*** I've revised my recipe a bit. You can find that post here.
Looking back, life was pretty simple and easy for me during the Mid-Late Eighties through the Mid Nineties. Four times a week, I'd get off work and work-out with my Buddies, first at World Gym on the Ala Wai, later at The Gym in Kakaako. And at least once (and as many as four) times a week we'd grab dinner at Chicken Alice on Kapiolani Blvd, right outside of Ala Moana Center. Many a good "pau hana" started at "Alice", over her crunchy, slightly spicy wings, and ended up in my Buddies drive way, with jokes and conversations, after more than a few cold ones.
Then rather suddenly, Alice closed her Restaurants, and seemed to have disappeared. And a piece of me evaporated along with those wings….
Flash forward a decade later, and I've been periodically checking the Internet to see if anybody has a reasonable facsimile of Alice's chicken recipe. Well there it was, in black and white; written up in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. And along with the story of Chicken Alice, was the recipe for those awesome wings! I was so thrilled, but then something brought me crashing to Earth:
You see, according to the article "The key ingredient is Parks brand kim chee sauce — made locally and used primarily as the base for kim chee." This is something that you pretty much won't find on the Mainland; I was crushed; so close, yet still thousands of miles away! Enter Reid, of 'Ono Kine Grindz. I had made a passing comment to him about the sauce, and before you knew it, he had sent me two bottles of Parks brand Kim Chee sauce in a styrofoam cooler, and kept it cold using freezer gel packs! Talk about resourceful!
So what's in the Kim Chee sauce? According to the bottle, it's Chili Pepper, Garlic, Fish Sauce, Salt, Sugar, MSG, Paprika, and Ginger. What a combo! I got down to cooking right away, using the recipe from the article; right here.
So how did it turn out? Well I found it to be a bit on the mild side, and not salty enough, though the crispy stickiness was still there; and the color looked right. Also, the flavoring was just a bit "off".
So, armed with that experience, I made my adjustments, and came up with this recipe:
5 pounds chicken wings
Vegetable oil for deep frying 
Batter:
1/2 cup Parks brand kim chee sauce
3 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons salt
2-1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups water
Combine kim chee sauce, garlic, salt and flour. Add water gradually, enough to make a thick batter, about the consistency of pancake batter.
Add chicken pieces to batter, mix well and marinate in refrigerator overnight.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.Deep-fry chicken pieces until chicken rises to surface and coating is deep brown.It's important to keep the oil at this temperature in order to assure the perfect crisp coating.
So you're wondering what it looks like, right?
I was amazed at how the color turned out; just a tad "lighter" than I remember, but close enough. The crunchy, slight stickiness was there. And the taste was nice and a mild-medium spicy. The changes I made; more garlic; more salt; a bit more water; and especially marinating overnight, instead of the 2-3 hours in the recipe did the trick. The chicken was still tasty and a bit crunchy 4 hours later, just like it used to be. Though it seemed the batter was thicker than I remembered, even though I added a bit more H2O.
My tastes had changed over the last decade; I'm now used to really spicy Sichuan Food, among other things, and though Alice's Chicken doesn't thrill me like it used to, it's still darn good. But the memories are what this was really all about. Sitting down, munching on wonderful memories, my mind was a thousand miles away to a place and time when things were alot simpler, and time seemed to pass at a less frenetic pace, even if just for a few moments, made the decade long quest worth while.
Mahalo Reid, I'm forever in your debt!
Pretty darn nice of Reid to send that over. Did you notice how she is looking for a financial partner for a new place? hmm…business opportunity?
Nice chicken wings! I love Fried Chicken!!! So does the chix have a kim chee flavor??? If it’s just a kick, I may have to give this recipe a go and try it for myself. Where do you get this Kim Chee Parks Brand sauce? Would they have it at 99 Ranch or at a Korean market???
Those look amazing – great color! It’s dangerous to look at your site before lunch.
Hey Kirk,
Those look really good! Ditto Kristy: where can you get the Parks Brand Kimchee Sauce?
Hi Mealcentric – Reid is a Prince isn’t he? If I was still living “back home” I might’ve given that a thought, but SD is too far away!
Hi Kristy – I initially thought it was just Kochujang, but it wasn’t. The chicken has a nice mildly spicy/salty taste. The batter is crunchy, yet a bit “sticky” at the same time. As for Parks Brand Kim Chee Sauce – I’ve searched everywhere for the sauce on the Mainland and haven’t found it. This includes Marukai – though the Costa Mesa location has Park’s brand Chili Pepper Water, but not the Kim Chee Sauce – my suggestion is, since you have friends going to and from Hii, is to ask them to pick up a jar for you from Palama Supermarket.Or maybe you have some friends who work at Marukai?
Hi Candice – These are pretty good, better than my mochiko wings.
Hi Pam – I’d ask somewone to bring back some of the bottled sauce from Hii – or maybe you can find something similar? Maybe I’ll try and find something similiar….
Nicely done! Those wings look scrumptious. I haven’t read that article yet, but this chicken, is it uniquely Hawaiian? Or is it traditional Korean?
Hi Elmo – The wings were pretty good. If I had to put a label on it, I’d say it’s a Hawaii-Korean thing.
