GENUINE BUFFALO WINGS (AND A WORTHY DERIVATIVE)

The bar food known as "Buffalo Wings" goes back half a century. You've probably never had the one-and-only genuine version.

The REAL DEAL-- no breading, no BBQ sauce, no fake smoke.

As with many iconic dishes, the birth legend of Buffalo Wings has many conflicting permutations. (See HERE for the two main historical threads.) However, unlike French Bouillabaisse, Italian Bolognese Sauce, and Hungarian Goulash, there is but one official original recipe for American Buffalo Wings-- fried chicken wings, butter, and Frank's Hot Sauce. Simply fry the wings in oil, toss with clarified butter and Frank's, and then dig in. HERE is a credible version for making this at home; note, however, that it is practically impossible to exactly duplicate deep-frying in a civilian kitchen.

I never really knew any of this until a few weeks ago, when my next-door neighbor JonP. casually mentioned that he had taken a one-night-per-week cooking gig at a nearby dive bar... and that he had essentially perfected the art & science of the Buffalo Wing. Jon Is a truly fabulous cook, so I was intrigued and promised to stop by on his next shift, which coincided with my weekly going-home day. Jon was delighted to give me a quick tour of the kitchen and demonstrate his technique. The result, Andrea and I agreed, was simple perfection, and we now have a weekly take-out ritual for my coming-home day dinner.

Far be it from me to try to improve upon perfection, so I won't. However, I frequently take inspiration from the works of others and apply it elsewhere. Might the spirit and essence of the humble yet venerable Buffalo Wing be applied to, say... shrimp? Yes!

Behold, Dear Readers-- for lack of a better original name, DRAGON FIRE SHRIMP!

First, the "Dragon Fire" sauce:

On a whim several years ago I threw together a sauce comprised of every single Asian condiment on my refrigerator door-- Sriracha, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a wee dash of sesame oil. I then added orange zest & juice, ginger marmalade, grated fresh ginger, minced garlic, and a smidgen of tomato paste. After a few tweaks, it was pretty damn delicious! I playfully named it "Red China Sauce," but "Dragon Fire" is less politically provocative, and so thus be it called. I recommend tinkering with these ingredients to your own taste, adjusting the dials of all the flavors as you see fit. You're looking for a harmonious and balanced cacophony of SIX flavor components-- sweet, sour, spicy-hot, bitter, salty, and umami... you'll know it when you find it, so just stop right there.

And about the shrimp:

You could serve this over rice, in which case smaller shrimp-- like size 26-30/lb. or smaller-- would work just fine. But if you are finger-fooding this as you would Buffalo Wings (with, of course, a roll of paper towels nearby) go big or bigger with the shrimp-- size 21-25 or even 16-20. To cook them, simply peel & de-vein (if necessary), dry on a paper towel, and briefly fry in your oil of choice until they are pink and slightly crispy. Don't bother draining the oil; just mix in your Dragon Fire Sauce, stir well, and enjoy.

NOTES:

Buffalo Wings are traditionally served with celery sticks and Bleu Cheese Dressing. (We recommend Marie's®.) Ranch Dressing might seem like a perfectly good alternative, but ordering that in public could get you barred for life in New York State west of Batavia.

As always, purchase your shrimp carefully, from reputable markets known for integrity of sourcing and transparent supply chains. There's a lot of crap out there; insist on wild OR organically-farmed shrimp with no added chemicals.

Before the advent of IQF ("Individually Quick Frozen") shrimp, restaurants usually purchased shrimp frozen in 5lb. blocks with lots of water. The advantage of IQF shrimp is that they can thawed quickly and in the exact amount desired; the disadvantage of IQF shrimp is that, unlike the frozen blocks with their protective coating of ice, IQF shrimp can develop "freezer burn" (i.e., undesirable desiccation) at their edges. This Dragon Fire Shrimp recipe is a great way to utilize shrimp thus affected-- simply trim away the unwanted parts.

And finally, if you are truly "finger-fooding" your shrimp, leaving the tails on when you peel & de-vein them makes handling them a lot easier. (You'll still need the paper towels.)