one of my favourites, these thai-style wings are the ultimate umami bomb. they’re crispy, sweet, sour, salty, not too saucy, and finger lickin’ good. serve them as is, or make it a full hands-on meal with steamed sticky rice and grilled corn. make a double or triple batch of the sauce, as it easily keeps in your freezer for up to 3 months.

Serves 2-3 as a meal, 4 as a side snack

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. chicken wings
salt
neutral oil, avocado or canola
1-2 bird’s eye chilis (1 for a tingle, 2 for a good kick)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro stems or roots, washed and chopped
2 tbsps. neutral oil, avocado or canola
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup tamarind paste
cilantro and/or green onion, chopped, to garnish
sesame seeds to garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven or grill to 350F.

In a mixing bowl, toss chicken wings with a sprinkling of salt.

Once heated, lightly oil your bbq grids with a brush or drizzle oil onto a baking sheet. On the cooling rack of your bbq or top rack of your oven, bake wings for 20 minutes, until cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine ingredients from bird’s eye chilis to tamarind paste in a blender.

Pour the sauce mixture into a medium sized pan and heat at medium-high. Once bubbling, turn down to a simmer and fry for 6-8 minutes, until syrupy and fragrant. Turn off heat, cool and set aside.

Crank up the heat of your bbq to high or change your oven setting to broil and char chicken until crispy and golden brown. Flip frequently making sure not to burn. Once charred, let wings sit at room temp for 5 minutes to cool a bit.

In a large mixing bowl, add 1/4 of the sauce mixture and the cooked chicken wings. Toss to combine. If they are seasoned to your liking, reserve the rest of the sauce in your freezer for up to 3 months. If not, add more sauce. Add herbs and sesame seeds. Toss again and serve immediately.