I have only seen one brand, True Lime, but other brands will probably work. You can buy lime juice powder on Amazon or on iHerb.
  If you can’t find lime juice powder, you can substitute the lemon version “True Lemon” instead, or you can try using citric acid, which is also sour but won’t have any lime flavour. Note that I have not personally tried citric acid myself so you may need to taste and adjust the amounts.
• Table salt, or another equally fine salt so that it will measure the same.

For the Wings

• Chicken wing drumettes. I’m usually a flats person, but for this, because the seasoning powder is so intense, it’s better to use drumettes which are meatier. For your leftover flats, use them in this amazing Fish Sauce Wings recipe!
• Fish sauce.
• All-purpose flour
• Cornstarch. Cutting the flour with a bit of cornstarch reduces gluten and creates a lighter, crunchier crust.
• Water. A drizzle of water gets added to the wings after dredging, and this causes some for the flour to clump up and creates that craggy crust which helps the seasoning adhere and adds crunch!

How to Make Wingz Zabb

Here’s a bird’s eye view of the process, but if it’s your first time, I highly recommend you watch the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Marinade the wings in fish sauce and let them sit while you make the seasoning powder.
2. Toast the jasmine rice and the makrut lime leaves over medium high heat; and once the lime leaves are dry and curled up, remove them from the pan.
3. Continue toasting the rice until the grains are dark brown.
4. Grind the rice and the lime leaves in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle until fine.

5. Add the salt, sugar, lime juice powder, paprika and cayenne pepper into the tosted rice powder.
6. Blitz for a few more seconds until very fine. There’s your zabb powder, ready to be used on wings or anything else you want!
7. Whisk together the flour and cornstarch and add to the wings; toss to coat.
8. Drizzle about 2 tablespoon of water over the dredged wings and toss again. The water will cause some of the flour to clump, creating a craggy crust.

9. Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C) and add half of the wings, then reduce the heat to medium and keep frying for 6-8 minutes until done. Maintain oil temp between 325°F-350°F during frying.
10. Place the wings in a mixing bowl and immediately sprinkle about half of the zabb powder over them. Toss to get them mostly coated, but they don’t need to be perfect right now.
11. Fry the second batch of wings and put them int othe same mixing bowl. Sprinkle MOST of the zabb powder over the new set of wings, reserving about 1 tablespoon, then toss everything together well.
12. The wings should be completely coated – if there are any blank spots, spoon the reserved powder directly over them. The colour of the wings will darken as the seasoning sinks into the wings. Allow to cool for a few minutes and dig in with a nice cold drink!

Leftover Wingz Zabb are milder…but how?

I was first very surprised to learn that my day-old reheated wings tasted much milder than fresh ones. Still very good, but the initial hit of flavour is wayyyyy less aggressive.

This is because with fresh wings, all the seasoning powder is sitting on the surface, so when you take that bite, your tongue is hit with all the flavours at once.

But as the wings sit, the seasoning will slowly sink into the wings, and the flavour will be distributed across the meat. (The wings are basically marinating.)

So, I recommend eating these fresh if possible. Leftovers are still good, but aside from the loss of crunch, they will also taste a bit milder.

How to Reheat Leftovers

Now that you have the right expectations, here’s how to reheat the wings. Bake them in a 325°F (160°C) oven for 8-10 minutes. I keep the temp low because there is sugar in the seasoning, and temp that’s too high will burn the sugar. You can also reheat them in the airfryer, and I would keep the heat even lower at 300°F (150°C).

Advance Prep Tips

If you want to serve these at a party, it is wise to do as much advance prep as possible. Here are the things you can do:

• Make the zabb powder a day in advance and keep it in a tightly sealed jar. The powder will technically last a long time since they’re just dry ingredients, but the flavours of toasted rice and makrut lime leaves will fade over time so you don’t want to do it too far ahead.
• Fry the wings up to 4 hours before serving. Leave them to sit at room temp and do not toss them in the seasoning yet. Leave the oil in the pot on the stove. When ready to eat, heat the oil to 350°F and re-fry the wings for 4-5 minutes per batch, and then toss them in the seasoning as per the recipe.
  Note: In terms of safety, the wings do not need to reach an internal temp of 165°F again for the second fry, but they should reach at least 135°F so they’re hot enough for serving.
  The double frying will have an added benefit of making the wings extra crunchy, so you can also do this anyway if you have time. When double frying though be sure to let the wings cool completely before the second fry so that you don’t overcook them.

What Else Can You Use the Zabb Powder For?

Once you’ve made the zabb powder and experience how good it is, you’ll surely wonder…what else can I put this on?

Anything deep fried is the obvious answer. Potato wedges, fries, calamari, popcorn, and roasted nuts come to mind. Whatever it is needs to be a little bit oily on the surface, otherwise the powder will not stick; so oil your nuts before roasting them and butter your popcorn before tossing them in the seasoning.

I would also try tossing roasted vegetables in these. Brussel sprouts I’m sure would benefit, as will the humble roasted carrots.