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Fried chicken wings and fried rice
There's probably a fantastic, recession friendly meal just a few blocks from where you're sitting now. These type of places are usually generic Chinese take-out places. You know the ones, the first item on the menu is fried half chicken with french fries. When I first encountered these type of restaurants, I scoffed at their misrepresentation of real Chinese food. But during those first few post college years, surviving on cheap food was a necessity. So if you can find one of those generic Chinese take-out places, and you see 'Fried chicken wings and fried rice' on the menu, you should try it out. It's a super simple thing that's very delicious. It's fried chicken, how can it be bad?
You can usually get this dish for under $5 dollars. Why is it so cheap? Well, look at the picture at the top. Do you see anything green in there? Anything that resembles fiber? Or vitamins? I know fried chicken makes you strong, but it's probably not a very balanced meal. This is definitely not a dish that you want to start eating on a regular basis, unless you really have to. Just make sure you supplement with some leafy greens or something.
When you order fried chicken wings and fried rice from your local Chinese joint, you have to be sure to ask for hot sauce. Make sure it's not hot sauce from a packet though. This is very important. Unless you really like the watery hot sauce from a packet... you should always ask for something that resembles chili oil. Even if the Chinese dude behind the counter doesn't offer it at first, he has it. They all have chili oil or the 'real' hot sauce. It'll make the chicken eating experience much better.
If you wanna get all sophisticated and shit, and you want to pair your meal with some alcohol, I suggest beer. Nothing like some ice cold beer to cut through the grease of the fried chicken wings. Plus, when the hot sauce burns your tongue, it feels damn good to have the cold beer to soothe your taste buds.
Maybe you're not sure why kind of generic Chinese places I'm talking about. Here are a few clues to let you know if you're on the right track. If the menu has fried half chicken and french fries, along with pork fried rice somewhere else on the menu? You're on the right track. If you walk into the restaurant and you can see straight into the kitchen? You're on the right track. If in the kitchen you see a basket of chicken pieces already fried, sitting by the deep fryer? You're in the right place. This last part is key because if you get fried chicken from a steam table place then it's not going to be as good. When you see a load of chicken wings by the fryolator, it usually looks like it's fried and ready. But they actually drop it back into the fryer to make it crispy and hot. That's the good stuff. You want a place that does that.
Also, the other day I was in a Chinese grocery store, and they were selling sea turtles! For $8 dollars per pound! I'm not sure how you cook a sea turtle... my guess is soup. But is turtle even any good in a soup? Or do you stir fry turtle? Do you deep fry sea turtles? Do you make turtle nuggets? Sprinkle ground turtle on your breakfast omelets? People seriously eat so me weird shit. Has anyone tried turtle before?
Sign up to the feed and never miss a post!Posted by Danny on March 29 2009 at 11:01 pm
I've never had sea turtles... I doubt I'd ever try to prepare it myself too!
But that fried rice and fried chicken combo...yeah, that I can picture myself eating.
Su-Lin on March 30 2009 at 6:49 am
I've had it in soup before. In fact, my parents bought one such live turtle, killed it in the yard, then proceeded to make soup out of it. You can't eat the shell. But supposedly the meat is good. I just remember being traumatized, taking one sip, and tried not to gag. I psyched myself out when I watched the slaughtering.
Heidi on March 30 2009 at 1:23 pm
@Su-Lin,
Yea... killing a turtle would probably freak me out a bit. Turtles just don't look like food, I'm not conditioned that way. haha
@Heidi,
wow... killed it in the yard? Your parents are hardcore!
Danny on March 30 2009 at 3:00 pm
Turtle soup is delicious. Get some with sherry at any fine restaurant in New Orleans. But I doubt our little Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo above are bound for such a tasty fate.
On the chicken wings topic though, there is some kismet that I found your site, with this post, a few days after one of my great life ideas. My roommate is a devote of the Christopher St Golden Wok near our house, and he is ALSO the man who I've known to eat more fried chicken than any person I've ever known. He was my muse. He usually just gets a platter of "the General," but was considering branching out to the fried chicken (pictured above), obviously on the menu to cater to the homeless, transvestite prostitute, abnd occasional food blogger. Here's my idea: ask them to take the fried chicken and toss it in the General Tso's sauce as a sort of wing sauce! Think they would do it? Think it would work?
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vincent on March 30 2009 at 3:17 pm
also, I don't know about eating turtle. maybe if you didn't give me the feet or the head and you told me that it was pork, I might be ok with it...
Ang on March 30 2009 at 5:47 pm
Sea turtles...talk about exotic.
Ryan on March 31 2009 at 10:39 pm
I have a problem with the turtles. They're too cute to eat, especially the ones that look like old men.
blondie on March 31 2009 at 10:50 pm
THe chicken wing and fried rice combo meal #A1 please! lolz I have had the best ones in Queens and yes the hot sauce does compliment the wings. I cannot find any good ones out in TN ... i am sad =( oh well, i will be back in NYC pretty soon!
The Sea Turtles are just too cute .... no comidas please!
Stevo on April 1 2009 at 2:22 am
Aw man, I hate seeing stuff like sea turtles (or frogs) being sold by the pound for dinner rather than as cute little pets, maybe I just have such fond memories of my pet turtle(s) and bull frogs as a small kid.
And this is coming from someone who grew up going to Chinatown every other weekend for lunch and dinner and wacked stuff like sea cucumbers in black bean sauce at the old Say Eng Look.
I think even my fresh off the boat parents would be squeamish about making them for dinner. I think they'd far happier with the fried chicken wings and fried rice platter!
Mr. Hudson on April 10 2009 at 10:39 am
I had turtle soup (Chinese style) as a kid. Was halfway done with my bowl before being told what it was. I probably finished it anyway because those were the rules as a kid. My parents wouldn't have made it themselves, not in front of us (we had a pet turtle). Question: how do you get it out of its shell?
Second question: why is Chinese takeout fried chicken SO good? Gotta ask my mom if they used anything special back in the day.
Yvo on April 24 2009 at 2:21 pm
Can we please not eat endangered animals?
John Jones on May 27 2009 at 1:43 pm
Turtle as food??? That’s strange. As a South American what is very natural is eating guinea pig, now put that rat look alike on the fryer as you do with the wings and my friends, your tongue will indulge in the flavor fusion of fine cuisine. I Luv chicken wing w/ pork fried rice, but I also like duck. I hope these few words can inspire some people to stop eating turtles and switch over to guinea pigs and ducks. Is the right thing to do.
mossimock on January 23 2010 at 11:39 am
Can anyone suggest some take-outs restaurants in Queens, NY that have really good fried chicken wings?
Or is this possible for me to make at home? Does anyone have a recipe to make Chinese take out fried chicken wings?
Thanks
charlie on June 3 2010 at 6:14 pm