The high school and college football seasons have begun. Plan your next game day gathering to include our easy to make, delicious snacks for your next game day party.
We have a bunch of recipes that make great snacks for Game Day. Whether you are planning a tailgate party, or hosting your friends for a Saturday game, these recipes are easy to prepare the same day, or reheat during the event.
Chicken Wings and Fingers
Before you call that 30-minute pizza chain for their oven-baked “Buffalo” wings, consider these unique and delicious alternatives. I say this as someone who lived in Buffalo and ate chicken wings at the Anchor Bar (900 Main St., Buffalo). If you like Buffalo chicken wings you owe it to yourself and your friends to try these recipes:
Coca-cola chicken wings
Football is American, and Coca-Cola Chicken Wings are a Chinese sensation, but they make a fantastic snack for your next football game day party.
Okay, so the “Buffalo Wing” has a story. In 1969, late one night at the Anchor Bar, they ran out of food. So, they fried up the left-over chicken wings and slathered them with hot sauce, and the chicken wing was born.
The Chinese have a story about a chef who knocked over his Coke into a wok full of fried chicken wings, and thus was born a national phenomenon: Coca Cola Chicken Wings.
All I can say is if you love Chicken Wings with your football, then you must try Coke Chicken Wings once before you die. They are that good. (Be careful when cooking—the coke syrup will leave a sticky mess in your pan if cook this down too far: cast-iron cookware is helpful when it comes to cleanup.)
Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings
I thought Jing had me hooked when I tried the Coca Cola Chicken wings, but her Spicy Garlic Wings are even better. These are very easy to prepare, and make a delicious game day snack.
I lived in Buffalo in the 1980s, when the Chicken Wing phenomenon was going global. I’ve had every kind of wing from mild to “suicide” and “atomic”. I love Buffalo-style wings, with a generous dish of bleu cheese.
Jing’s spicy garlic wings beat all that. They are simply the best wings I have ever tasted. My neighbors think so too. I get requests for those “garlic wings” all the time.
They need to marinate for a bit, but if you set that up in the morning, you can fry them anytime just before or during the game.
In fact, if you wanted to prepare ahead, you could brown several batches and set them back in the refrigerator. Then when there’s a break in the game, stir-fry them with the sauce to finish, and serve.
Easy Chinese Fried Chicken
Fried Chicken is as American as apple pie, but Jing’s recipe puts a new and interesting spin on this. First, her recipe is more akin to “chicken fingers”. Chicken fingers are typically breaded, not battered.
Jing has taken this further. Instead of normal breadcrumbs, this recipe uses Panko-style crumbs, like Japanese Tempura or shrimp. This gives the crust of the fried chicken a light, crunchy texture. The seasoning is applied after frying (the cumin and chili powder), and the flaky crust helps capture these powdered spices.
The hardest part of preparing these is getting the cornstarch-covered chicken to soak up the egg. But once it does, coating the chicken with Panko breadcrumbs is easy.
Prepare a batch the night before. Keep in mind that slicing a single breast into multiple “fingers” is important—you want the chicken to cook thoroughly without burning the bread crumb coating.
If you are expecting 3 or 4 guys, two breasts sliced on the diagonal should be enough. For a larger party, use three breasts. Slicing and breading these the night before is helpful. Then just heat the oil (about ¾ inch in a large cast-iron skillet will suffice) and during a commercial break take 10 minutes to fry a couple batches. Keep in mind, you only want the oil to reach about 300 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a chopstick, or wooden spoon, stick the handle end in the oil. When bubbles form around the wood as soon you insert it, you are about 300 degrees.
Potato Chips
It’s almost too easy to buy a few bags of chips, and no football game day party is complete without potato chips. Why make your own? Well, if you try this spicy Chinese potato chip recipe, you’ll know why. The flavor is better. You can really taste the potato. Now, these are fried, so I don’t want to overstate the health benefits, but you are getting some nutrients from the fresh potatoes, and you are avoiding all the chemical additives in the commercial offerings.
Most of all, you can introduce some interesting flavors! A little creativity with Sichuan chili powders, and your friends will be telling you that need to start your own potato chip brand.
Like good french fries, these potato chips are cooked twice. The potatoes are sliced and par-boiled or blanched ahead of time. If you do this the night before, you can quickly fry the blanched potatoes when the oil is hot during a game.
Deep-fried Ribs
If you live in the Midwest or Southern US, you no doubt have your favorite style of barbecued pork spare ribs. Good barbecue takes a long time to prepare. Here’s an easy to prepare, delicious alternative for your next football party.
These Chinese Garlic Pork Ribs do take an hour or more to marinate, to soak up flavor from the garlic and ginger. So if you set them up to marinate the night before, you can cook them in the morning before company arrives for the game.
Something Sweet for Football Game Day: Mango Pudding
Jing’s young niece loves pudding, and when she is caring for the girl, she mixes up a batch of the family recipe: Mango Pudding. It’s as easy as mixing gelatin, mango, milk, and sugar, and sure to be a delightful alternative on your football party table.
Football Snacks for the Health Conscious: Shredded Potato Salad
This is a very simple Chinese potato recipe unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. You can substitute an Anaheim pepper if you don’t like a lot of heat, or a jalapeno for the green Chinese pepper. This cold potato salad combines light and dark soy sauce with vinegar, garlic, sesame oil and a bit of sugar for a delicious, unique dish. If you’d like to try this, I recommend ordering good imported light and dark soy sauces. Do not use the stuff you find on the supermarket shelf. I use Zhongba and I highly recommend it. Jing uses Lee Kum Kee. You can find Lee Kum Kee and Pearl River Bridge brands on Amazon. I have not tested them, so I cannot vouch for them. After trying the Zhongba from the Mala Market, I won’t use anything else. The flavor is that good.
Good, dark soy sauce uses molasses, and the southern Chinese use it to give that rich, red color to braised meats the way Americans use barbecue sauce as a marinade.
If You Like Bacon
You have to try Jing’s Fried Pork Belly with Chili. Pork Belly may not sound very appetizing to some, but it is just bacon without the nitrites and other preservatives. When you dice it and brown the pieces in a frying pan it’s just like eating thick slab bacon.
Ramen Noodles Make a Delicious Game Day Snack
Spice up your ramen noodles with a few extra steps. Jing uses a ham sausage in this, but I have substituted diced ham, and Kou Rou (Guangxi steamed pork). With some scrambled eggs, red onion, bean sprouts, soy sauce and oyster sauce, those ramen noodles make a wonderful Chinese Fried Noodles dish, and it’s ready to eat in a few minutes.
I boil two 85 gram packets of the Ramen noodles (leave out the spice pack), then set them aside in cold water while I cook the other ingredients. Add them back in at the last with the scrambled eggs and soy sauce to stir fry them all together.
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