Mumbo Sauce Wings
The unofficial taste of a Washington, DC carryout: crispy fried chicken wings drenched in sweet-tangy red mumbo sauce.
by
Prep
Cook
Total
4 portions
Mumbo Sauce Wings are a Washington, DC carryout classic built on simple technique and a sauce with serious local history. The wings are tossed in a light seasoned flour dredge, then deep-fried until the skin turns crisp and golden. Once hot, they get drizzled or tossed in mumbo sauce (also spelled mambo sauce), a glossy red sauce that lands somewhere between barbecue and sweet-and-sour. The sauce builds on a ketchup base brightened with vinegar, sugar, a splash of soy, a little hot sauce, and often pineapple or orange juice, so the heat stays mild and the sweetness leads. Mumbo sauce traces back to 1960s Black-owned DC wing shops and spread through Chinese carryouts across the eastern quadrants of the city, where it became a daily staple for decades. The result is friendly, sticky, and unmistakably DC.
Ingredients
Wings
1 kg chicken wings split into flats and drumettes, wing tips removed
120 g all-purpose flour for dredging
30 g cornstarch optional, for extra crispness (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp black pepper
1 l vegetable oil for deep-frying, amount depends on pot
Mumbo sauce
240 ml ketchup
120 ml pineapple juice or orange juice
120 ml white vinegar
100 g sugar white or brown
60 ml soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce Louisiana-style, adjust to taste
1 tsp smoked paprika
0.5 tsp garlic powder
