Ingredients
Pickled celery
Holy roller hot sauce
Ranch sauce
Spice rub
Method
Main
1.For pickled celery, bring ingredients, except celery, and 250ml water to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, add celery, then transfer to sterilised jars, seal and refrigerate to pickle (2 days). Pickled celery will keep refrigerated for 2 months.
2.For holy roller hot sauce, preheat oven to 200C, spread habanero chillies in a roasting pan lined with baking paper and roast until starting to blacken (25-30 minutes). Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry birdseye chillies, onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelise (6-8 minutes). Add chipotle and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened (3-5 minutes). Add corn syrup, sugar, paprika and cayenne and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Add tomato juice, vinegar and ghost chilli and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick (45-50 minutes). Blend until smooth, season to taste with salt, transfer to sterilised jars and refrigerate until required. Holy roller sauce will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks.
3.For ranch sauce, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add spring onion and garlic and stir occasionally until tender (3-4 minutes), add garlic and onion powders, stir to combine, stir in tomato paste, deglaze pan with vinegar and cool. Blend in a food processor with remaining ingredients until smooth, season and refrigerate. Ranch dressing will keep refrigerated for 3 days.
4.Cook chicken wings in batches in a large saucepan of boiling water until cooked through (4-6 minutes), drain, rinse and cool completely.
5.Meanwhile, for spice rub, process ingredients in a blender until smooth, then rub over wings and refrigerate for flavours to develop (6-8 hours; this can be done up to 2 days ahead).
6.Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan to 180C. Deep-fry chicken in batches, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes; be careful, as hot oil spits), then drain on paper towels. Toss in holy roller hot sauce and serve hot with pickled celery, ranch sauce and mustard cress.
Note Makes 24 hot wings. Begin this recipe two days ahead to pickle the celery. Beware: the holy roller sauce is very, very hot indeed. Chipotle chillies in adobo are available from delicatessens and Mexican food shops. Corn syrup is available from health-food stores and supermarkets. Ghost chillies are extremely hot chillies available from select grocers. If they’re unavailable substitute with 3 extra birdseye chillies.
Notes