Wednesday, July 30, 2008

“Don’t Bug Me I’m Eating” Chicken Wings

I need a moment. Something strange just occurred under my roof. There are clean plates ready to be loaded into the dishwasher. While that’s happened before, tonight’s dinner consisted of food not sampled before. Food that would require them to *gasp* use their fingers. Food that I almost didn’t prepare because I figured those picky peeps of mine would poke at it much like one would push aside a deceased bug. Who would have guessed that my little clucks would devour these wings? What mischief is this that they set their teeth upon said wings with calculating efficiency? My Picky Eaters Club Charter Members tried something new and (shhhh) liked it! Oh lordy, I feel faint.

These wings are really easy to make. I found the recipe on Rasa Malaysia . I altered the recipe and cooking method slightly. These are mild wings and would make a great alternative to serve to guests who don’t dig hot wings. They have a unique flavor. The honey provides a very faint sweetness, the turmeric provides the lovely color, and the soy sauce provides that yummy background. The ginger juice, although quite pungent, does not overpower the other flavors, and the chili powder I used was mild and just faintly made a taste appearance. That’s it in so far as seasonings. No garlic or onion here (except for what's in the chili powder). I actually missed those flavors; however, I think that the absence of them is what appealed to my kids. When I asked my oldest girl peep if she liked the chicken, she wiggled her eye brows, pulled her mouth away from the wing, and with a smile and jovial tone responded, “don’t bug me, I’m eating!”. All the kids said that this goes on 'the repeat list'. My boy peep told me that I could challenge Bobby Flay to a throwdown with these. Oh yeah, there’s a thought … me and Bobby. Alrighty-O.

Here’s the recipe and some prep and finished product photos.

Malaysian Turmeric and Honey Wings
aka: “Don’t Bug Me I’m Eating” Chicken Wings

Ingredients: (I multiplied these measurements times 4.5)

1 lb chicken wings – middle section (I used the entire wing and made 4.5 lbs of them)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon soy sauce (I used Tamari – wheat free/low sodium which made this recipe gluten free!)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
2 inches ginger (skin peeled)

Prepare the ginger by peeling it and pounding with a mortar and pestle or grinding with small food processor (I used the processor). Extract the juice by squeezing with your hand and discard the ginger pulp. I wrapped the ground pulp in cheese cloth first. Sssqqquuueeezzzeee! (Man, I really need some sun.)

I prepped the wings simply by cutting off the little flappy thing. What is that thing called? I think next time, I’ll take the extra five minutes to separate the wings into drumette type pieces. For hubby man, I’ll prepare boneless breast pieces. He needed LOTS of wings. He's a big guy. He likes big food. He doesn't like to have bones of any kind on his plate. *sigh* You won't hear him complain though. That fact alone propels me to next time make him food without bones. That and the fact that he ate all the green beans on his plate to set an example for his kids. Well done, my man. And yes, each sprout ate the solitary green bean I placed on their plates. Back to the wings ...

Now you see the flappy thing.


In comes the kitchen shears. Do you love your kitchen shears? I love my shears.

No more flappy thing.

Marinate the chicken wings with the ginger juice and all the seasonings above for 1 – 2 hours (I did 2.5 hours). Grill or bake them in an oven (at 375 degrees F) for 20-25 minutes until cooked or golden brown.Note: I added 2 Tablespoons of oil to the marinade. I also baked mine on two sheet pans, and switched pan positions 1/2 way through. Here are the flapless wings heading into the oven.

After baking, I transferred them to a hot grill for just a couple minutes, fattier side down, to get a crispier, more flame charred surface. See the lovely color ... that's the turmeric.

Yuuuummmm!


22 comments:

Marjie said...

They WON'T eat with fingers? Are they alien beings? I've been known to jab hands big and little with forks and other implements when the fingers travel to foods where they don't belong!

Maria Verivaki said...

i'm a great fan of chicken wings - after the barbecue chicken i did last weekend, i think i might try this one. i will post the photos as soon as i do (and sing your praises along with that)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those wings look finger-lickin' good! Will try this dish too! Glad you like Asian twists to your dishes.

Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Peter M said...

