We came up with the General Tso's Sriracha wings as a special, initially. It has been our best selling flavor since. Wings have been a passion of mine for years. I had worked for Steve Cross years ago (the guy who owned Striped Bass and the Cabin) and I learned that most wing sauces have a good amount of butter in them to give them that nice creamy consistency. Later I consulted for BonChon Korean Wings in Manhattan. I learned about the kaleidoscope of Asian sauces and spices and figured it would be a good idea to blend the East and West wing philosophies.
We do our wings in the traditional Buffalo style in that we don't marinate or season the wings before we fry them. This helps keep the wings crispy We source the largest possible Jumbo wings and fry them in 100% Canola Oil at 350 degrees. It is important to double cook the wings to really get them crisp. We cook for 5-6 minutes, allow to cool, then cook the second time for about 10-12 mins - then mix while hot with the General Tso's sauce, clarified butter and some sriracha for that extra kick.
General Tso's sauce is pretty simple. Soy Sauce, chili paste, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, ginger and a little corn starch. We sweetened it up with some orange juice instead of sugar. It's considered a sauce from the Hunan province in China, but, the Americanized version is rooted in New York City. It has always been a great pairing for chicken, so, it wasn't a huge stretch of the imagination to apply it to wings. I prefer to serve it with Ranch dressing as the chunks of blue cheese in Blue Cheese Dressing tend to overpower the flavor. The added butter is the key to velvety texture and flavor. Add a little Sriracha for some fire and voila! Take a bite and first you get a tangy-sweet crunch, followed by a buttery mouth feel with a warm, not-too-spicy finish.