Fried Chinese Five Spice Chicken Wings

Cut off wing tips, reserving for another use, and halve wings at joint.

Coarsely chop onion and finely chop ginger root.

In a large zip lock plastic bag combine onion, ginger root, soy sauce, sherry, cinnamon mixture, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add wings and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Turn bag until wings are completely coated. Marinate chicken wings in bag in a large bowl, chilled, for 2 hours, turning bag once.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Transfer wings and marinade to a roasting pan or large shallow baking pan and bake, covered with foil, in the middle of the oven for 1 hour.

Cool wings until they can be handled and drain in a colander, discarding marinade. Wings may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Reduce temperature to 250 degrees F.

In a small serving bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons salt and pepper. Put cornstarch in a small bowl and dredge each wing, knocking off excess cornstarch and transferring to a shallow pan.

In a 5- to 6-quart heavy kettle heat oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 370 degrees F.

Working in batches of 6 or 7, fry wings in oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes, and with a slotted spoon transfer to paper towels to drain. Keep wings warm on a baking sheet in oven. Fry remaining wings in same manner, returning oil to 370 degrees F between batches.

Serve wings with salt and pepper mixture.