Southeast Asian Chicken Wings

It’s never too early to break out your grill even though summer is not officially here. With warm and gorgeous days like this, I just couldn’t wait and had to fire up my grill and made these Southeast Asian chicken wings.

This Southeast Asian chicken wing is the epitome of the colorful and exotic cooking common to that region. Creamy coconut milk, fragrant lemongrass, aromatics such as ginger, garlic, cilantro, and the extra zing of lime juice and Thai chilies make these wings bursting with the flavors of the street food fare in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. They are absolutely pleasing to the palate, and the flavor is deep and complex.

The look may be unusual, but using a skewer to stretch out your chicken  wings increases the amount of exposed skin that can crisp up during  cooking, as well as absorb the marinade and smoky flavors from the  grill. What’s more, wings on a stick are fun to eat.

 

Southeast Asian Chicken Wings

3 pounds whole chicken wings (12-14)

1/2 cup (125ml) coconut milk
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, white part only, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, white part only, coarsely chopped
2 Thai chilies with seeds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

12-14 long bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes Oiled paper towel or cloth
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce (Mae Ploy)
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced for garnishing

Use paper towels to pat the chicken wings dry. Transfer the chicken wings into a 1-gallon storage/freezer bag.

In a blender or food processor, puree the Marinade until smooth.

Pour the Marinade over the chicken wings in the storage bag. Close the bag tightly and coat the chicken wings evenly with the marinade. Chill for at least 2-4 hours or overnight.

Remove any excess marinade on the chicken wings. Thread each chicken wing on a bamboo skewer, from the drumette to the wingtip to stretch out the wing.

Prepare the gas/charcoal grill for grilling. Wipe the grate with an oiled paper towel or cloth.

Grill the chicken wings with skin side down until golden brown, about 8-12 minutes, depending on the heat. Turn over and grill the other side, another 8-12 minutes or until desired tenderness.

Brush both sides of the chicken wings with the Thai sweet chili sauce and grill until the glaze sizzles, 1-2 minutes each side.

Comments

[Kayte]

Your skewer method looks brilliant, I would never have thought of that on my own but I can see that it would work perfectly for just such reasons. They do look tasty and I love all those flavors. Check.

[JDeQ]

I wouldn't have thought of it either had it not been for this recipe. It sure made grilling a snap!