Memories are a wonderful gift, aren’t they? Kirk, just because your here doesn’t mean there can’t be a business op… ::shrugs meaningfully:: just a suggestion man. Mainstream Americans are ripe for a “new” food fad and wings like this just might be it. If you can whip up a similar sauce to use, I think I’m giving your recipe a shot. Maybe you can discuss proportions with Mills?
Hi Jo – Well I’ll see what shakes out. We know what the ingredients are…..
Thanks Kirk for the heads up. I’ll check the Marukai in Gardena which is pretty well stocked. Hmm…maybe a Korean supermarket in K-town? Wanted to get some Milkis too… I could always ask my Auntie to see if they’ve got it on the Big Island. And if so, I’ll ask her to send a box load and share with my food friends. =)
Hi Kristy – Well good luck! I did check Marukai Gradena on my last trip – the article came out in Feb. If Auntie is going to send some up – I think it’s supposed to be refrigerated….
Hi Kirk,
Awww! *blushing*
You shouldn’t say that you’re forever in my debt. Maybe for just a little while! LOL! Nah, jes kidding!
In any case, the wings look just like I remember them too. I haven’t made these yet myself, but I sure am tempted to. I don’t normally like to make deep fried things at home — the oil gets everywhere in my SMALL kitchen.
On a side note, I didn’t know you used to go to The Gym. I started going there when it first opened on Keawe Street. Maybe we’ve seen each other around before. *interesting*
Hi Reid – Honestly, thanks for giving me a vehicle to experience a nice little trip. I used to go to The Gym until I left Hii in ’97 – In fact I still have one of the Blue The Gym T-Shirts! We may have crossed paths, amazing! Too bad I haven’t touched a weight in years…..
Hi Kirk,
that was one cool post! sharing some of your memories as well as that fantastic recipe. And Reid sounds like a real super person (still no clue as to whether Reid is a he or a she) to have sent you that kim chee sauce in a flash.
I don’t think we have that brand here but I might experiment with other kim chee sauces we might have here in oz 🙂
ITs painful for me to fry my own food as I then *know* exactly how much oil has soaked up in those tasty crunchy morsels. Its easier to pretend its not all that bad when you just buy it on impulse or a crave when you just need that crispy burst of tender chicken goodness 🙂
I’m glad you perfected that recipe and shared it with us thanks dearie *hug*
Great post! It’s a nice walk down memory lane, and the wings look fantastic. Do you think the brand of kimchee makes a big difference? Or is it brand loyalty?
Rachel, I rarely deep fry at home either, but I justify getting things like chicken wings by saying that if you fry at a hot enough temp, the oil seals up the meat and doesn’t soak inside much. I’m probably deluding myself.
Kirk, those wings look delicious! Great job, and many thanks to Reid too! I’ve never thought of adding a sauce to the actual batter. This reminds me of the recipe for mochiko chicken too tho’. What about using mochiko flour to get it EXTRA crispy? I think I shall try it and report the results.
Hi Rachel – I really don’t do that much frying – but the key point is to fry at the right temperature – it not only ensures that the “crust” is crunchy, but that the food doesn’t absorb too much oil. If you try this with other Kim Chee bases let me know how it comes out! It was really fun!
Hi Howie – I know nothing about Kim Chee bases/sauces – I was actually surprised that it had fish sauce in it.
Hi Penny – This was fun. I think corn starch will give you a crunchier – harder coating, that’s what I use in my mochiko chicken.
btw … Alice, Alice … who the *beep* is Alice ? I just love living next door to Alice 😉
No, I’ll never get used to not living next door to Alice
::whispers to Rachel:: He…
Way to go Penny! I’d love to hear your results!
Kirk, Reid, I did a search on Kim Chee sauce. There is another brand called “Aunty Soon” but I have no clue regarding details. I tried a 3 cheese, artichoke/walnut dip years ago. Paid about $9 for a TINY tub that had the ingredients listed on the label. I go for the gusto trying to reproduce that stuff every year as Christmas rolls around. I haven’t gotten it JUST right yet. I will tell you that the pictures have been in my brain all day long and I told my daughter that along with feeding her husband onions without his knowledge we are going to give these wings a shot.
Hi Jo – Let me know how they come out.
I tried the recipe when I saw it come out in the Star-Bulletin. I thought it was pretty bland tasting and I have never tried the original recipe myself. Been gone from the islands for a looong time. Went to an Asian market in Dallas and they had another brand but it was a kim chee base. Kind of a substitute I guess. But now I’ve just recently moved to LV and went to an international foods market here, and they do carry the Parks brand kim chee SAUCE (as opposed to base). So I’ll try the recipe again and probably use Kirk’s adaptation.
Hi Kawena – Thanks for dropping by and commenting! Yes, the first time I made this, it was a bit too “bland”, partially due to the fact that my tastes have changed over the last decade or so. But additional salt, garlic, more sauce, and an over night marinade, actually made the chicken taste better, and even look more like Chicken Alice. Please let me know how it turns out, ok! Also, what Market in Vegas was it?
I used to go the Chicken Alice in pearl kai near where Jelly’s was.. it was SO GOOD. we couldn’t believe it closed. someone needs to give chicken alice a whole bunch of money to open some new places
Hi James – Yes, I agree. Alice needs to get back to feeding the masses!
Made this last night. You did a great job modifying the original. Tasted just like before, though I would still add a little bit more salt. Was worried that I might undercook them, so I tested them by cutting into them. Sure enough, when the pieces floated to the top, it was done!