BEER SNACKS #5
Hello one and all,
Welcome back to How I Cook.
A slightly shorter newsletter this week, I’ve had a whopper of a week, and have written a lot of words… I’ve discovered that there is absolutely a max word output for a human being, and I’ve hit mine. I’ll be making up for it with a bumper newsletter next week, going back down the deep dive route!
Today we’re wrapping up the last couple of beer snacks recipes to mark the end of the summer series! Don’t panic, it’ll be back sooner than you think, with a slightly different look and feel. It’ll be wearing a winter coat this time…
So what’s on the menu? We’ve got fish sauce wings, inspired by the G.O.A.T London wing from Smoking Goat in Shoreditch and a dead simple pintxos.
There’s also new music from Floating Points, perfect to stick on tonight while you fry some wings. It’s the weekend baby.
Enjoy!
B x
MORCILLA PINTXOS
This will make 8-10 pintxos, enough for snacks for 2-3 people.
INGREDIENTS
2 Large Ripe Tomatoes
1 Sherry Vinegar
1 Large Morcilla Sausage or Regular Old Black Pudding
8-10 Quail Eggs
8-10 Slices of Baguette
1 Tsp Piment d’espelette or Chilli Flakes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Black Pepper
METHOD
Halve the tomatoes and grate the flesh to a pulp into a bowl on the coarse side of a box grater. Season generously with salt, black pepper, sherry vinegar and olive oil.
Cut the morcilla or black pudding into coins. Preheat a small frying pan over a medium heat and add a generous amount of olive oil. Sear the morcilla on both sides until super crispy and caramelised. Carefully fry the quail eggs one by one until just cooked. Fish them out of the pan and trim the whites so they’re roughly the same size as the morcilla.
Lay out your slices of baguette and spoon over the tomato mixture. Top with a slice of morcilla and a quail egg. Season with salt and pepper and a dusting of the piment d’espelette.
Serve with a cold, preferably Spanish, beer.
FISH SAUCE WINGS
This will make chicken wings for four people.
INGREDIENTS
100ml Fish Sauce
85ml Sriracha Style Hot Sauce
100g Caster Sugar
6 Garlic Cloves
1kg Chicken Wings
150g Cornflour
Handful of Mint Leaves
Pickled Red Chillies, to serve
Smashed Peanuts, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
Vegetable Oil
METHOD
Right, to kick things off you want to marinate your wings. Tip the fish sauce, hot sauce and sugar into a large bowl. Finely grate in the garlic cloves and whisk the whole lot together. Tip in the chicken wings and toss to coat in the marinade. Set aside in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally overnight.
Once marinated, fish the wings out of the marinade. Add them to a bowl and pour the cornflour over the chicken. Jostle them around in the bowl to dredge in the cornflour. Don’t worry if they get a bit sticky, they’ll crisp up in the fryer.
Preheat a pot filled halfway with vegetable oil to 170°C. Carefully lower in the wings, working in batches, and fry for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
While the wings are frying, pour the leftover marinade into a small saucepan and add 50 ml of water. Set over a high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Whisk the sauce as it boils and reduce by 2/3rds into a thick, sticky glaze. Don’t worry about the fact this had raw chicken in it 5 minutes ago, the boiling neutralises any risk!
Add the crispy fried wings to a bowl and pour over the glaze. Toss the wings in the bowl to thoroughly coat in the glaze. I sometimes add an extra squeeze of lime juice here for twang!
Pile the sticky, spicy wings high on a platter and covered with chopped mint, pickled chillies and peanuts. Get stuck in with an ice cold beer.
Cascade by Floating Points
I’m no expert on electronic music, in fact, I’d say that before last year I wasn’t that into it. I listened to and adopted a few artists that I found through living with a few aspiring DJs in Brighton, with Floating Points being one of my favourites. The track Silhouettes (I, II, III) was unlike anything I’d heard before. Fluid and thoughtful in it’s progression, with live drums, horns and strings, producer Sam Shepherd coaxes you through a series of movements, three distinct chapters in the near 11 minute song. I was so hooked.
Shepherd is back doing what he does best. Producing dancefloor electronic music that is just head and shoulders above the rest. The opener, Vocoder [club mix] is a powerhouse and firmly cements Floating Points back on top. I just bought the vinyl, you should too.
Album Highlights: Vocoder [Club Mix], Del Oro, Afflecks Palace
Thanks for reading y’all!
Next week on How I Cook+ we’re doing a proper deep dive. I feel like it’s been a minute!
B x
Superb mate, fish sauce wings look fucking barmy. Have a good weekend 👌🏼
Love this