The ingredients listed sound real good and easily available. The colour of them wings is mucho desirable...I'll have a basket please!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Wings are one of my favorites. These look scrumptious. I think I'm going to try these tonight!

Lo said...

Mighty fine looking wings you have there. We don't do wings very often around our house, but I've been finding recipes lately (including yours) that are making me think twice about that.

Dee said...

In Malaysia, roasted chicken wings on a spit are often found on the pavement outside a chinese fry-up joint. The smells, oh! You did a great job. A vinegary chile sauce usually completes the whole Malaysian experience :)

Deborah said...

I love that - don't bug me I'm eating! These sound delicious. We are chicken wing fans here, and I bet this is a recipe we'd love!

It's me said...

These look amazing. We have a friend who is allergic to onions and I never know what to cook when they visit. Onions are sort of my "go to" flavor carrier.
Thanks.

Pam said...

My husband loves wings...thanks for inspiring me!

dp said...

My son doesn't like to get his fingers dirty when he eats. He'll whine if one speck of jelly gets on his finger. Drives me crazy.
But he will eat chicken wings. Go figure!

And who wouldn't look those wings? Sounds like a great combination of sweet and savory!

Jennifer said...

Woman! those look really good, I have never made them but I will now!

Aggie said...

I'd like to try these!

I tagged you for a music meme on my blog! :)

pam said...

Those do look like a wonderful alternative to hot wings. And yes, I love, love, love my kitchen shears. I use them for everything.

Chef Jeena said...

They look so sticky and the flavours sounds awesome.

Neen said...

Hey, congrats on getting the buggers to eat! Success!

La Bella Cooks said...

The flavors sounds perfect and the color in the picture makes you want to grab them right out of the screen. Bobby Flay won't stand a chance against you!
I think I could actually get my kids to eat these as well. If they don't them more for mommy and daddy!

test it comm said...

Those wings look great and sound really tasty!

RecipeGirl said...

I did the wings thing for the very first time last Superbowl and had to learn how to clip them properly, etc. These look like some goodies :)

Paula said...

Hi Marjie: With their picky habits, I've often wondered if they are little aliens!

Kiwi: Let me know if you make it! It is really mild, so keep that in mind if you like more zip in your wings!

Ning: I did lick my fingers! Love the Asian flair in this one!

Peter: The color was glorious. Are there any Greek wing recipes? Have a great trip!

Katherine: Let me know if you try them. I'm a big wing fan, myself!

Lo: We usually have wings as part of a buffet style get together. My kids really liked this, so we'll be eating it more often.

Dee: Oooh, I'd love to know more about that sauce. I bet it would go great with these!

Deborah: Yeh, my daughter is a card! I was just so shocked to see her devouring her food! The wings are tasty ... more mild that I would have guessed.

Meadowlark: These are great for folks that don't like heat in their food. Regarding the allergy, just make certain that your chili powder doesn't have onion in it. I think I may try this next time with a pure ground chili powder vs. a commerical style blend.

Pam: I hope your hubby likes these. They made the whole house smell great when they were baking!

Darlene: They were a great taste combo. I'm still surprised at how mild they were even after all that ginger juice.

Cheryl: These were really good. Also, it was nice to have the oven on with the colder outside temps. Although it was nice to see the sun today!

Aggie: Thanks for the tag! Hmmm ... I'll have to think about my music!

Pam: I use my shears for just about every meal! Have a great first day back at school!

Jeena: They were indeed sticky! That's another good thing about these is that the marinade really stuck to the chicken!

Neen: I love it when they eat vs. just sliding stuff around on their plate!

Bridgett: Ha! I made 4.5 lbs of wings, and there was NONE left. I couldn't believe it. I don't know how many each kid took, but their plates were piled high with bones!

Kevin: They were tasty, and the aroma was terrific! I'd like to try some sort of garam masala seasoned wings sometime!

Recipegirl: I loved using my shears to trim the chicken wings. So much easier than a cleaver!

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Vicki said...

I just had a big steak for dinner, but your wings made me hungry all over again!

Anonymous said...

Hi Paula

You said you multiplied the measurements by 4.5. Are these the measurements at 4.5 or do I have to the math myself. If so give me the measurements for the 1/8 teaspoon and 2 inches of ginger. Thanks.