Red Wings

[u/BahammyMammy]

HELP! Does anyone remember South Pacific Thai Restaurant in Downey, CA? I NEED the recipe for their Red Wine Chicken Wings! 😭
There was a Thai restaurant in Downey, CA called South Pacific, and they had the most incredible chicken wings called “Red Wine Chicken Wings.”
I have been thinking about these wings for YEARS, and I swear I have never tasted anything quite like them. 😂 I can’t even properly describe the flavor because it was that good. The wings had this crispy skin with a thick, sticky coating that was sweet, savory, rich, and just completely addictive.
I don’t know what they put in that sauce, but I NEED TO KNOW. 😩
Does anyone here remember South Pacific? Or, even better, does anyone remember what was in their Red Wine Chicken Wings or have any idea how they made them?
I would seriously love to recreate these at home. Even if you only remember one or two ingredients, please share! 🙏🏽
South Pacific Thai Restaurant — Downey, CA — Red Wine Chicken Wings.
Someone out there HAS to remember these!

[u/Logical_Warthog5212]

Judging by some of the old pictures and how dark those wings are, it was probably a red wine glaze. Do you at least remember tasting red wine?

[u/baldnesswhatIgot]

My best South Pacific copycat

For 2 lb chicken wings:

For the wings

• 2 lb party wings
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• Oil for frying

For that sticky red sauce

• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 3 Tbsp Sriracha-style Thai chili sauce — preferably the sweeter Thai version rather than super-hot American sriracha
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1½ Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp Golden Mountain seasoning sauce
• 2½ Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
• Optional but potentially important: 1 tsp dark soy sauce, mostly for that deep mahogany color

The combination of ketchup + chili sauce + soy + oyster sauce + cooking wine turns up repeatedly in authentic Thai versions of the dish. One professional Thai recipe uses tomato concentrate, ketchup, Sriracha, oyster sauce, seasoning sauce, sugar and Chinese wine; another adds the classic Thai aromatic trio of coriander root, garlic and white pepper.

How I'd cook them

Mix the wings with soy, white pepper, salt and 1 Tbsp cooking wine. Give them about 30 minutes.

Combine flour and cornstarch and lightly dredge the wings. You don't want a big Buffalo-wing breading—just enough coating to produce the craggy, crispy exterior that grabs the sauce.

Deep-fry at about 350°F until cooked through and crisp, roughly 8–10 minutes depending on size. For extra-crispy restaurant texture, pull them out for 3–4 minutes, crank the oil to 375°F, then fry again for 60–90 seconds.

Now the important part.

Put about 1 Tbsp oil in a wok or skillet. Add the garlic and white pepper and cook only about 20 seconds. Don't brown the garlic.

Add:

ketchup → chili sauce → tomato paste → soy → oyster sauce → Golden Mountain → sugar → water → dark soy

Bring it to a simmer and reduce it until it goes from "sauce" to shiny syrup.

Then add the Shaoxing wine.

Let that bubble hard for perhaps 30–60 seconds, then toss the crispy wings in the sauce. Keep tossing over medium/high heat until the sauce becomes extremely glossy and practically lacquers itself onto the chicken.

Turn off the heat and add the tiny bit of sesame oil.