BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Over the years I’ve tried & enjoyed many recipes in this same family. All have called for “Thai Sweet Chili Sauce”, which has become more & more available in mainstream supermarkets over the years. It’s definitely worth searching out, if for nothing else than this recipe that I’ve experimented & tweaked for quite a bit now. I think, after a lot of experimentation (& simplification), that I’ve brought this as far as I’m gonna after tonights last “tweaking”.
What made this final recipe particularly appealing (not to mention fast & easy) is that - after discovering that authentic Asian chefs never separate the wings - I decided not to bother with separating the wings either. At all. Which worked out GREAT! Not only does leaving the wings whole make them a whole lot easier to deal with on the grill, but those little wing tips get an amazingly tasty char that I - & others – found ourselves devouring whole, bones & all!! In addition, while the heat factor here might look incendiary, it’s really not. The Thai Sweet Chili Sauce actually mellows out the heat quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong – these are still HOT wings, but what makes them so great is that they’re not so hot that milder-loving folks can’t still enjoy them. Hard to explain until you taste them for yourself. It’s a slow burn.
One caveat – I don’t feel that these translate well to indoor cooking. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for quite awhile now, & the indoor results have never come remotely close to the success outdoors.
Breezy Grilled Thai Sweet Hot Chicken Wings
1 large package (usually around 3-4 pounds) chicken wings, left completely whole, including wing tips
1 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons Asian Chili-Garlic paste/sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce (or whatever similar red hot sauce you have on hand)
1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
Vegetable oil – regular or spray
Build an outdoor grill coal fire to medium-hot.
Whisk sauce ingredients together with a fork & pour approximately half into another bowl to use for basting. Save the remainder to drizzle over the wings when done.
Brush or spray whole chicken wings with vegetable oil & place on grill, top side up. Close grill & cook for 15 minutes. Brush or spray (**) top side & turn wings. Close & grill for 15 minutes more. Brush sauce over wings, & close grill for another 5 minutes. Turn wings, brush with rest of sauce from basting bowl, close grill for another 5 minutes.
Remove & cut into largest wing close to bone to check for doneness & cook or remove from grill accordingly. Place on platter, drizzle saved sauce over wings, & serve – with lots of napkins or paper towels & beer!!
** While I do use a spray oil for this, it’s definitely not advised. I stand WAY BACK when I do it, but even then I know I’m committing a definite no-no. And even when brushing oil, stand WAY BACK & use a long-handled barbecue/grill brush. Chicken wings aren’t worth a trip to the Emergency Room or worse.
What made this final recipe particularly appealing (not to mention fast & easy) is that - after discovering that authentic Asian chefs never separate the wings - I decided not to bother with separating the wings either. At all. Which worked out GREAT! Not only does leaving the wings whole make them a whole lot easier to deal with on the grill, but those little wing tips get an amazingly tasty char that I - & others – found ourselves devouring whole, bones & all!! In addition, while the heat factor here might look incendiary, it’s really not. The Thai Sweet Chili Sauce actually mellows out the heat quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong – these are still HOT wings, but what makes them so great is that they’re not so hot that milder-loving folks can’t still enjoy them. Hard to explain until you taste them for yourself. It’s a slow burn.
One caveat – I don’t feel that these translate well to indoor cooking. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for quite awhile now, & the indoor results have never come remotely close to the success outdoors.
Breezy Grilled Thai Sweet Hot Chicken Wings
1 large package (usually around 3-4 pounds) chicken wings, left completely whole, including wing tips
1 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons Asian Chili-Garlic paste/sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce (or whatever similar red hot sauce you have on hand)
1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
Vegetable oil – regular or spray
Build an outdoor grill coal fire to medium-hot.
Whisk sauce ingredients together with a fork & pour approximately half into another bowl to use for basting. Save the remainder to drizzle over the wings when done.
Brush or spray whole chicken wings with vegetable oil & place on grill, top side up. Close grill & cook for 15 minutes. Brush or spray (**) top side & turn wings. Close & grill for 15 minutes more. Brush sauce over wings, & close grill for another 5 minutes. Turn wings, brush with rest of sauce from basting bowl, close grill for another 5 minutes.
Remove & cut into largest wing close to bone to check for doneness & cook or remove from grill accordingly. Place on platter, drizzle saved sauce over wings, & serve – with lots of napkins or paper towels & beer!!
** While I do use a spray oil for this, it’s definitely not advised. I stand WAY BACK when I do it, but even then I know I’m committing a definite no-no. And even when brushing oil, stand WAY BACK & use a long-handled barbecue/grill brush. Chicken wings aren’t worth a trip to the Emergency Room or worse.